Homelessness, incest, alcoholism, prescription drug addiction, foot fungus…these are just a few things people would rather ignore than confront. But the smallest your problem will ever be is right now. Think about it. If you’re over weight, out of shape or generally unhealthy, then your situation is only bound to worsen unless you take steps to correct it. If you’re in debt, haven’t planned for retirement, or have no savings, every day that you put off the change in your behavior only gets you more deeply in debt, closer to retirement without money, and less savings.
When we ignore elephants in the room they go from being little baby elephants to huge full-grown elephants. Recently, my wonderful pastor, Dr. Robb Thompson, published a book entitled, Elephant In The Room. This book is very important because it speaks of ethics being the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about. People may wish that others used ethics when dealing with them, but they are unwilling to deal with or talk about ethics when it comes to their own behavior.
So, for the giveaway. Tell me what elephants you have observed in the vast experience of your life. My all-time 1,020th comment will receive a copy of Elephant In The Room! As a special gift, you’ll receive a bonus chapter of the book. Yay! Or if you’re interested in purchasing this book, you can here. I will be announcing the winner by 9AM Central Standard Time Thursday, June 30th.
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Funny. The little elephant was I. I was gaining a few pounds a year. I multiplied that number by five years and then by ten years, and decided I didn’t want to go there. I’m losing slowly, as I gained. Blessings to you…
Good for you Carol! I've been working towards better health too!
The biggest, most recent one for myself was multifaceted. I was unhappy with my job, my weight, and my lack of spirituality. A little over a week ago, I got sick and tired of feeling this way. Now I’m taking 20+ minute walks every day, doing meditation, paying closer attention to my diet, and am in general trying to be a more positive person. (I have tried medication such as Paxil and Prozac in the past, and they worked okay…but one eventually has to come off of them, y’know?)
The biggest one in my life was watching what alcoholism did to my mom. It finally took her about five years ago. It took a perfectly lovely and awesome woman, and literally drained her life away. I miss her terribly, but I don’t want my life to be defined by her disease. 🙂
Thank you so much for your comments. Alcoholism is a common elephant in the room. Many times families want to ignore it rather than confront it. I am sorry for your loss, but I'm excited for you that you are determined to confront the issues you face. May you have great success!
I can tell you a hundred elephants *I* think are in my room…including self-condemnation, but I wonder what the elephants REALLY are… What do others see that I don’t because I AM the elephant. 🙂 Because there’s nothing really obvious to me besides single motherhood or my faith (that I’m in a good crisis point at the moment). Well, I suppose I could throw in my health…because I’m a Celiac and struggle very much with getting some reasonable control over my eating. Hm. Good things to ponder this morning… [What number am I?!] 🙂
Nikki – You are always so thought provoking….unfortunately you are close to the coveted 1020…but no cigar…maybe you can think of something else to say later?��;)
I think the biggest elephant for many Christians is we claim to follow God, but have little to no relationship with Him on a daily basis. It’s sad, but true.
Preach! my brother. Somewhere along the way the term Christian has become meaningless. Maybe we should change our name?
Can I veer off to the silly for a second?
“The elephant on the cover is so CUTE! Can I refuse the book and get a picture of the elephant instead? He’d be so COOL as a stuffed animal!”
(Ahem.) Sorry about that. Now, seriously. I, too, had a multifaceted “elephant”. I was sick, gaining weight, sitting on my ever-expanding duff doing nothing, and taking massive quantities of prescription drugs. That was as average day for me in 2002, following the loss of my job and house – so pitch depression into that room, as well. (Getting crowded, ain’t it?) I did that routine for 2 years, even through a move to a different place. I can’t point to any one thing, but a collusion of events got me off my rear and I started doing little things around the new place (a ratty old mobile home). We also found a doc that got me off of about half the stuff I was taking, and the more I did while taking fewer medications, the better I started to feel. Now, some seven years later, I’m over 35 pounds lighter, in better shape, have cut my pain medications by at least 60%, and feel a lot better about the future. Add in my volunteer landscaping work at our church, and while the old pachyderm hasn’t left yet, he now takes up a LOT less space! 😀 Then again, there’s still enough things to work on, so he won’t be packing his trunk for a while. 😉
Bravo to you John! I'll let the cover designer know that you're a fan of her work! She'll enjoy that!
I like Matt’s answer. So true! I go to church every Sunday and say my prayers at night. I also ask myself “What would Jesus do?” whenever I’m in a moral dilemma. I can’t say I actually have a relationship with Him throughout my daily activities. I’ll have to do a better job!
I was also thinking of another elephant. Too much time on the computer!!
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Nancy:
These are good points indeed. I agree with you about the computer too! Thanks for stopping by!
I think an Elephant in the room for me is the one that quietly hides in the corner…whispering self doubt. That kind of nagging voice that says ” not enough”. Im thankful for Gods word in my life that we dont have to listen to our “feelings” but we can have hope in His word that can transform us.
Amen, sister!! Thank God for His Word.
I have a bad habit of putting off unpleasant things, so I have lots of elephants in my rooms over the years, but eventually they make themselves such a nuisance that I am forced to deal with them. I usually deal with the tax elephant sometime in the second week of April. Right now I have to deal with the college tuition elephant which will involve dealing with financial issues. I hate that elephant, but I want my son to get a college education, so I’ll tackle him.
Carol, you’re funny I like the tax elephant!! He can get really big if ignored!! 😉