Bringing Faith to Life
Archive for July, 2012
You have not arrived but you’re getting there
0Recently, I drove to my Dad’s house just north of Atlanta. The roads are constantly under construction there so I activated my navigation system to assist me along the way. As I approached his subdivision the voice became more frequent and more insistent. It seemed to be building up to a big finish. In .3 miles turn right. At the next intersection turn left. In 2 tenths of a mile your destination will be on your right. As I crested the hill I could see his driveway. My navigator’s voice announced, “You have arrived.”
I chuckled for just a moment at this. After all, who doesn’t want to hear someone say, “You have arrived?”
Actually…me.
I think this may be buried underneath my kinesthesis. Perhaps it is the foundation of my kinesthesis. No matter where I am I’m always seeking to be better. To move forward. To improve. Now this would, at first blush, seem to be a good thing. And in many ways it is. Don’t be satisfied with less than the best. Seek the heights. Be all you can be. All great motivational models. But I expect my dis-settlement more often has to do with, I know just far I have to go, please don’t leave me here.
I do think the Lord of my life has great plans for me. I believe He loves me the way I am and desires that I move on from here. How do I hold those two states of being together?
Henri Nouwen’s words (from his book Life of the Beloved) came to me this morning from a daily email I get called inward/outward ) Just, as so often happens, when I needed them:
From the moment we claim the truth of being the Beloved, we are faced with the call to become who we are. Becoming the Beloved is the great spiritual journey we have to make.
As long as “being the Beloved” is little more than a beautiful thought or a lofty idea…, nothing really changes. What is required is to become the Beloved in the commonplaces of my daily existence and, bit by bit, to close the gap that exists between what I know myself to be and the countless specific realities of everyday life.
This says it so perfectly, I am the Beloved AND and I am becoming the Beloved, at the same time. I have arrived and I am on the way at the same time. I am created perfectly even as I am being perfected.
It doesn’t make any sense in the temporal realm, but it rings true with what I know.
And knowing this, I need not fear that claiming my belovedness will interfere with my becoming God’s beloved. In fact, I expect it’s just what I need. To be able to hear “you have arrived” without embarrassment or false humility, but also to be grateful it’s not my final destination.
Today, let me consider that God is in charge of my “there” – wherever I am and wherever I’m going. I needn’t ask “am I there yet?” I am and when I get there, I’ll know.
It’s Not About the Chicken
012 years
by wlebolt
in Sermon Response
On Mondays the church I attend, Floris United Methodist Church, has invited me to contribute a “sermon response.” I share today’s here: (for those of you reading from a distance, the Pastors are Tom Berlin (aka Tom), Tim Ward (aka Tim) and Barbara Miner (not mentioned today but she will be Barbara :)). To listen to the sermon click here.
One of the things I love about Floris church is that the pastors try very hard to prepare us for the world that will greet us when we pile out the door. Even beginning with the prayer time.
Tom asked us to bring to mind someone we love who we wanted to pray for. I immediately thought of dedicated Christian friends who have recently lit up Facebook over the stand Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy took regarding same sex marriage. In the same prayer breath I thought of the email plea I had just gotten from the Christian conservatives, in the guise of Franklin Graham, rallying us to stand with Chick-fil-A because it is “under attack from same-sex marriage advocates.”
I wonder whether these two sides are speaking to each other, or if they are just speaking up. I would like to reply to each one, but the tone they have taken leaves me feeling they are interested in support not moderation. I wonder how they are praying for each other. They are bitter enemies.
Just in the nick of time this is the scripture we were meant to consider in worship…
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. ~ Matthew 5:43-45″
This, Tim Ward told us, is what distinguishes us as Christians. In fact we are commanded to love those who don’t love us. I find that incredibly hard. But what if I pray for them, that is, what if I lift them in prayer into the presence of Love and let God love them even if they don’t look very likeable to me? even and especially when they are not acting very likable toward one another. I expect I might start to see them very differently. Perhaps they would see each other so.
That is my challenge today because the way I look at it if as Christians we don’t pray for our Christian “enemies” and allow that to change the way we relate to one another, the agnostics and the atheists can just sit back and let our anger do their job for them. They need do nothing but watch and chuckle as we implode.
And they are not the only ones watching. In the midst of the fracas I need to explain all this to the young adults in my life who are looking on and saying, “If church acts like that, I don’t want to have any part in it.” One of them recently posted a link on my Facebook wall entitled, “It’s not about the Chicken.” I’m giving thanks today, as I do everyday, that we can be in conversation.
Putting it Into Practice
1Are you one of those people who sits and listens in prayer? Do you hear God speaking? Does He give you a final answer?
I don’t know fully what God is saying to me until I go with it. Well, let me correct that, I don’t know it fully but moving seems to facilitate the process for me. In fact, if I am stuck, I find that just getting up and doing something – just whatever occurs to me that needs doing – seems to set me in the right direction. Hate to say it, but this makes me think of those constipation medicines, that keep you “regular.” Whatever that is.
For me this conversation continues into the Christian life lived out, or the pursuit of it, anyway. If we become aware of a need, of something that needs doing, as we are able we are meant to act on it. Now I have found this to be a double-edged sword because I can be too quick to act (speak, go, do, fix, resolve) or, usually rebounding from this, I can be too slow to act (speak, go, do, try to resolve). Both work out badly. Both, I believe, have me running off course.
But the worst, for me, is stalled. I can justify this, mind you. I am waiting until I find out exactly what I am supposed be doing. Then, you betcha, I’ll be all over it. But first, I will study it, research it, learn about it. Then, when I can insure my own success I will embark. Problem is, by then the moment provided for me to move ahead is gone. I am just surmising this, mind you, because you can’t see what you’ve missed.
So today I play with the notion of continuous motion of a slow and steady sort. Listening, learning and leaning forward all in the same motion. I fear I fall into the temporal ‘everything one at a time always in a straight line’ thinking much too often. The step 1, step 2, step 3 approach. Hey, if my body can sense motion, process the sensation and plan the next motion all at the same time – without my even thinking about it – why can’t my Christian faith lived out look the same? maybe even take the same shape?
Jesus told us that if we truly loved him, we’d do what He asked. Obedience was true love. What if obedience isn’t just blind following? What if obedience is just moving forward, prompted by the notion of what needs doing? we don’t need to know the goal, just the next step, perhaps the first step. Not blindly but with full attention to where we are stepping, how it feels, and what happens then. A give and take sort of obedience. a trying it on. a putting it into practice.
Paul tells the Philippians,
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” ~ Phil 4:8-9
My worst enemy may be the temptation to stop with verse 8…think about such things. I wonder what would happen if I always went on to the next verse. And trusted that, when I put it into practice the God of Peace will be with me.
Can I really go wrong?
What is the Pace of Perfect?
412 years
Today I will work at God’s pace. What is the pace of perfect?
I distinguish this from “perfect pace.” Perfect pace implies that there is one pace we all seek to achieve. But the pace of perfect seems to me to be individual – in my day, my circumstance, my capability, my moment.
It may seem odd to you but I am thinking this in the middle of executing a push up. Not the “modified” kind, but the real thing, the one performed balanced on toes and palms of hands. I can not do too many of these, but I am thinking about executing it at “perfect pace.”
In the fitness business we spend a lot of time advising clients about form – partially because they cannot see themselves and we can, and partially because people have in their minds to “just do” the exercise rather than experience the motion. They want to “do 10 push ups” rather than lift themselves 10 times while they are in perfect position. They have an outcome in mind. We want them to be about the process. They want perfect pace. We are looking for the pace of perfect.
I am especially tuned into this, perhaps, because I am grateful to be able to do this kind of push up. Recently I had a serious hamstring injury. During that time I couldn’t do any push ups. But during the time of my recovery was probably the closest I’ve come to the pace of perfect in a long time, perhaps all of my time.
So, what is the pace of perfect? and how will I know it when I…feel it?
Sometimes I believe it is fast. I think God wants us to be quick about it. Do it right away, without any hesitation. I remember first discovering this idea when I was reading the “Clan of the Cave Bear” series. Ayla, the heroine, sensed (heard, smelled, felt, intuited – I don’t know how) there was danger coming toward their encampment and she woke the sleeping members, collected what she could and they beat it, as fast as they could. They narrowly escaped the raging fire that would have ended them. Sometimes, I believe God intends for us to move fast.
Sometimes I believe slow is perfect. I found this during my injury. Everything I did was painstaking. It required extra effort, planning and fortitude. Making, eating and cleaning up from breakfast took me an hour. I did not begrudge the time. In fact, I was grateful to execute breakfast-making all by myself. That hour was perfect. Sometimes, I believe God intends for us to move later but for now only to move slowly. Perhaps there is something He is doing in us, growing in us. Or maybe He is preparing something for us elsewhere that needs a bit of aging. He needs us to wait. I rarely wait in stillness (as I have admitted), but don’t be concerned for me because whatever the pace, when the pace is by God’s design, it is perfect.
And that is the key for me. Fast or slow is not the issue. It’s the checking. The checking to see that I am traveling at God’s pace, whatever that is. That I have not run ahead, nor am I falling behind.
With this in mind, the distraction that interrupts my day may (or may not) be God’s pace. I must check. The deadline that requires I drop everything and focus only on this may (or may not) be God’s pace. I must check.
What if I dedicated myself to this at the beginning of every day…and recommitted throughout the day? Today, I will work at God’s pace. Work, He intends for me to do. I have a role here; my presence confirms it. His pace is perfect. I will not pretend I know the pace for others. But I must attend to the rhythm He sets, some parts allegro, some lento, some moderato.
What I seek, O Lord, is a legato day, played smoothly according to your perfection.
Proprioception: Could it be God-GPS?
012 years
Proprioceptors: these are small sensory organs nestled among the fibers of tendons in joints. They respond to compression from various angles and report to the brain command center what position a particular body part is in and how fast it is moving. This is key because the brain command center uses this info to predict where you will be by the time motor command directions get to your moving parts. The perfect choreography between proprioceptors and motor cortex is what allows smooth movement. Michael Jordan must have REALLY good proprioceptors. In fact, I wonder if God created him with a few extra. But then, that is for God to say, not me.
The cool thing is: we’ve got little sensors in our bodies that allow us to ‘know’ what position our body is in even when we’re not looking at it.
Try this: put your arm behind your back (no peeking) and bend your elbow to 90 degrees. Are you there? (ok, now you can check) I’ll bet you are pretty close. So, how did you know how much to bend your elbow? Yep – your proprioceptors were reporting in on you, and you didn’t even know it!
Sorry – got a little carried away there. So what’s my point? We were created with a mechanism in place which sends and receives signals (subconscious signals) about movement. An internal sensor of external movement. Doesn’t that just sound like something God would do? In fact, it sounds so good I’ll bet God might even use that design somewhere else.
Like in our thoughts, or our memories or our lives. Does He plant something inside (God GPS, let’s call it a G-chip) that matches our experience to our response? Perhaps it taps just the right words when you need them? or just the right image when it’s called for? or just the right feeling when it’s called out? All without our conscious thought. It would be the connection between stored ability and His intended matched response. Imagine how quickly that routing system would have to be.
Unless we tried to think about it. Thinking, puzzling, analyzing – those would pretty much bring the system to halt. It’s the sort of reflexiveness, the automaticity that allows effectiveness. A trust. I think the best I can do, and I do think God intends for me to do my part, is to fill up the library of things upon which God can call. Pour in the good thinking, the powerful words, the amazing experiences, the beautiful images. Reflect on them. Settle them deeply. All part of the reference library.
Ha! My kids can hardly conceive of the stacks I think of when I call to mind a well-stocked library. No, they think of countless wireless connections, circuitry that is silent, specific and super fast and all accessible by a small keyboard or a button on a smart phone. What we couldn’t even imagine, they expect immediately. “What! No wireless! Let’s go somewhere else!”
More than I can ask or imagine, that’s what the God I know offers. But He uses the raw materials at hand – me and you.
Oh come on. Haven’t you ever come up with words or an image that were just right and thought…where did that come from?
Don’t Just Stand There, Move
0The anatomy and physiology book from which I used to teach college students states, “Biologists have found that all living things share certain basic characteristics, including the following (in this order): responsiveness, growth and differentiation, reproduction, movement (internal or external), metabolism and excretion.
By internal movement, they mean the movement of things inside the organism. By external movement, they mean that the organism moves its whole self through its environment.
Things that are alive exhibit all these things. So, for abundant life, one maximizes the whole list, right? or does one take care to discern things that are life-giving and to steer clear of things that rob us of life? As a kinesthetic Christian, I find that I have a great deal of trouble doing this discernment when I sit still. Yes, scripture and numerous faithful people have advised, “Wendy, just be still and know.”
The thing is, stillness, especially with my eyes shut, invites mind-wandering and distraction. I find focus when I’m moving (and I find this is most safely done with my eyes open.) Not, necessarily with intended or pre-meditated movement, but just in allowing my body to move as it will. Or in a rhythmic, practiced sort of movement that comes naturally – like swimming laps or jogging on the flat. Sort of an “out of body experience, using my body.”
Another thing is when I am faced with indecision and at a standstill – still, especially stalled, not good for me, remember? – I lift the options in my mind (one might call it prayer) and find myself moving toward one option and away from the other. I haven’t made this decision consciously, but it’s been made. Then I proceed, slowly at first, until the Spirit confirms the direction by picking up steam.
What is Spirit steam? It’s an “aha, now I see it” or a “that’s just what I meant to say and now I see how to write it” or perhaps it is another person who offers verbal confirmation.
Of course I have learned the hard way that one must always be looking for stop signs and yield signs along this way, too. The sort of “you’ve gotten this wrong” or “I’ve changed my mind” indicator moments. Does God change his mind? I’m not sure. Usually I presume it’s me and not God who has re-routed, but I have learned that even the time headed down the “wrong path,” is redeemable. Something here is to be avoided or something here is to be learned. Perhaps next time I will need it. Perhaps next time I will heed it and it will keep me from veering off course.
But enough about the external movement, it’s the internal movement that really piques my interest. Not the motion of fluids or heart or lungs, all good, but the internal sensor of external movement. THAT speaks to me of God, sort of a God implanted GPS chip. Let’s chat about that tomorrow.
If Forward Motion is Life, Does Speed Kill?
1It’s a whole lot easier to guide something that’s already moving than to overcome the inertia of a thing standing still.
I guess the challenge is to set sail, all the while with whetted finger hoisted into the air ready to sense changes in the winds. To be seeking and searching for guidance.
I am thinking of a friend today who is terribly productive, incredibly kind and giving, and indelibly tuned in. So much so that her life is absolutely frenetic. Forty emails pile up during the hour we share chatting over lunch. I wonder when she rests. I wonder if she sees the need for rest. Whether rest would even be restful for her.
Pace tempts. It tempts us to speed up, to keep up, to fear being left behind. Perhaps it is fear and not pace that is our enemy.
Motion, forward motion, I suspect is meant to occur at an individualized pace. Otherwise it becomes momentum, and momentum may take us past the turn, past the intersection, past the opportunity we are meant to take.
How do we know the “right” speed?
Today, I kick-off
612 years
I just came from a gathering of Christian pastors and lay people at the beautiful Lake Junaluska retreat center in the mountains of North Carolina. So much hesitation. So many who desire to do things just right. Studying. Learning. Talking and listening. Planning. Figuring. Waiting. And oh yes, worshiping and praising God. But there is just so much marking time and not very much moving ahead.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in a hurry to head off in the wrong direction. But can we please get moving? We only have so much time, we really don’t know HOW much, to reach those who don’t yet know God, the God we have met in Christ.
Many times in my life I have been guilty of waiting too long. Waiting until I have all the answers. Until I have studied the problem from all angles. Until I have exhausted all the resources. Until I am sure. Until it’s too late. I don’t want to be too late any more.
At least for me, I want to be one who prepares and then steps out in faith, even though I haven’t got all the answers. One who goes, trusting the words meant to be said will come. One who offers, trusting there will be enough. One who tries, trusting that my strength will be satisfactory and in my shortcomings Christ will be sufficient. Sure, there will always be a little uncertainty, but that’s where faith comes in, and where I must be willing to learn. To be flexible, change course, ask for help, drop back 10 and punt…
I am a Christian meant to move. Moving is how I serve, how I learn, how I live. And I suspect it is how I will learn how to live. I have the best Teacher. Today, on the first day – of the rest of my life – I pray I may be His willing student. I will try on Discipleship and see how it fits. But very likely I will be pulling on the sleeve as I run out the door.
Because the world I live in is where I am meant to make a difference for Christ. Because I am an athlete, a coach and a fitness professional, the field of play is my ministry zone. There I find a mission as sacred as any pulpit in any congregation. There comes a time when we must stop the pre-game warm up and start the game.
Today, I kick off.