Down days, snow days, days with nothing to do. Couped up, stood up, all alone with coffee and thoughts and wants of something to pull us up, up to the world of important deadlines. Desires of the mad screams of a boss to pick up the pace or else, but there is no pace and nothing else to bring us up. We are down. All the things that I would love to get away to now suddenly at my disposal, and all of them are disposed from my options in my downness.
After a week of three snowdays, a foot of snow or just less came down, I finally had to get out. I went for a run last night. My neighbor called me crazy. Maybe, but I had to get out. I didn't run far, but I was exhilerated. I was up. And while I was up I had a thought. I do my best thinking while I'm moving. My thought, "I am a fighter." I need a battle. I need the mad boss, the tight schedule, the impossible, the lurking failure just around the corner to bring me up. I don't want to go running in nice weather, but the coldest day of the year makes sense to me.
And then I realized this illustrates my relationship with God so well, though I don't like the outcome. I want to be the fighter. I want to conquer. But I can't. My battle is with sin. I can't win it. My judgment is from God and I can't fight Him either. And if I throw myself at it or Him I will certainly end in death. And living in this place of struggle has been so normal for so long. I don't want to be down. How do I get up?
So how about someothing new...
36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8)
I'm putting down the old gloves and picking up the new. I'm picking up the new call of love. Let's fight together for the Love of a Savior. Can this love pick me up? Pick me up to fight for life? Fight for my community? Can I put my thoughts on things above, on heavenly things? No longer will we be down. Now let's go do something so bold that our neighbors will call us all Crazy.
Great insight. I think that when we become stuck or caged in some way we need that to get going again.
ReplyDeleteYou might be crazy, but that's what this world needs. A few people who are crazy about the things that truly matter.
ReplyDeleteKeep running that race! Keep fighting that fight! You'll inspire others to do the same. And the best part is that the victory is already ours in Christ!