Ready for the Steeplechase

Couple days ago I was reading Jeremiah 12 when I was struck in my heart by verse 5. It says, "If you have raced with men on foot, and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?" The gist of the verse is that if you can't handle the challenges in your life right now, how will you handle what's coming in the future which could be far difficult?

I think people assume life will get better. It has to get better, I hear often. It can't get any worse. But the honest truth is, it can. God never promised us a life free of challenges, hardship and suffering. He did promise us an abundantly full life. But our life isn't about achieving happiness. It's about glorifying the One True God. In everything we do and say, in every circumstance, we're to glorify Him. Job was a perfect archetype of this. After losing his children, livelihood and servants in one day, he said (Job 1:21b): "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

We are starting a new year. And when a new year starts, the tradition is to make bold resolutions to be better, make better choices, do better things, etc. But the reality is, it may not go that way. Not to be a Debbie-downer, but I believe God has us go through certain experiences in our lives so we are stronger and more able to handle what's next, no matter what it is. And it may be just to give us empathy, grace and a servant's heart for others going through similar circumstances.

I've played the video game Candy Crush for about five years. I'm on level 2384. And every single level is harder than the one before. I cannot tell you how many times I've said, "This is impossible," and then later defeat it. And I often wonder how easy those first hundreds of levels would be if I went back to play them. But the reality is with each difficult level, I get better. And it doesn't hurt that I have a few friends who play the game who are far ahead of me, thus I'm encouraged that I can beat each new level I tackle. Likewise I am encouraged by the cloud of witnesses who have gone before me in this journey called life.

A steeplechase is a horse race over obstacles like fences and bushes. Do you know why it's called a steeplechase? It's because the races, which originated in England, were between towns, over streams, stone walls, etc, running from church steeple to church steeple. The steeples were easy markers to see in each town through the countryside as the finish came closer. What a beautiful metaphor in this race track of life! Lots of obstacles in the way, but achievable when keeping our eyes focused on God!

I have no idea what 2019 holds. I pray it will be a blessed one filled with new adventures and joys. And I also pray, no matter what potential trials, changes and heart-breaking events come, that I will glorify the Father in them, and end up stronger, more determined, more forgiving and more compassionate than I was in 2018. I'm ready for the race.

Waves of Life

My husband was holding me from behind with his arms around me as we stood in the Gulf of Mexico waste deep near the pier in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. He rested his chin on my head and we stood staring south out over the beautiful clear blue-green water. My husband delighted in the calmness of the sea, with the small rolling waves breaking behind us closer to shore. I spent much of my time looking for the sharks I'd heard about that I thought would love swimming near the pier where fisherman cast bait over the railing.

Since the gulf was so calm, the sea was nearly flat with tiny ripples, but every once and awhile a wave would nudge us both enough to throw us off balance just a bit. We'd giggle every time it happened. Finally my husband profoundly said, "You know this is just like life. You think you have your feet firmly planted and something comes along to try to knock you over."

As we were celebrating our 23rd wedding anniversary there in the panhandle of Florida and reminscing over our years together, I thought about his analogy. Many times over those years we thought everything was stable, blessing after blessing, when all of a sudden something would happen to knock us off our feet. Sometimes the challenges were small and other times they were huge, difficult challenges that took much more time to recover from. Many times, it wasn't a recovery that occured, but rather a sharpening of sorts, winnowing perhaps or even a readjustment. No matter how firmly we thought out feet were planted in the sand, that has never stopped the waves. Brad was right. This was like life.

The morning of our anniversary as we looked at pictures from our wedding I asked my husband, "If you could go back in time to your newlywed self, what would you tell him?" He said quickly, "I would tell him to get his spiritual act together." I then asked, "Would you have listened to yourself?" Without hestitating he responded, "No, probably not." When asked the same question about what I would've said to that young bride in white silk organza, I replied, "Armor up, girl. There are challenges ahead."

When I think about the two of us standing in the cool waters of the gulf, I remember what each of us was doing at that moment, and how it reflects our outlook in life of late. My husband delights in the calm moments. You can hear him sigh, breathing in God's goodness. While I'm busy looking for sharks in the water, watching for the next challenge to head out way. It's just what our life experiences and spiritual journeys have brought us to thus far.

And no matter what waves are coming, it looks like between the two of us, with God as our anchor ... we've got a nice balance.