by Angela Kalaras
It is so easy to over analyze everything and sometimes get too carried away in the psychology and emotion of things, even in sharing simple childhood memories. It can take away from the simplicity and joy of the stories and create issues that are not even there. But I just want to point out a few things that stick out to me: routine, escapes, love, and acceptance.
I think it is safe to say that these are foundational “needs” of any person. We look for it in our family and friends from the moment we are born. The term “It takes a village to raise a child” is true on so many levels. These basic needs and much more are met by those who are in our lives and how they meet or don’t meet them will have a lasting effect on a person. As a child grows and matures, hopefully they are learning that they can count on their parents and loved ones to be there for them as best as they can and one day realize that only in Christ will these and all other needs be met fully and completely. Those needs are there to point to the Creator who put them there so we can know Him and know who we are in Him. It is when we look elsewhere to fill these vital God-given needs that difficulties arise.
I list escapes as one of the basic needs and there may be some who do not think this a healthy thing, due to the negative connotation that comes with the word “escape.” Everyone needs to escape, to have a break from the stress and even highs of life; a time and/or place to just be calm and relax to rest and reflect and be still. But when the escape becomes an excuse to run from or ignore problems/people or if the escape is a habit that is harmful to the person or others, that is where an escape turns into an unhealthy way of dealing with life.
So, all this to say that even in sharing simple life stories, we can see what our base needs are and how we try to meet them on our own back then and even now in adulthood, instead of letting God meet them. These needs in their purest form are good and can be met … we just have to take the focus of “ME” and let God take care of us.
Anglea Kalaras is the Program Director of Transformation Life Center.