The rough place

?My morning routine is the same; doesn’t matter if it’s a weekday or weekend. I wake up, wash my face, brush my teeth, and shave. If I’m running, I change into my running outfit, if it’s warm outside I’ll find a pair of comfortable shorts. If the weather is cool, it’s sweats and a hoodie. From there, I’ll put on my shoes, make my bed, read my Bible, and pray. I do all of this before setting foot outside my bedroom … every single day.

When I come out, I head to the front of the house to open those blinds. From there I move to the blinds on the side before finally making it to the ones in the back … and that’s when things get interesting. I can hear them scurrying about, jockeying for position, anticipating the moment when I make my grand appearance. They’re patient, punctual, and always seem to get my day off to a rousing start.

Who are they?

The ducks, of course.

Each morning, including today, when I pull the blinds in the back, an army of ducks greets me – sometimes as many as 17. You see, I made the “mistake” of throwing out a few scraps of bread a few years back and ever since then, those ducks have become my unofficial, official pets. Once I see them and they see me, I head to the pantry and grab a couple rows of crackers. From there, the day gets even more interesting.

All of the houses on my street are surrounded by a wrought iron fence. Outside of the fence is a bright, perfectly smooth sidewalk, sandwiched in between two rough … but green, thin grassy patches punctuated by a huge rock garden. Each morning, rain, or shine, hot or cold, I sling the crackers over the fence and watch them hurry around, bumping into one another to catch their morning meal.

Ducks have feet and wings, but their bills are the tools they live by. Understanding this I do everything I can to make sure those crackers land in the grass or rocks … one of those rough places where they’re propped up and easy to access. You see, landing on a smooth surface, the ducks can’t just reach down and pick them up; their bills won’t allow it. That’s why I try so hard to land them in the rough areas … but the wind hardly ever cooperates. Sometimes a cracker leaves my hand and looks as though it’ll land perfectly where I hoped, land perfectly in one of those rough places, where it’s propped up and easy to access … but instead, it lands on the sidewalk … a smooth place.

When one lands on the sidewalk, they look at it, walk around it. They peck and peck but when they notice the cracker staying whole … they bow their heads and begin pushing it toward a rough place. They’ll pause for an instant, look around, and then begin again. They keep pushing and keep pushing because those ducks, those green, blue, and brown ducks understand that sometimes in order to receive their blessing …

They have to be willing to go to a rough place.

***

Sometimes in life you can be walking on a perfectly smooth sidewalk. One where everything seems to be in place … but it only seems that way because you’re not, brave, you’re not willing to push that cracker … to the rough places. I’ve seen entrepreneurs, immensely talented incredible people working nine to five jobs for someone else because they weren’t willing to push that cracker … to the rough places.

You want a better relationship with him, her, or them … but you’re not willing to push that cracker. That baby girl, that baby boy, could be so much more … but they never saw you push that cracker … to a rough place.

Here’s the thing about rough places. When you get there, there’s always someone or something to prop you up. You may not see it at first, you may not recognize it or embrace it when you first arrive but it’s there all the same. Faith, hope, a friend, a brother, a sister, a kind word or two at just the right place, it’s there … but you’ll never find it on that smooth sidewalk.

Blessings masked as crackers are being thrown your way, don’t miss them. The next time you find yourself walking down a smooth sidewalk, sandwiched in between two rough places, listen. Listen closely and you’ll hear the soft voice of “more”, the calming, assuring voice of “you can be better” beckoning for you. Don’t sidestep the cracker when you hear them … bow your head … and start pushing… Because sometimes, in order to receive your blessing …

You have to be willing to go to a rough place …