Running Uphill

To run far and fast, you start out fully fueled, trained and toned.   I was running my life race at a strong and steady pace, working toward peak performance, running to win. At a blind curve the road became a rocky incline. I adjusted my stride, weaving around potholes, more alert to obstacles and dangers.

Spiritually I have spent my summer running my race in my most difficult terrain ever. As the hill incline increased I called on a reservoir of strength I hadn't realized was even available.  Years of training in spiritual disciplines proved worth the struggle.

Then heart muscles began to strain. Attitude began to waver. Focus began to drift.  Determination for running to win changed to desire to finish the race.  Disappointment followed disappointment. Crisis followed crisis. Running uphill in the desert wasteland of enemy territory was lonely.  My usual kindred spirits, encouragers and prayer warriors had scattered, concentrating on their own races. I was being crowded off the trail by enemy critics taunting my grief with envy, shame and discouragement.

"Resistance", said my running buddy, Lindsey, "may reduce speed for awhile, but eventually it makes me faster.  It hurts the worst at the very end, right before reaching the goal.  But when it's all said and done, the most incredible joy overwhelms. Every bit of pain is worth it."

My steady confident stride slowed to survival speed.  Running slowed to walking as I continued to keep in step with the Spirit, believing His promises.  Man of Sorrows and Lord of Joy never once left my side.  Crawling, battered by the enemy, I recently reached the top of the hill.

Out of enemy territory I sit by the side of the road resting in the green pastures of a new plateau.  An article in Runner's World Magazine tells me "It is not only doing the work required in a race that makes you stronger. It's during recovery that muscles can rebuild and adapt to the challenge."

Sounds good! I definitely need rest and recovery, but I didn't quit and the victory is sweet~

Live Love.

Love them to Jesus. 

Johnathan panics when he gets tired. Weary of exploring his world, his baby eyes focus on my face. Four months of life have taught him to recognize me, to search me out in a group of people, to whimper when he wants me. He trusts me. In time, he will love me.

A man in my neighborhood is sad. Bitterness, betrayal and a lifetime of disappointments have hardened him. He believes he has never been loved. Old age has been teaching him that he will die unloved. 

Frequently I encourage people to love others, to be patient and kind and good to others. How are they supposed to do this unless I first tell them they are loved? Max Lucado has written that it is like asking them to write a check before a deposit has been made. 

Unlike Johnathan, a few months has not been enough time for my neighbor to trust me. But I tell him I love him through my actions and my words. He thinks I'm a little strange at times and laughs at me, but then, I'm sure Johnathan wonders about me sometimes, too. 

Parting

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There's no use in weeping,

Though we are condemned to part.

There's such a thing as keeping

A remembrance in one's heart.

There's such a thing as dwelling

On the thought ourselves have nurs'd

And with scorn and courage telling

The world to do its  worst.

We'll not let its follies grieve us,

We'll just take them as they come;

And then every day will leave us

A merry laugh for home.

When we've left each friend and brother,

When we're parted wide and far,

We will think of one another,

As even better than we are.

Every glorious sight above us,

Every pleasant sight beneath,

We'll connect with those that love us,

Whom we truly love til death!

In the evening, when we're sitting

By the fire perchance alone,

Then shall heart with warm heart meeting,

Give responsive tone for tone.

We can burst the bonds which chain us,

Which cold human hands have wrought,

And where none shall dare restrain us

We can meet again, in thought.

So there's no use in weeping,

Bear a cheerful spirit still.

Never doubt that God is keeping

Future good for present ill!

~Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855)

Being Comfortable

"I like to be comfortable," Stacy shared, "I just like to be comfortable." We all do, don't we?

My accountability girlfriends and I were discussing the importance of going outside our comfort zones. Abraham was 70 when God called him to leave his country and all he knew. He went. The rich young ruler unwilling to give up all he had to feed the poor, did not go because he was very rich. He stayed comfortable. Only one of the healed lepers returned from celebration to thank Jesus. The others were too comfortable to bother with gratitude.

What is the one thing you cling to rather than giving up everything to follow hard after Him? We are called to share the Good News. Are you called, like Abraham, to leave your country? Are you called, like the rich young ruler, to stay, but to go to the poor?

What hinders you today? Too busy? Too tired? Your kids wouldn't behave? Maybe your house is too messy or your dog too quick to jump on company. Or maybe, you simply don't believe life could be better outside your comfort zone.

The one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Sowing to my own flesh is easy. Killing flesh woman takes practice. I must choose to deny myself daily, pick up my cross and follow my Lord. That's harder. I like to be comfortable. Taking the joyride into the unknown makes me a little hesitant sometimes.

Still, I choose the harder road, the better road. I am daring to dream bigger and climb higher than I think I can. Leave my comfort zone? I'm saying yes, Lord.

Take a Leap

Whether you want to become a musician or clean your house, taking baby steps is excellent advice. One step at a time we can change our habits and see our dreams come true.

Sometimes, though, instead of making progress, every step forward is followed by two steps backward. Around and around we go, like a hamster in a cage, making the effort but not getting anywhere. We see failure instead of success and the disappointment is overwhelming.

Take a giant leap on the path toward success. Put your goal on project status. Set a time limit of a few days, a week or a month. After this initial outpouring of effort your dream will seem more obtainable. Choose a time frame that works for you. Finishing the project through intensity and overdoing to the point of exhaustion is usually not a good idea. Concentrating diligent effort for a short period of time, however, can be extremely productive.

Kyle, one of my adult piano students, scheduled four hours each day at the keyboard. After a month of this effort he scheduled a more sustainable daily hour of practice. Melissa was determined to declutter her home. She and her husband removed several truckloads of their clutter during a 3 day weekend. By clearing some space in the beginning, Melissa had established the confidence she needed to finish her project during the following months.

Sustaining the determination and effort necessary for long term change requires a return to smaller steps. Lasting change happens slowly.  Many dreams take a lifetime to achieve. Establish hope. Set yourself up for success. Get some discipline. Take a leap of faith. Before you know it you will be living your dream.

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer your self any direction you choose!

 ~Dr. Seuss

Hope for Holly

Brown eyes twinkle with mischief when she looks at you with that impish grin. Under the tomboy exterior beats a heart of sweetness, brimming with joy and wonder. Cowboy boots pile beside party shoes. More often the Stetson gets tossed aside for silk and satin.

I have walked alongside Holly and her family for years. You have your own Holly. She lives in your world and is being raised in a family that you love. You see her in church laughing, growing, serving, changing. You pray for her and melt into her hugs.

Was she in your Sunday School class? Your carpool? Did you buy her Girl Scout cookies?

Satan waits patiently, dreaming up plans to welcome Holly when she arrives on the college campus. He is spending his summer arranging tanks with military precision. The evil one has a plan for Holly's life. He has a plan for lies and distractions that will destroy her future.

Most church youth expect to get involved in a church near campus. Statistics show that most of them will get sidetracked and lose their faith. Living vulnerable in enemy territory is dangerous. Satan is a big success on the college campus. He wants to welcome each freshman into his circle of friends.

Holly has an advantage. She has grown up in a church that supports our local campus ministry with prayer, service and money. She knows the campus ministers and some of the older students and alumni.  Holly knows what opportunities there are for her to continue growing in her faith and developing servant-leadership. She is not going into enemy territory this fall alone.

Did you know you can call a campus ministry and tell them about incoming freshmen? They welcome the opportunity to be a home away from home, a soft place to fall for college students, a training ground for adulthood. A campus ministry is a light in a place that can be dreary, dark and unfamiliar. You have been more important in the life of the young people in your church than you know. Go the extra mile for them. Make one more phone call.

Girlfriend Grace

"We're learning to be so much more transparent and honest with one another, " Kerri observed.  "We all make mistakes. We all get frustrated. But it's so great to know we aren't alone. It really helps when we open up and share the hard stuff."

Girl's Night starts with candles and chocolate and craziness.  It ends with talking and tissues and transparency. We are discovering that being honest and open teaches us to be brave and bold. It encourages consistent prayer on a deep level. Dark secrets we once would have kept hidden are becoming bonds that unite us and spur us on to love and good works.

Someday all we have done, both good and bad, will be called into judgment. Because we are learning to be transparent now, future judgment no longer holds fear. For every sin, every loss in life, we long to hear someone say, "Yes. That happened. She told me about it. Let me share how her sin and loss was a teaching tool in my life."

The evil one wants to use sin to cause shame, death, despair.  He wants my sin to break intimacy with God, block my prayers for others and weigh me down with worry.  He does not like for my prayer life to stay active in changing the world. He wants me isolated and alone.

God uses my very worst self to bring glory to His purposes, to bless my marriage, friendships and His church. Not only is God made strong in my weakness, but so am I!  Everyone who learns from me shares in my triumph over sin and death.

Nothing need be hidden.  All of my heart, even the ugly parts, can be available for counseling, teaching and encouraging.  My sinful choices used for good. Now that's proof positive of wondrous grace.