Hey girl hey! Monday already?! I spent the weekend at a faith retreat, and I *truly* feel like a new woman heading into this week. God worked some wonders in my life, and I’m just sitting here like GOD IS SO STINKIN’ GOOD HALLELUJAH. Amiright?!
I’ve been thinking a *lot* lately about how I can share more of my faith with you. It’s such a huge part of my life, so quite frankly, it feels downright silly to not be talking about it more! So we might start dabbling in some Jesus talk here + there in the future around these rosy parts. 😉 That being said, I also am 100% aware that we don’t all share the same perspective and/or faith or religious background, which is A-OK with me – diversity is a beautiful thing, and I don’t expect us all to be the same! I just expect CUR to be a positive, uplifting place for us all to hopefully be encouraged + blossom into our best selves. So as long that’s the kinda space we create together – whether it’s through actual words of inspiration, through ease in the perfect pair of ponte pants (seriously though, have you picked ’em up yet?!), or through confidence in a new skincare routine – I’m a happy blogging camper. 🙂
Today’s Monday Mantra comes from words that rang true all retreat weekend long:
Enlarge your territory.
This all stemmed from the idea of cleaning our nets. And what the heck does that mean, E?
Let’s get biblical for a hot sec, shall we?
In le Bible, there’s a story about the disciples fishing {Luke 5, FYI}. They’re goin’ at it all night, to no avail. Jesus happens upon them when they’re back at shore, cleaning their nets. He told them to put their nets into the deep water for a catch. And Simon Peter says “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.” He trusts, he throws his net on the other side of the boat as Jesus says…and he ends up with so much fish, his nets break and he needs help to bring it all back to shore! {Luke 5:1-11 for more o’ that goodness}.
Pause.
From even just a historical standpoint, put yourself in these guys’ shoes for a hot sec.
For many back in this day, fishing wasn’t just a hobby to do with dad on the weekend – it was a livelihood. Not catching any fish wasn’t just a bummer – it could’ve been a big bummer, because it was kinda sorta like totally failing at your job. Like you’re a salesperson who didn’t make a single sale, or a baker with zero cake orders. So imagine how you feel if/when you just blatantly fail at your job.
…It sucks, doesn’t it?
And if/when you do, you’re probably not still jumping up and down ready to go try again – you probably end up feeling kinda sucky and ready to call it a day, toss in the towel (or net), and/or quit altogether.
That’s how these dudes were feeling – and then here comes Jesus saying just put the net on the other side!
Simple enough, right?
I feel like if that were me, I would’ve been frustrated.
Like, really? You don’t think I haven’t tried that already, Lord? I’ve been working my tail off all night doing my job – you don’t think I haven’t tried different angles, or different waters, or different nets by now? I’ve tried, I’ve fallen short – I’m donezo.
BUT WAIT. We need to enlarge our territory.
When we try without trusting, we’re not truly trying – we’re testing.
We’re entering a situation with doubt or fear, and that inevitably impacts the final result – whether we realize it at the time or not. Sometimes we get so caught up in our routine or in our day-to-day life that we blatantly FORGET to keep options truly open. We go through the motions, we do what we think we’re supposed to do (or heck, even what we know we’re supposed to do to at least just get the job done), and we expect results to be per usual. And then when they’re not, we stop. We quit. We call it a day. We start to shrink instead of leaning in + expanding more.
We close off our territory, so to speak. We get routinized. We get comfortable.
But that’s not what God wants for us, and it’s not what will bring about our best selves or our most abundant lives.
Even if you’re not a believer – ain’t nobody got time for being closeminded or thinking small! You were made for more. You were made for more than you THINK you were made for, and you won’t discover that until you take the next step + enlarge your territory. Being the biggest fish in a small pond doesn’t make you the biggest fish pointblankperiod – it’s just indicative of your perspective at that given moment in that given space. So no matter where you are in life, chances are, you have room to expand. You’ve got room to grow, space to maximize, territory to expand. Whether that’s in the number of fish you catch, cars you sell, or the number of people you pass in everyday life whose lives you could make a little brighter, a little kinder, with a smile.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again ’til I’m blue in the face (or fingers? ha!) – nothing good ever grows in comfort zones. It’s like this awesome combo of getting a little uncomfortable + trusting God and then BOOM. It happens. We enlarge our territory. We grow. We gain. We have more to give. Just like in Luke 5.
It’s time to think bigger.
It’s time to stop playing small.
And refuse to get too comfortable that you fail to see the opportunity ahead. We have no real clue what’s truly in store for us – none of us do. Heck, you can think you’re at the end of your rope – and all logical signs might point to that, too – and then one thing comes along to shake things up + change the game. The second you start to feel comfortable is the second you need to step it up, enlarge your territory, + GROW.
Step out on that limb. Go the extra distance. If you feel a gentle nudge from somewhere in the universe to try something new – be like Simon Peter and Nike and JUST DO IT. Because you might just find your nets too full to function, in all the best ways.
How can you enlarge your territory this week?
This Monday Mantra is a bit different than usual – I hope it helps + inspires you, regardless of your faith background, etc. There’s a whole lotta flowers in the garden, we can all bloom together no problemo. 🙂
P.S. For more Monday Mantras, click here!
Thanks for reading, friends – cheers to a kickass week of growth.