“Our lives are defined and valued by our Leaning Moments”.
-James Sarvis
Positive Predictability is a phrase I coined. Say it a couple of times. It’s a phrase that just feels good on your lips. Positive Predictability. There are a couple of stories I like to tell that explain how important Positive Predictability is.
In this first story I want you to imagine you live in a community where your source of water is a well that you have to walk a couple of miles to every few days. You have been doing this for years and a neighbor always joins you. The two of you have enjoyed that trip together many times, walking and talking about life, with buckets in hand. Despite the long walk, you really appreciate the fresh, clean water that you can count on the well providing. One day, you get to the well with that usual expectation, but as you approach you realize there is no water in the well. Your heart sinks and a knot forms in your stomach. And now, you and your neighbor have to walk all the way back home with empty buckets and lowered spirits. The next day you and your neighbor go back because this water source is your life sustenance, but, this time the walk is somber. You try to talk about other things, but in the back of your mind you can’t help but wonder what to expect at the well today. As you walk up to the well, your heart starts beating fast. You take a deep breath and slowly peer over the wall of the well, and then you sigh in relief. There is water in the well today, and although you are so grateful, do you think that you would ever walk back to that well again with that peaceful, easy feeling you had before?
Another example is a story from when I was a little boy. I had an uncle who lived a couple of states away who was coming over for a visit. I was so excited because I had memories of good times in the past. So, when I saw his car pull up I ran to the house as fast as I could. I had been playing in a small pond behind our house, which was really just a mud hole from recent rain. As a result, I had mud on my feet and legs. My uncle and I reached my mom around the same time, who was standing outside on the porch. My mom was the first to say, “son, what have you been doing?”. And my uncle, instead of giving me any leaning moments, such as a wave, a hug, or even a smile, looked down at me and said to my mother in stern voice, “you outta put a stick on that boy”. If you don’t know what that means, he thought I should get a spanking. Imagine being a little boy, expecting a leaning moment, and getting those harsh words. I walked away from him that day, shocked and disappointed, and chose never to walk back to that well again. If that uncle chose, next time, to be that well of water for me, I wouldn’t of taken a chance.
Positive Predictability is so important, and once lost can become the opposite, which would be Negative Predictability.
In contrast to those stories, I have a sister who I have Positive Predictability for Leaning Moments. Whenever I visit, I can always expect that she will be standing outside waving as I leave. It charges my spirit, and It’s something I can count on. In fact, that wave is so predictable, that when Elisha and I visited her for the first time together, I told her with confidence to look for her to be waving as we went down the long driveway to leave. And, there she was. It makes me smile just thinking about it.
The well story always reminds me of Jesus, who is the ultimate Leaner. He is an example of a well of water that never runs dry. In the stories of Jesus, the people who went to him knew that they could expect Leaning Moments, or unconditional love. And subsequently, when people practice what Jesus taught, they live life more abundantly. I will write more on this topic later.
The people that it’s easy to say we love, are the ones that we have established the Positive Predictability for Leaning Moments. It’s that simple
These articles are co-written by James and Elisha, based on the books and work created and founded by James.
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