Along the journey towards the greater, there are many small, daily steps to better understand oneself, God, and others. This is one of my “daily steps”.
Have you ever been #walking or #running and just knew you were about to fall?
In this photo, my boys are pulling on me, being silly, and also taking me way off balance. I felt like I was going to fall but I was able to control my feet on the stones and keep upright.⠀
A long time ago when running was my passion, I would run through the streets around my neighborhood. One particular day, I was running on the sidewalk of a busy street near downtown and I tripped on something. The world sometimes slows when you are about to fall and you know the outcome and you can do nothing to control it. I put out my hands and eventually my palms connected with the sidewalk bracing me from injury. Of course, the traffic saw and someone stopped to ask me if I was okay and needed help. Red faced, I said thanks but I’m fine and kept on running.⠀
This morning, I listened to the #bearthelight podcast with @christiannesquires and @jennysmithwrites. I listened as Jenny relayed the four steps she practices with her church on a regular basis to work on living a life in contrary to the hustle culture we see so often. Step 4 was “release the outcome.” Oh man, do I like to hold tight to outcomes but sometimes you just can’t… because you can’t control all the factors that lead to that outcome. I couldn’t control that pebble or crack that sent me sailing to the sidewalk that day. All I could do was brace myself and then get up and keep on running.
In this second week of #advent on #peace, I’m thinking a lot about this idea of the peace that comes when we open up to #faith. This prayer by #henrinouwen is my prayer today:
Dear God,⠀
I am so afraid to open my clenched fists!⠀
Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to?⠀
Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands?⠀
Please help me to gradually open my hands⠀
and to discover that I am not what I own,⠀
but what you want to give me.⠀
And what you want to give me is love,⠀
unconditional, everlasting love.⠀
Amen.⠀
What outcome do you need to release today?
