I hit the mud full force, slamming on my breaks too late to avoid the mess. Beautiful arched waves of brown slush splashed and fell away as I began to hope I had enough momentum to safely reach the other side. I squeezed my eyes shut as I listed to the side, gracefully gliding the last few feet and finally coming to a full stop. Yes, this is life. At least, it is often my life. I'm cruising along and suddenly I hit muck, enact all emergency eject procedures only to find myself on distant shores. This time, though, was somehow different as my plane came to rest in a Scottish airport.
To be fair I had been given the generous timeline of 3 weeks to prepare, in the midst of my life-mess. Have you ever been there? You know, when all your internal walls are crumbling, you're perpetually tired, everything that once held breathtaking inspiration is covered by a lattice of climbing stress...it's time to make a change.I convinced myself this wasn't a problem as I was adept at using whatever I had available. I threw a few clothes in my suitcase, as well as a sleeping bag and pillow and headed out the door. After an eight-hour flight next to a very drunk and talkative seat-mate I arrived at a beautiful manor house in Glasgow. The team I was traveling with were instructed that we were there, mostly, to work on the house. For me this would also be an opportunity to work on my mess; tearing away the lattice of stress and labyrinth of pain. Throwing out the lofty expectations and digging out of the mud pit of my life. Finally, after fourteen dirty, cold days I was refreshed. The last day of the trip we took the train to Edinburgh for some sightseeing. The haunting sound of bagpipes filled the air as I wandered the shops to find that one special gift that would perfectly capture my time in Scotland and serve as a reminder of the personal growth I had experienced there.
More than a decade later my watch still reminds me of times of growth and times of fun. It carries with it the echo of bagpipes on the stone square and the laughter shared while daring to sample haggis in the local pub. When my watchband broke a few weeks ago I didn't hesitate to take it to my sister and ask her to repurpose it for me. In her beautiful skillful way she formed it into a bookmark! Yet another reminder that we don't have to be afraid of change. There is beauty in time, there is beauty in transformation, there is beauty in discovering a new perspective.
"He has made everything beautiful in its time." Ecclesiastes 3:11