Comfort
Zone or Character Shaping
By Karen D’Amore
The Lord had
said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives,
and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.”
Genesis 12:1 (NLT)
A recent date on the calendar drew me
into reflective introspection - - even the weather mimicked that pivotal relocation
day twelve years earlier. I recalled my husband’s and my trekking through
McCarran Airport hauling four suitcases, two dogs and one-way tickets to
Milwaukee…and I remember questioning, “What in the world am I doing?” As a
Southern California native and nearly-lifelong resident, the fundamentals of Midwest
living (including ice, snow and the diverse elements accompanying those
phenomenon) were distinctly foreign to me. Needless to say, since my arrival in
Wisconsin transpired in the dead of winter, my “comfort zone” was catapulted
into instant culture shock!
Like Abram, I was responding obediently
to God’s call to leave behind everything familiar: family, relatives, friends,
jobs, church, property and possessions….and move to the land He’d revealed. This
Divine-detour wasn’t a route I would have personally chosen! The elements in store
were unfamiliar, unknown and “uncomfortable”! However, I recognize that God is
more interested in our character than our comfort, and hindsight now reveals the
framework and boundaries of my comfort zone being stretched beyond recognition.
These past twelve years have required me to continuously exercise blind-faith
while navigating within God’s character-shaping obstacle course.
With this journey perpetually
stretching and challenging my comfort zone, I’ve learned the value and
necessity of living Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and
lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He
shall direct your path.” I learned to trust God for a home, friendships, jobs,
church, my purpose in this new land…and contentment with the uncomfortable. Paraphrasing
Isaiah 58:11, I’m a testament to the truth that “…where God guides, He
provides.”
God’s relocation plan has taught me
countless, invaluable faith-lessons! I’ve learned that faith isn’t grown within
the security of our comfort zone, where it’s easy and natural to trust in our
own abilities…minimizing our need for God. Stepping out into the unfamiliar,
unknown and uncomfortable propels a constant need for dependency on God…and a
trust that rests in His direction along the path.
After meeting me in the Midwest, God
awakened hidden heart-chambers where I’ve experienced Him in a deeply intimate,
personal relationship. Like soothing balm for the soul, the Master Comforter
embraced me in the depths of the “uncomfortable.” Retrospect affirms that leaving
the security of my comfort zone yielded the richest character-shaping, faith-changing
experience imaginable! And as “uncomfortable” as this process has been, I
wouldn’t trade it for anything…not even a chance to return to my “comfort
zone!”
GOING
DEEPER:
1. What hinders you from leaving
comfort zones?
FURTHER
READING:
Married to Dan, Karen, a retired
police officer, currently works as a Manicurist at Craig Berns Salon and as an
instructor in the Cosmetology Department at WCTC. Karen also serves on the
Welcoming Team at Oakwood.
