My wife and I went to a wine tasting event recently. We enjoyed some great food, some much needed conversation, and some awesome wine. It was a perfect night.

As we were trying different wines, the server would engage us in conversation. Mostly stuff about the different wines we were trying. Then, he said something that stuck with me the rest of the night.

He said, “Stressed vines produce the best grapes for wine production”.

He went on to say that the vintner/farmer will purposely ‘stress‘ the plants as they grow by limiting water, sunlight, and nutrients. This causes the plant’s roots to sink deeper in search of life and also does something to the grapes as far as making them more fruitful.

I was fascinated.

I kept thinking to myself. Here I am relaxed and enjoying an awesome glass of wine from a plant that got ‘stressed-out‘.

You see where I am going?

Do u think there is anything ‘fruitful‘ that could come from the stress in your life?

Is it possible that our struggles today will eventually produce something awesome because they caused our roots to sink deeper in search of life?

Thoughts?

P.S. This post created some great conversation among the Pursue Life subscribers. To join us yahoos go here and hey…it’s free!

Before we had kids, my wife and I had a cat. I remember being amazed at the places he would get into. Thinking to myself, “how did he fit in there?”. Then, a friend told me that if the feline’s whiskers touch when entering a space, they back up knowing the confinement will be too small for the rest of their furry body.

It took me years to become like that cat. To figure out that I couldn’t fit my Life into a title, a role, a ministry, or a position. I often tried to squeeze into spaces I could not fit. The places where I was hoping to find total meaning and fulfillment.

Did you know that your life is too “BIG” to fit in confined spaces?

It’s so much larger and deeper than the roles you fulfill. Being a mother, doctor, pastor, or business owner is a wonderful thing, but those roles can’t contain your full identity or the weightiness of your life. They will never totally define who you are and what you bring to this world.

We need to be careful not to try and squeeze our whole identity into those places. We need to be more like our feline friends and stay aware of the limited spaces that can’t fully contain who we are.

Thoughts?

How have u tried to squeeze your Life into a tight space?

P.S. If u haven’t signed up for the Pursue Life subscription, what is stopping u? It’s now free and where I am having the most engaging conversations these days. Go here to join in.

Hope u are well,

Jack

Guard your heart from perfection, numbing, exhaustion.

Expose yourself to people you don’t yet understand.

Trust your gut.

Practice gratitude first thing in the morning before your feet hit the floor.

Stay blind to those who see only their way or the highway.

Fail frequently and often.

Offer who u are…right now…today…it’s enough.

Pursue God…Life…Others.

Seek out Sages…they are usually the ones listening more and speaking less.

Ignore unsolicited advice.

Own your story and share it with someone…it could change their life.

Engage in rest, play, joy, laughter, friendship.

Let go of what people think.

Cultivate creativity, trust, love, hope.

Embrace the Journey that is your Life.

Okay, so the reality is there’s a lot to crossing the “Intense Intersections” in our lives. Obviously more than can be covered in a quick blog post, but here are a few universal truths I’ve discovered.

1) It requires…Desire. I ran the Chicago marathon in 2006 and ’07. The first year I ran with desire…the second year I didn’t and it showed. In fact, I didn’t train well either. I simply ‘mailed it in’. We have to constantly be aware of our desire. When it’s present and when it’s lacking and why.

2) It requires…Guts. You remember from Tuesday the story of our family bike ride. Who needed the most guts? That’s right…my wife. She struggled as the five year-old wobbled across heavily trafficked intersections in route to the trail head. But then she experienced an amazing afternoon. And it’s the same for us. It will often take guts to pursue the life we most desire.

3) It requires…Trust. Trust in ourselves, trust in others, and trust in God. Would the five year-old have crossed those intersections alone or without trusting us?…Personally, this truth took me the longest to learn. I tried crossing difficult intersections in my life on my own and it often went badly. Thankfully, I am getting better at trusting, seeking and receiving.

What other things do you see as important to crossing difficult intersections?

Yesterday was a glorious spring day. We don’t get many in Florida so I was pumped. Our home is near a nature trail so we decided to do a family bike ride on it for the afternoon.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. My middle son is just getting use to riding without “training wheels”. He’s doing great on the sidewalk and driveway in front of our house, but the “trail” is down the road and to get there we’ll need to cross three fairly intense intersections.

Helmets…check! Water…check! Jesus be with us…check!

As it turns out, we had an awesome time. My son did great. My wife survived. And we all gained from the experience.

So how are u doing with the “Intense Intersections” in your life? The ones that lie between you and the “trail” you most want to be on.

Are u traveling with others more seasoned than u?

Are u prepared or do u need more work on the “training wheels” first?

This week let’s unpack what it takes to get from where we are…to where we’d like to be.