The {Guest} Post About Brown Spots

Today's guest rabbit chaser is Amy from Ordinarily Extraordinary. I met Amy through a local super conductor, Alabama Bloggers. We became fast online friends as we realized we shared a love for singer/songwriters and stacks of books by the bed. Amy writes posts I both crave and despise. I hear my own voice as she processes her faith and sigh with relief that I'm not quite the outlier I feared. But I also hear another voice reminding me I should continue to work on things like love and patience and kindness and other attributes that don't always litter the hours of my day. Enjoy my struggle.

I like bananas. They aren't my favorite fruit, but I like them. I keep bananas and if they start getting a bit yuck, I'm happy to make banana bread with them.

I like them even better when they are in banana pudding because you know us southerners had to help God out by making his sweet foods even sweeter. Maybe even better than banana pudding is a banana pudding milkshake from Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A doesn't count as calories since they are closed on Sundays. Being God's favorite fast food and all. When, pray tell, will they bring it back? My hips are probably thankful it's not a year-round addition to their menu.

But never had I been compared to a banana. Not until my chiropractor did so when we were discussing my headaches.  

"If you were a banana this would be your brown spot" he told me. My tension settles in the back of my head just at the top of my neck causing the headaches.

His comment got me to thinking.

What areas of anxiety cause 'brown spots' in my life? In my faith?

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7 NIV)

It is easy to quote a verse. Knowing it in your head is easy.

Knowing it in your heart? Not so easy. At least not for me.

Oh sure. I wear the mask that projects hunky dory.

If we're honest, though, we all have brown spots in our lives. Some spots may be just fine. But others? They’re pretty brown.

I hold on to the fear I'll never be a good enough writer. I let that worry and fear paralyze me too often; giving into the resistance instead of pushing through.

I worry our son doesn't want to try in school because his learning style doesn't fit well in a traditional classroom and he is bored. I worry what others think of me as a parent because he doesn't measure up to what they expect.

My insecurities appear most often as my brown spots.

For you, it may be your job or finances or family or relationships.

And guess what? I don't have an answer. I can't wrap up with a pretty little bow how to "cast all our cares."

Maybe, it takes discipline. Disciplining your mind to pause in the midst of the busyness and pray. Disciplining ourselves to remember scriptures.

Oh yes...discipline. Another brown spot of mine, but let's save that for another time, shall we?

What areas of life are your banana's brown spots?

Hello! I'm Amy, a wife and mom who spends her days doing laundry, taking photos, writing, substitute teaching on occasion, and a myriad of things that moms do. Born and raised in the Appalachian foothills of northeast Alabama, I now live in east central Alabama with my husband and our son. I blog at Ordinarily Extraordinary. Life, no matter how ordinary it may seem, is extraordinary. Sometimes we have to look, but every day is filled with the extraordinary masquerading as ordinary. It’s up to us to slow down and see the extraordinary gifts of grace God gives us. Each person has their own extraordinary story to tell. I write to process all God teaches me and hopefully encourage others along the way. You can find me on twitter as @amykiane.