Between the rattlesnake encounter and rock climbing, you could say last Saturday was an interesting day. We went on a guided lesson with The Southern Terrain and let me tell you, seasoned advice from very experienced adventurers will only take you so far and then faith has to take you the rest of the way. Let me explain...
Although the face we were climbing on was considered "beginning," there was nothing simple about it, you still had to haul yourself up there. The good news is that you find a great deal of satisfaction once you've reached the top. The blunt truth is that it looks easier than it is from the ground and it's actually quite intimidating on the way up.
I decided to climb the easier face first, saving the more technical climb for last. First one went okay and I managed to ungracefully scramble my way up and down. But about half way up my ascent on the harder face, I made the mistake of looking down. Instead of thinking of how far I'd come, all I could think of was that it was a long way down and the only thing keeping me from falling was a rope and a guy holding it further down the cliff.
Standing on a tiny ledge, I stretched out my right arm and foot looking for a sturdy crevice as my next move. And then I looked down. Fear overtook me and I'll admit it, I asked to rappel down instead of braving the next step.
You know what I realized from that experience (albeit once I was safe and sound on the ground)? Rock climbing is a lot like having faith in God. As humans, we look up at mountains we face. Sometimes we feel the cliff is just too steep, or we'd rather take a slower, easier, less painful route to get to our destination, but in doing so we don't grow, we don't challenge ourselves to mature, or face our fears to see what we're really made of. Instead of facing an obstacle or hardship with faith that God will guide our steps, we look look up at how far there is to go, or down and realize our position is too vulnerable and we opt out of an opportunity.
Sure, it's safer on the ground, but by staying there we'll never experience the satisfaction of knowing what we can accomplish or grow our faith in God by experiencing His faithfulness in action. And if for no other reason, I've learned that enduring the climb and persevering gives you a humbling perspective you could never have witnessed from the safety of the valley floor.
16 February, 2011
22 January, 2011
Pulling up the weeds
For the last few weeks, okay months, I've been pretty lousy at pulling the weeds in my garden. Armed with gardening gloves, a shovel and rake, I began the process of tidying the back yard this afternoon. As I waded through the mud, digging up all the weeds, it reminded me of how sin left unaccountable can grow at a rapid rate, infiltrating everything in its path. There were so many weeds, I could scarcely distinguish between the vegetable plants, shrubbery and weeds. I almost uprooted vegetation I planted with care months previously.
Left unattended, botanical pests such as Morning Glory had grown rampantly in my garden and started to wrap around my vegetable plants, slowly killing them. In the same way, sin, when allowed to grow in the garden of our hearts, takes hold of all of the good, beautiful parts of our lives and takes over. It moves into even the good parts of our lives and before we know it, robs us of our spiritual fruit.
The weeds had gotten so out of control in my yard, that despite some heavy rains and frequent watering, it appeared some of my plants had been choked by the weeds and were dead. To my amazement, several of the plants were alive and had ripe vegetables. Just so, sin covers up the fruit in our lives, hiding our potential and stunting growth in the areas of our lives God wants to grow.
Yet with with regular maintenance (the weeding of sin from our lives), goodness has plenty of room and sunlight. Though it can be strenuous work and not very fun, pulling sin from the roots deprives Satan of having any strongholds in our lives.
Watering plants (going to church), fertilizer (getting spiritual sustenance from reading the Bible) helps plants to grow but when plants don't have adequate sunlight or are overrun by weeds, all the watering or fertilizer in the world won't save them. Simply put, plants won't grow well and you won't grow spiritually without regularly clearing out the "weeds".
As brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge and uproot the weeds in our own back gardens. I promise you, any garden, or person for that matter, will thrive with this kind of regular maintenance.
Left unattended, botanical pests such as Morning Glory had grown rampantly in my garden and started to wrap around my vegetable plants, slowly killing them. In the same way, sin, when allowed to grow in the garden of our hearts, takes hold of all of the good, beautiful parts of our lives and takes over. It moves into even the good parts of our lives and before we know it, robs us of our spiritual fruit.
The weeds had gotten so out of control in my yard, that despite some heavy rains and frequent watering, it appeared some of my plants had been choked by the weeds and were dead. To my amazement, several of the plants were alive and had ripe vegetables. Just so, sin covers up the fruit in our lives, hiding our potential and stunting growth in the areas of our lives God wants to grow.
Yet with with regular maintenance (the weeding of sin from our lives), goodness has plenty of room and sunlight. Though it can be strenuous work and not very fun, pulling sin from the roots deprives Satan of having any strongholds in our lives.
Watering plants (going to church), fertilizer (getting spiritual sustenance from reading the Bible) helps plants to grow but when plants don't have adequate sunlight or are overrun by weeds, all the watering or fertilizer in the world won't save them. Simply put, plants won't grow well and you won't grow spiritually without regularly clearing out the "weeds".
As brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge and uproot the weeds in our own back gardens. I promise you, any garden, or person for that matter, will thrive with this kind of regular maintenance.
12 September, 2010
Adandoning Ourselves to God
Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest said, “To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all of our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring.” As humans, it is our natural proclivity to cling onto what we can plan and control, but in doing so we miss out on growing in faith and encountering God’s best for our lives. God calls us to seek Him as little children and to trust Him. When we build this sort of relationship with God, life can be full of what Chambers calls "spontaneous, joyful certainty and expectancy."
In whatever role we have in our lives as Christians, parents, or spouses, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has called us to step out in faith, believing in His goodness as we serve His will and follow His leading in our lives. As Chambers explains, “We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God.” Indeed, we are guaranteed surprises in abandoning ourselves to the Lord, but in it we so often find His plans are much greater than we ever could have planned for ourselves. We can only fully experience the glory of God and the richness of His plans when we relinquish our hopes and our plans to Him whether that be about a project at work, a prayer for a family member, or a future endeavor. There are many uncertainties in life, but of one thing we can be certain: God is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23:
"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful."
Reflection:
In whatever role we have in our lives as Christians, parents, or spouses, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has called us to step out in faith, believing in His goodness as we serve His will and follow His leading in our lives. As Chambers explains, “We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God.” Indeed, we are guaranteed surprises in abandoning ourselves to the Lord, but in it we so often find His plans are much greater than we ever could have planned for ourselves. We can only fully experience the glory of God and the richness of His plans when we relinquish our hopes and our plans to Him whether that be about a project at work, a prayer for a family member, or a future endeavor. There are many uncertainties in life, but of one thing we can be certain: God is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23:
"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful."
Reflection:
- Is there anything in your life you have not entrusted to God?
- What does it mean to fully cast your cares, burdens, hopes, and dreams on the Lord?
- What is the difference between trusting in your beliefs and trusting in Jesus?
28 June, 2010
Borrowing God's sunglasses
I was at a zoomba Latin dance class tonight and it was an interesting experience to say the least. At one point we were all gyrating in a circular conga line and the instructor was in the middle flipping her hair about and dancing like she was on fire.
For half the class I was frustrated that the instructor wasn't keeping with the beat and was so hard to follow. And as I copied her half-belly dance, half-step aerobic moves, I felt God ask me to take another look at her through His eyes. Then I noticed her smile, saw her sincerely jovial nature, how much fun she was having, and that she was comfortable in her own skin. I could learn a thing or two from this woman. Dare I say, I started to have a good time hopping around like a fool, laughing at myself and looking at these women the way God saw them.
It made me think- how often am I in a hurry, preoccupied or just plain so self-conscious that I miss out on who people really are and how God sees them? It's so much easier to love others or grant them grace or compassion when you look at them through God's eyes. You put yourself in their shoes, you see their struggles, their hopes, their faults and the bits about them which are intrinsically unique. It grows tolerance and appreciation for others. It brings friendship, love and joy to the most unexpected places.
My prayer is that God grants me the patience and wisdom to see His people as He does, and the heart to love them as Jesus did. I sure would want others to extend me that kind of grace, wouldn't you?
"When you judge someone, you have no time to love them." -Mother Teresa
For half the class I was frustrated that the instructor wasn't keeping with the beat and was so hard to follow. And as I copied her half-belly dance, half-step aerobic moves, I felt God ask me to take another look at her through His eyes. Then I noticed her smile, saw her sincerely jovial nature, how much fun she was having, and that she was comfortable in her own skin. I could learn a thing or two from this woman. Dare I say, I started to have a good time hopping around like a fool, laughing at myself and looking at these women the way God saw them.
It made me think- how often am I in a hurry, preoccupied or just plain so self-conscious that I miss out on who people really are and how God sees them? It's so much easier to love others or grant them grace or compassion when you look at them through God's eyes. You put yourself in their shoes, you see their struggles, their hopes, their faults and the bits about them which are intrinsically unique. It grows tolerance and appreciation for others. It brings friendship, love and joy to the most unexpected places.
My prayer is that God grants me the patience and wisdom to see His people as He does, and the heart to love them as Jesus did. I sure would want others to extend me that kind of grace, wouldn't you?
"When you judge someone, you have no time to love them." -Mother Teresa
14 September, 2009
Thank you, God, for motorcycles
When I was a little kid sitting around the dinner table, my parents used to make my brothers and I take turns blessing the meal.My younger brothers used to thank God for the smallest, seemingly insignificant things.I remember thinking how silly it was, but it was what mattered in their little boy worlds at the time and so they thanked God for what brought them joy.
Now looking back as an adult, I see the irony of the situation. Nothing that matters to us is insignificant to God and as much as some children expect to "grow up" and figure it all out, there are some parts of faith children understand better than grown-ups. Perhaps that's why Jesus loved little children so much; they weren't too busy to love him. They didn't complicate religion, they just loved Him and believed without any conditions. How is it that children can find so much joy and love without caveats?
It reminds me to sit at the feet of God and share all the tiny details of my life, which matter to the creator of the universe.
Luke 12:6
"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God."
Now looking back as an adult, I see the irony of the situation. Nothing that matters to us is insignificant to God and as much as some children expect to "grow up" and figure it all out, there are some parts of faith children understand better than grown-ups. Perhaps that's why Jesus loved little children so much; they weren't too busy to love him. They didn't complicate religion, they just loved Him and believed without any conditions. How is it that children can find so much joy and love without caveats?
It reminds me to sit at the feet of God and share all the tiny details of my life, which matter to the creator of the universe.
Luke 12:6
"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God."
10 June, 2009
Experiencing Joy
I found the joy of the Lord in the strangest of places. I have seen God all over the world, but the place I felt Him moving the most in my heart was on a series of car journeys commuting to and from a lackluster job. Why is it when you don't have many of your wants, when you're uncomfortable, that God emerges in a way you've never seen Him before?
We argue that God is harder to find these days, and we're less joyful, but after visiting places like Africa, I'm convinced that perhaps we're looking in the wrong places.
While I suppose I always knew God was with me wherever I went, God needed to take the distractions away one by one to show me what robbed me of His joy and the power I had in Christ to change the only certainty I could control- my attitude. Once I finally chose to release control out of my clenched fists and handed it to God, most of my unhappy circumstances didn't change, but my heart did.
In the simplest of ways, just as humbly as He appeared at birth, He invites His spirit to wash over us, to remind us what joy really is...and it's not in our stuff, or our jobs, or our homes or even in the church, it's solely in Him.
We look for Him in these places, but we're knocking on the wrong doors. Sometimes we look for happiness or fulfillment or even purpose everywhere but where God should be- in us, His children. The irony is, I literally looked all over the world for Him and it took God taking away the home, the diamond ring, the car, the clothes, the make-up, the stuff, the comfort levels... setting aside all the distractions, for me to realize that He was with me all along.
That idea is freeing and empowering because it's more than a mere passing thought in my head. I now know in my heart that my sincerest joy is not in a career, or a home or in activities or possessions, it's in God who is my everything: my rock, my joy, my comfort, my friend, my savior. The most beautiful part of all is that His promises and love are unconditional and unchanging, no matter the season of my life or where in the world I go.
We argue that God is harder to find these days, and we're less joyful, but after visiting places like Africa, I'm convinced that perhaps we're looking in the wrong places.
While I suppose I always knew God was with me wherever I went, God needed to take the distractions away one by one to show me what robbed me of His joy and the power I had in Christ to change the only certainty I could control- my attitude. Once I finally chose to release control out of my clenched fists and handed it to God, most of my unhappy circumstances didn't change, but my heart did.
In the simplest of ways, just as humbly as He appeared at birth, He invites His spirit to wash over us, to remind us what joy really is...and it's not in our stuff, or our jobs, or our homes or even in the church, it's solely in Him.
We look for Him in these places, but we're knocking on the wrong doors. Sometimes we look for happiness or fulfillment or even purpose everywhere but where God should be- in us, His children. The irony is, I literally looked all over the world for Him and it took God taking away the home, the diamond ring, the car, the clothes, the make-up, the stuff, the comfort levels... setting aside all the distractions, for me to realize that He was with me all along.
That idea is freeing and empowering because it's more than a mere passing thought in my head. I now know in my heart that my sincerest joy is not in a career, or a home or in activities or possessions, it's in God who is my everything: my rock, my joy, my comfort, my friend, my savior. The most beautiful part of all is that His promises and love are unconditional and unchanging, no matter the season of my life or where in the world I go.
18 January, 2009
Lessons Learned:
I have learned a great many lessons on this trip. I have been humbled, moved to tears, laughed and smiled more than I thought possible and had the chance to really look at my life, our home in California and the world around me with an incredibly different perspective. Here are a few thoughts I wanted to share with you...
- Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Furthermore, every single person on this planet has something attractive, lovable and special about them. There are no exceptions and God loves every single one of His beloved creations.
- God is one clever guy. He made no mistakes in His unspeakably magnificent creations- I speak of the majestic oceans, lakes, rivers, hills and vast wildlife in particular. The diversity and beauty of nature all over the world is awe-inspiring.
- Try new things, even something, dare I say, you're awful at! And no excuses, you're not too old and it's never too late! Right before the trip I finally learned how to drive a manual. Yes, it's ridiculous I waited so long- but I got past the frustration and learned- it was so liberating and satisfying. We shouldn't lose our sense of adventure with age, if nothing else, we have more maturity, appreciation and insight when we're older to find new things we might enjoy. Furthermore, get involved in things you're passionate about- it's the icing on the cake- especially after finishing the mundane, but necessary chores of adulthood.
-Be open to opinions and perspective different from your own. You might learn something! Listening to other people's opinions has often not changed my own, but instead validated that I still agree with my original thought. The difference is that being open-minded enables me to better understand where other people come from and allows me to respect their opinions, even if I don't agree with them.
-Learn other languages! How helpful and less embarrassing it would have been to be multi-lingual on this trip. I speak Spanglish and I've finally run out of excuses- if anyone wants to practice Spanish with me- I'd be grateful! Our European neighbors put us to shame in that category. Even new-generation immigrants in America seem to be losing that cultural tradition of being bilingual and it really is a pity.
-Experience other cultures. You'll be horrified, offended, humbled and/or enlightened. This is vital to understanding the world around us instead of being culturally isolated or ignorant. Taking that idea a step further, I have come to realize that manners, beauty, expectations, etc. are all in the eye of the beholder and no two people think alike because we are shaped by culture, our upbringing and experience. Your way is not always the only or right way, at least not in other people's opinion. That has been a rude awakening for me on this trip, but it has allowed me to put myself in other people's shoes and to consider perspectives different from my own. You can find a lot more sympathy, empathy and general compassion for others that way and you can better understand their motives, what makes them tick and where they're coming from too.
- Respect nature. My stomach churns thinking of all the beautiful places I've been to where I've seen reefs dying, endured the searing heat under the hole in the ozone layer above Australasia or heard about animals going on the endangered species list due to global warming and human carelessness.
- Give back! Find a cause you believe in (or a few) and use your God-given talents or resources to contribute to something greater than yourself.
- Invest in quality people. Surround yourself with people who really care about what's best for you, are positive and will make an effort to be in your life for the right reasons. Time in life is precious and limited, so spend it wisely. Then really go the extra mile for those in your inner circle- root for them, find joy in their triumphs and offer a listening ear. I think happiness is doubled when you have someone to share it with.
-Do your best and then let go of things beyond your control. Stress is counter-productive, a waste of time and pointless.
- Look for the best in people and in life. Count your blessings- life is so much more pleasant this way. I always liked the saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." A dose of sugar really goes a long way, especially when it's sincere.
- Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Furthermore, every single person on this planet has something attractive, lovable and special about them. There are no exceptions and God loves every single one of His beloved creations.
- God is one clever guy. He made no mistakes in His unspeakably magnificent creations- I speak of the majestic oceans, lakes, rivers, hills and vast wildlife in particular. The diversity and beauty of nature all over the world is awe-inspiring.
- Try new things, even something, dare I say, you're awful at! And no excuses, you're not too old and it's never too late! Right before the trip I finally learned how to drive a manual. Yes, it's ridiculous I waited so long- but I got past the frustration and learned- it was so liberating and satisfying. We shouldn't lose our sense of adventure with age, if nothing else, we have more maturity, appreciation and insight when we're older to find new things we might enjoy. Furthermore, get involved in things you're passionate about- it's the icing on the cake- especially after finishing the mundane, but necessary chores of adulthood.
-Be open to opinions and perspective different from your own. You might learn something! Listening to other people's opinions has often not changed my own, but instead validated that I still agree with my original thought. The difference is that being open-minded enables me to better understand where other people come from and allows me to respect their opinions, even if I don't agree with them.
-Learn other languages! How helpful and less embarrassing it would have been to be multi-lingual on this trip. I speak Spanglish and I've finally run out of excuses- if anyone wants to practice Spanish with me- I'd be grateful! Our European neighbors put us to shame in that category. Even new-generation immigrants in America seem to be losing that cultural tradition of being bilingual and it really is a pity.
-Experience other cultures. You'll be horrified, offended, humbled and/or enlightened. This is vital to understanding the world around us instead of being culturally isolated or ignorant. Taking that idea a step further, I have come to realize that manners, beauty, expectations, etc. are all in the eye of the beholder and no two people think alike because we are shaped by culture, our upbringing and experience. Your way is not always the only or right way, at least not in other people's opinion. That has been a rude awakening for me on this trip, but it has allowed me to put myself in other people's shoes and to consider perspectives different from my own. You can find a lot more sympathy, empathy and general compassion for others that way and you can better understand their motives, what makes them tick and where they're coming from too.
- Respect nature. My stomach churns thinking of all the beautiful places I've been to where I've seen reefs dying, endured the searing heat under the hole in the ozone layer above Australasia or heard about animals going on the endangered species list due to global warming and human carelessness.
- Give back! Find a cause you believe in (or a few) and use your God-given talents or resources to contribute to something greater than yourself.
- Invest in quality people. Surround yourself with people who really care about what's best for you, are positive and will make an effort to be in your life for the right reasons. Time in life is precious and limited, so spend it wisely. Then really go the extra mile for those in your inner circle- root for them, find joy in their triumphs and offer a listening ear. I think happiness is doubled when you have someone to share it with.
-Do your best and then let go of things beyond your control. Stress is counter-productive, a waste of time and pointless.
- Look for the best in people and in life. Count your blessings- life is so much more pleasant this way. I always liked the saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." A dose of sugar really goes a long way, especially when it's sincere.
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