I was talking with a friend about tension today. Tension is kinda a mixed bag.

Tension can be negative. It’s annoying. It builds up over time (sorta like I mentioned here) and distracts. Negative tension is uncomfortable because it can crush you.

Tension can also be positive. It comes when we find ourselves in the midst of a situation where we are no longer so worried about what others think. When we look less at outcomes as positive or negative, and more at who we are becoming in the process of living in the tension. When we live in the tension instead of fighting it, we become stretched and not squashed. We grow through the tension, we don’t shrink under it.

I am learning to live in the tension because that is the only way we can really live. I choose to grow, not be crushed. I want to live my life, not survive it. I mean, really, isn’t that what Jesus dreams for us?

I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.
John 10:10 (MSG)