junk, comfort, and pressing on

So it's time to quote Josh's blog again.

This is from a Starbuck's cup:

The Way I See It #70
It's difficult for people to get rid of junk. They get attached to things and let them define who they are. If there's one thing I've learned in this business, it's that you are what you can't let go of."
-Brian Scudamore, Founder/CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?

I read this blog almost a month ago when he first posted it (*ahem* time to update your blog mister *ahem*), but for some reason it struck me in a new way this morning. I've been struggling lately with feeling pretty blah about life. I've been in functional-mode for awhile, and struggling with not knowing how to get out of it. Part of the problem, I think, is my attachment to comfort. Most of the time I'd rather be comfortable than anything else. So, over the long run, I get exactly what I want, eh? A life that's comfortable, but fairly blah. In my heart, I want more than this, but when it comes to my moment-by-moment choices, I usually opt to just stay where I am. Because it's easier. Because it's comfortable. I'd rather hold onto junk than give it up for something better.

I feel like Sara Groves in that song "Painting Pictures of Egypt":

The past is so tangible, I know it by heart
And familiar things are never easy to discard
I was dying for some freedom and now I hesitate to go
I am caught between the promise and the things I know

I just thought of a verse in Philippians that's part of tomorrow night's Bible study passage: "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." (3:12) Wow. I really love the way Paul says that. Not just pressing on for the sake of pressing on, as though perseverence is a virtue in its own right, and an end in itself. No--he's pressing on to take hold of something...and that something is the very thing for which Christ took hold of him. It's as though he's saying, "Christ thought I was worth fighting for, so I'm going to fight too. He gave his all so that I could have heaven...so that I could have eternal life. So I guess I can give my all for that same purpose." (note: I'm nothing close to a Bible scholar, so I don't even know if that's a correct interpretation, so take it with a layman's grain of salt, 'kay?) That's pretty motivating.

I don't really have a big conclusion, so I'm not sure how to end this. I'll probably always struggle w/ my laziness and desire for comfort, but it's cool to know that God gives me another option, and that he gives me a model and a goal for pressing on. I can reminisce about "Egypt" forever if I want to, but there's a promise ahead of me if I'm willing to pursue it. Pretty sweet.