As we begin to travel together into this first weekend of Summer, we’ll look in our rearview mirror and get a glimpse of what was, over the past week.
But first on this edition of “Becoming Today”, we’ll look at glass in a way I never imagined.
This weekend motorists in Philadelphia are welcoming the reopening of a major interchange along one of the nation’s most traveled highways. Less than two weeks after a deadly fiery collapse occurred when a tanker truck hauling gasoline crashed and caught fire beneath an overpass.
Originally anticipated to remain closed for months, an innovative approach to recycling expedited matters.
They rebuilt the portion of the Interstate with glass.
While perhaps some of the raw materials came from those beer bottles you see thrown along the shoulders, they didn’t just toss unwanted vessels of conveyance in a pile. Instead a Pennsylvania based company has developed a way of taking undesirable commodities and repurposing them into a superior building material that can not only strengthen the foundation, but also preserve the infrastructure that lays beneath it.
If you want an indepth look at the science, the Philadelphia Inquirer offers a great story, however for just the basic facts, the manufacturing process begins by grinding glass into a powder then adding a proprietary, mineral-based foaming agent and superheating it at 1,650 degrees Fahrenheit. This results in what a professor described as looking like a “long, gray sheet of cake” which then cracks into gravel-like pieces.
Which even struck President Joe Biden, when visiting the site, as “incredibly innovative.”
Sure I knew lighting and sand could come together to create glass and at least in the movies it changed Reese Witherspoon’s summer plans, However I never thought some day we would be safely driving on broken bottles.
What also caught me off guard is that it’s not only a Philly thing.
It also has been used in highway projects along the East Coast, and is approved for use by 23 states
The company responsible, Aero Aggregates, is expanding rapidly, opening a second facility last year in Florida and a third later this year in California.
When all three plants are operational company officials expect to find new uses for and will assist in keeping more than a 500-million glass bottles out of landfills in a single year.
Not only interesting but another testament of how, when we choose to look for new ways we can be successful in” Becoming” something better for the good of all.
Now looking back at the week that was on Monday we began with a discussion of “Intently Waiting”.
Changes can be quick, sudden, even unexpected but more often than not they are gradual and develop over time. This process also involves effort, dedication and commitment.
Are you accepting change in your life? Has it happened yet? Maybe now?Still not fast enough for you? How about NOW?
Living expectantly it can all occur that swiftly; hastened by dedication and commitment, expedited by grace and with acceptance.
Living expectantly is trusting in faith, obedience and patience that we can be all we ever want to be “Becoming”.
Then we embarked upon a fork that took us into a conversation concerning “Recalibrating From Within”. This of course also ties in with our year long focus on “From Within”.
Just like when forecasting the weather or determining how to prepare for an impending storm the barometric pressures have a distinct impact on our bodies and our minds.
Barometric pressure, also referred to as atmospheric pressure, has some very distinct effects on us.
When “high” it pushes against our bodies affecting how our tissue, the very fiber of our physical body can expand or not.
When falling, or lowering on the spectrum it puts more pressure on our nerves and joints and has also been connected with the onset of migraines. Your Great Aunt was not off balance. She could tell rain was coming by her left hip and I can first hand testify to quick drops in the pressure triggering disabling migraines.
So considering these facts, we can start to see how “atmospheric pressures” can affect us all.
While the barometer on my wall, or noted in the ten-day forecast does not directly connect with our discussion today, it does allow us to draw some parallels.
Remember in the alternate definition of barometer it read, “something which reflects changes in circumstances or opinions.”
If our atmospheric pressure is rising quickly or suddenly falling we definitely are going to notice a change not only physically, but more probably first in our emotions, then impacting our spirit.
The good news is these atmospheric conditions are something we can individually address and take action to optimize. For dealing with this kind of climate change we do have the tools readily available and our ability to successfully make use of them is in our favor.
Midweek we talked a bit about “Summertime Without The Blues”.
As the Solstice occurred here in the Northern Hemisphere we were actively involved in the process of it becoming Summer.
How you choose to celebrate, or not, on this day is of course entirely your decision. However for our common purposes here along our shared path, this seasonal change allows another opportunity to refresh and renew ourselves.
Seasons in life are important and that wisdom has been shared for quite a long time.
In the Scriptures, the passage often referred to as “A Time For Everything”, outlines the many changing seasons we all experience in life. It outlines the constant cycle of “Becoming”. In fact 28 specific times or seasons are mentioned in this one passage.
Now on “Becoming Today”, as part of our examination of ourselves and our shared paths we’ll take note that not included in those examples is a very important aspect; none of the 28 mention a time to quit.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, is perhaps so revered and often quoted because of its poetic approach towards life. It balances 14 distinct elements we all experience at one time or another, and some more than once. It reinforces our constant state of Always Being “Becoming”.
It teaches and reminds us that life is a mix of joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, harmony and struggle, and life and death. Each season has its appropriate time.
Some are difficult, and still we know that we must never give up and continue on in Faith, trusting in God, believing his plans for us are always based upon good purposes and joyful outcomes.
As the passage begins “There is a time for everything,…..”
Thursday.
Did I spell that correctly? I always have to double check that because for myself, I’ve adopted an alternate spelling as well as intention for the day.
Did you know, the English word Thursday comes from the Norse god of thunder?
Seemingly like a panel from the Marvel Universe, it literally means “Thor’s Day”.
However for me I even choose to pronounce the word slightly differently from the norm.
First I make the initial letter silent. Therefore when I write it, I don’t capitalize it. Now the end three letters remain the same, because afterall it is still a day.
Then the other four is where I differ greatly. The “s’” becomes an apostrophe “s”, the “u” turns into an “e” and for emphasis three of the four become capital letters.
So it looks like this: tHER’sday.
Yes it’s a day I recognize as being all about HER. Which includes me and empowers my sisters to be active in their process of always being “Becoming” all we were intended to be.
Anyway on the fourth day of this past week we examined the idea of actively being, “Purposefully Tenacious”.
We can arrive at a common understanding that “Tenacity on Purpose” is:
To act in a consistent, dedicated manner. Not being swayed, persevering in spite of any obstacles or perceived challenges. Remaining steadfast and forbearant until we successfully fulfill our goal or objective.
It definitely has promise towards our shared path. It demonstrates exceptional qualities in alignment with the “Essence of Becoming”.
Still something was missing.
It wasn’t quite registering with me until I dropped the Bible on my foot.
Really I did.
I was barefoot.
It hurt.
I thought some words, that don’t appear in the book in question and just may have actually said some aloud that I shouldn’t have. So as I asked forgiveness I glanced at the page it had opened to:
The Gospel of Luke. Chapter 11.
Interesting Luke 11:9 is often quoted though seemingly always abbreviated. As it reads in the King James Version:
“And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you”.
Yes ask and ye shall receive. Most everyone has heard that though even shortened to the point that many don’t recall the Scripture making it a three part process.
Ask. Seek and Knock.
Ask your question.
Seek, actively look for a response.
And knock. Make the decision to take action. Yes God can, and does open doors for us, but first you have to knock and then “it shall be opened unto you”.
Good reminder. However it still wasn’t quite what I was seeking.
Then I continued onto verse 10.
Hmm something was calling to me, but perhaps I was still distracted by my throbbing toe.
So as I got up to ‘walk it off’, I passed a book shelf and not fearing another episode of clumsiness I dared to pick up another Bible. The Passion Translation.
There I stood and paged through to Luke 11, verses 9- 10.
Wow! It suddenly became clear.
Here is one word I was missing for my comprehension of being tenacious on purpose. One word repeated multiple times in this verse, so you know it has to be important.
Let’s read together:
“So it is with your prayers. Ask and you’ll receive. Seek and you’ll discover. Knock on heaven’s door, and it will one day open for you. Every persistent person will receive what he asks for. Every persistent seeker will discover what he needs. And everyone who knocks persistently will one day find an open door.”
Did you notice the word that had reached out from the page and grabbed me?
I hope so I used a different color, made the font bold and italicized it, to grab the attention of the page skimmers among us, lol.
Yes, that was it.
Persistence is what I was looking for, and apparently so is God.
Now I can feel assured in offering for you, this explanation of what it means to act with “Tenacity on Purpose”:
To be purposefully tenacious is acting intentionally. With reason and uncommon determination in a consistent, dedicated manner.
Not being swayed, continuing forward in spite of any obstacles or perceived challenges.
Remaining steadfast, persistent, assured, affirmed and forbearant until we successfully fulfill our goal or objective.
That goal for me is to share what I have learned. Testify to how life can be overcome and help as many of you as I can.
Then yesterday our thoughts turned “Comfortably Numb”.
It really is true, sometimes you really do not need to know.
On our shared path of “Becoming Today”, we all must deal with our own consequences, the result of our actions, decisions, attitudes and beliefs. So why not make it so we are celebrating the outcomes rather than trying to repair, overcome or run away from?
As we lovingly detach from things that no longer serve us, among those is the need to know everything. There really is no need to understand all that we encounter and endure.
Continuing forward we involve ourselves in the practice of letting go, releasing, detaching, whichever term you feel more comfortable with all require that they be done so lovingly.
When we do so we are rewarded not only in our relationships but also in our individual personal growth, being better able to embrace inner peace, which is beneficials across all areas of our lives.
It boosts our personal power, teaches us to be more resilient and allows for us to better encourage others while maintaining healthy boundaries that aid our personal freedom and acceptance of responsibility for ourselves.
I realize it’s an uncommon conversation, but one I feel many of us need to consider.
It was a tough lesson for me, and at times is still challenging. As throughout my life and professional endeavors I have always been involved in uncovering information.Bringing issues to light of day and seeking truth, justice and liberty for all. More than a cliche it was a credo, my motto, part of an oath affirmed for my life to be of service for the greater good.
While I have no regrets about that, I have come to the realization that when it comes to the future and details about my own life I really do not need to know. Furthermore my struggle to uncover these elements has led to delays, obstacles and heartbreak.
As uncomfortable as it remains at times I have had to learn to accept not knowing. I have come to see that God has the solutions and my demanding answers often only interferes with His plans for me.
It’s part of His desire for us to be patient and live our lives steadfastly in faith. To trust in Him and worry not. As Jesus instructed,in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
God has the solution you need, even before you knew there was a need or perceived a problem. When you accept this as the Truth and allow yourself to receive His promise, God will show up with the answers,
When? Soon. Suddenly…… now!
Really? Almost halfway already?
Yes we have just shared our 25th week of the year together. I hope it was as delightful and enlightening for you as it was for me.
Have a blessed and safe weekend and then come Monday join us again for our next edition of “Becoming Today”.
Becoming Today with Rochelle Jeanette 