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Tag: soul

  • Finishing the race

    Finishing the race

    I completed my first ever ‘fun run’ this morning.  Actually, I walked it; and for that matter not a lot of it was fun!  I kept up enough pace to finish the 8-kilometres just shy of an hour and a half.  I am satisfied to have simply finished the race.

    The Bible talks a lot about our life being like a race.  One verse in Hebrews (12:1) emphasises some of the qualities of any race.  There are those who have gone before us that have finished the race; the witness of the veterans who cheer us on.  There is also a necessity to strip down to essentials and all that hinders us before starting. It is then with perseverance that we finish the race marked out for us. 

    Francis of Assisi says “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible. And suddenly, you are doing the impossible.”  Today was a bit like that.  My first step was to register, the next to get myself at the starting line early this morning and then the next step was to simply start by putting one foot in front of the other.  My only goal was to finish the race before I got kicked off the course.  I finished sooner than I thought I would.  If you had told me I would make that time yesterday, I would have thought that was impossible.

    My understanding of any race, and especially the particularly challenging marathons is that the qualities of comradeship, dedication and perseverance are embodied therein.  Today’s fun walk for me was enriched by my companions; my son and his fiance who started the footrace with me and also those I knew who cheered me on from the sidelines. At times, I was spurred on to maintain my pace simply because others were ahead on the course.

    My heart has been heavy this week for those who are struggling to run-or even walk, their life’s race.  Some have been running hard but cannot go any further because they have broken down. Some are close to falling out because of exhaustion.  Others have lagged at the start and seem to have made no progress at all.  I hurt for those that have been sabotaged by others.   I just want to cheer them on and say keep going; one step at a time; just hang in there!  

    Verse 2 of Hebrews 12 encourages us to keep our eyes on Jesus- the pioneer and perfecter of faith. He endured opposition and yet finished. We must not grow weary and lose heart.  At times, our life’s race is tough and there seems to be more hills than flat straights.  I am glad that Jesus and many saints before us have completed their race.

    I love the way the Message Bible puts it “When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he (Jesus) ploughed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” 

    This morning’s fun run has put a shot of adrenaline into my body- and my soul. I hope that you too may find a shot of adrenaline for your soul this week to persevere with joy the course set before you. 

  • Stop Running!

    Stop Running!

    I became a woman in the 1980’s when big hairdos, shoulder pads and power dressing was the vogue.  I believed a lie that as a woman I could have it all:  a career, a home, a family, health, beauty, wealth, and happiness.  Falling for the lie was not all that difficult as I was running from my mother’s misery which I associated with a housewife’s lot in life with no financial means or identity of her own.  I did not have a plan, nor did I really have a dream. The glossy women’s magazines of the day fed a vague hope and a lie. 

    At the age of twenty-seven, with two children under three, a failed business and little cash I was diagnosed with post-natal depression.  As a part of getting well, I swapped the women’s magazines for self-help and motivational books of the 1990’s.  I decided to get balance in my life so added exercise and church attendance to my family and business activities. Now I was full of vague dreams of wealth and success and a belief that all things were possible if I just tried harder.  

    In my thirties, my husband and I grew our business, built a grand home, leased new vehicles and hardly stopped to take a breath, let alone ‘smell the roses’.   By 2000 I was exhausted and overwhelmed.  We were in debt and were indebted to others to keep the treadmill of life and our lifestyle going.  My body was running so fast my soul could not catch up. 

    I realised that in spite of all the trappings of success the thing I lacked the most was peace.  I found that peace when I committed to follow Jesus.  We sold almost all of our possessions, untangled ourselves from debt and packed our bags to live overseas and started to home-school our children.  I gave up all ideas of having it all or being it all to enjoy the rhythm of family life and later Bible College. 

    In the early 2000’s I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and began a journey of addressing my poor physical health.  Struggling to make a difference as I worked out at a local gym, I was overcome with grief wondering if I had brought this on myself as a result of the ridiculous pace of life I kept- trying to have it all and be all.   For a while I relished the luxury of a slower pace of life and the healing that brings. 

    Another decade passed and as I look back on those years, I realise that the pace of life picked up very quickly.  During these years our children became young adults and I became middle-aged.  Looking in the rear vision mirror of life I realised I had started to run on that treadmill again.  I still did not have a plan or a dream. Instead of a vague hope of doing more and being more for myself; I was doing more and being more for others and with a vague hope that I was making a difference in the world.  At the end of last year, I was nearly at breaking point.  I was no longer running from my mother’s misery but was instead running from my own. 

    Being busy, having a purpose or being on a mission has become a way of life for me; a bias if you like. Unfortunately, I have come to realise it is also a way I avoid my own pain and grief.  As a result of running away from the things I fear I have also denied myself the opportunity to authentically dream, plan and hope for the things I love. 

    If I’m not striving to have it all or being all, what then?  Perhaps it’s time for my soul to catch up with my body.  Time to grieve for things lost, to heal from pain; time to dream dreams and plan for my future.  Instead of the world making me something else, perhaps it’s time to be myself.  And with the grace of God, that is enough. 

    What good will it be if someone gains the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?  (Matthew 16:26)

  • Kind words are like honey

    Kind words are like honey

    In our land down under where sarcasm is de rigueur I am often left wondering if kind words are considered to be only for the soft and the foolish.   

    The Bible says kind words bring sweetness to the soul and health to the body. (Proverbs 16:24) They sure do to me. Some days I reckon all I hear is criticism, sarcasm or silence.  It feels as if a little more of me shrivels as a result. It is as if my soul and body ache with the pain. 

    I recall some ten years ago after a close relative completed suicide that many people were especially kind to the spouse when they heard. They were generous in business dealings where they had previously been indifferent and hard nosed. They said kind words and were understanding when previously they had been otherwise.  At the time I struggled to understand why they could not do that all the time.  Is tragedy, I thought, the only invitation they have to speak words of kindness?

    I long to hear kind words.  I want to speak kind words to others.  Sometimes I have to tell my inner critic to shut up so I can speak kind words to myself.   

    If the Bible says kind words bring sweetness to the soul then perhaps it is possible we can entice a bitter soul to become less so.  If kind words bring health to the body, why not speak kind words then to others and to our self to bring health and vitality?

    What does it cost us to say kind words?  Is it our cynicism and defensiveness the reason we withhold kindness and opt for sarcasm or silence?  Perhaps we are reluctant to be kind in case the other person is not kind in return.  Instead of practicing our wit and our banter why not practice kind phrases.  Instead of recognizing faults why not look for beauty and good things in a person. Instead of being silent why not be vulnerable and commend another; maybe speak kind words to a stranger.

    Let us be honest, kind words do not cost us money.  Kind words are like honey. Why not spread a little sweetness and good health to another and make kind words de rigueur tomorrow.