Exposing Our Natural Tendencies, Warts and All

I think I mentioned that we are moving.  This is our fourth move as a married couple.  Now my father was in the Air Force so we moved as a family many more times than that growing.  No matter how many times you move it can be traumatic.  I have found that it is not so much the house as it is the feelings as I am packing that make me feel sad.  As I fill each box memories come flooding in.  I also have noticed that as I remove things off shelves and walls some other things are exposed.  Not memories so much.  It is more like warts.  Yes I said warts.

Every picture that was hung on the walls and every shelf that is taken down left a mark.  In some places there are actually a lot of marks and blemishes that I never noticed before.  Removing the picture, or vase exposed a wart.  The blemished may have always been there but it was unexposed.  Now that the pretty piece of furniture is gone and the picture frame taken down the blemishes are exposed.  I did not realize how over time things have happened that left a mark of some sort.

It has made me think about myself today.  How over time I may have put a picture or facade on to cover a wart or two.  We all have some kind of warts.  Maybe you don’t but I know I do.  If moving around and having to make new friends each time has taught me anything, it has taught me that I need some work.  I have warts and blemishes that are not of the physical kind but of the heart.  I do not know if you have taken the Enneagram test, but  I have.  There are lots of them out there and if you click on the link I have it will take you to a pretty good one.  There are lots of them out there and I do not believe you are bound by them at all.  I believe they are fun and can give you some incite into why you do the things you do and where your blemishes are.  Remember they are often hidden behind a pretty picture that we put on top of them.

I have taken these personality test a few times.  The funny thing about them is that I almost always end up with the same type of personality.  They really hurt my feelings.  Ha,  nobody wants their warts to show right?  It hurts and sometimes feels offensive.  I read all the other personalities and want to be another one.  I will tell you this though, although the Enneagram helps the expose your personality traits, good and bad, it also mentions the things you do well.  So it is not just about my blemishes and warts but also my strengths.  I am reading 2 books about the Enneagram that are very good.  One is called The Sacred Enneagram.  It gives healthy information about our insides.   The other book I am reading is more of a study about the Enneagram and life, It is called The Road Back To You.  It has a study guide with it and really hones in on how you make choices and why you have developed those warts.

I will be honest with you.  Both books are very frank and truthful.  I have also found them to be spot on about the way I make choices and the exposure of blemishes.  We all need to know how our inner being affects our outer self, don’t we.

Now that all the pictures are down in my house and I see all the blemishes my final conclusion is,  I still love my old house warts and all.  It was a dream when we bought it an moved in it.  We loved it for 16+ years and we took good care of it.  Moving the furniture exposed a few things on the floors and walls but nothing that can not be fixed.  That is the same way with life, looking at myself and making a proper evaluation can be painful.  It might even be a little embarrassing.  Have a few children and let them grow up to be adults, they will tell you the truth!  No really it is not a loss the know yourself.  Take the time to give yourself a true once over.  A very wise man named David asked The Lord to reveal anything in him that wasn’t right.  Revelation is good for the soul.  We can not fix what we do not know needs fixing, right?

Honestly, it can be painful.  Changing can be painful, but anything worth doing usually is.    Janet