Hinges - Will the Change be Worth it?

Written by Stacy Rodriguez

When I first came home from my Known and Loved weekend my husband immediately said that my countenance had changed and my children squirmed in discomfort at how my transformation remodeled how I interacted with them.

As I continued the work most of my relationships were plunged into new phases and territory. Some of this growth brought much needed freedoms and some painful heartaches. As I’ve wrestled through so many mental reframes in this work I came to a low point, where I had learned and changed enough that everything had been taken out of the box and now could never be put back in, but some people I love didn't like my growth. They didn’t like that I no longer explained everything, that I started saying “no”, and refused to give when it no longer felt safe.

And in that low point of changed relationships, I wondered how knowing and applying these truths helped because it felt so painful and messy.

A few years ago my brother bought a 200 year old home and took on the laborious task of restoring it. He removed all of the hinges on the doors and spent weeks stripping them of layers and layers of paint and dirt. He nearly despaired at the task ever bearing fruit or being worthwhile, but in the end, his work produced gorgeous brass hinges of exquisite detail and unlike anything he could purchase today.

His efforts produced rare and precious things of beauty for his enjoyment and enrichment. And that is how I have learned to view my personal changes from this work. There seems to be a limitless amount of layers to be removed and scrubbed off, but the result is a rare and precious thing, worthy of being known and loved.”