R U Okay?

If you are a card-carrying human being, chances are that you share the same fear as all other humans: the fear of losing love, respect and connection to others. –Iyanla Vanzant


It happens all the time in sports: Players run into each other; the equipment fails (or makes things worse) and one player winds up knocked flat. The crowd draws silent as coaches and trainers run out onto the field, and a cheer erupts as the player seemingly returns to life. The game goes on—but the player usually needs to take a break. Sometimes a long one.

It’s the same in Life, isn’t it?

Things can be going along swimmingly, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere comes a bit of news. A loved one has died; the lab report shows something unexpected; the job you love is coming to an end. The news knocks the wind right out of us. We are stunned; people come up to us, looking deep in our eyes, asking the most important questions of all:

Are you all right? What do you need?

Slowly, we begin to breathe again, literally and figuratively; the pain ebbs a bit; we try to keep up as life goes forward again. The people around us drift away—but if we are lucky, there is a true friend remaining who still stops by, still looks deep in our eyes, and expects an honest answer to their question. Are you okay? Really—I care about you and won’t leave you until I am sure.

Do you know who this person is in your life? Thank them. But just as important: To whom can you be this person?

Monday Do you know someone whose life has recently been flipped on its head? Reach out to them, and as you offer help, be specific. Psalm 71:1-3

Tuesday Are you the person lying flat on the turf, gasping for air? Reach out (if you can). There is great strength in vulnerability. Pray for yourself. Song of Songs 8:6-7

Wednesday Pray today for a community of faith of which you are a part. Pray for a loving and fearless heart. What gifts do you have that Christ’s Church needs more of? Galatians 3:3

Thursday Take a look at your budget today. Does it reflect who you are as a follower of the Christ? Do you have a “loose change jar”? Where does that loose change go? Ecclesiastes 5:10

Friday Now think about how you budget your time. Where are your priorities? What is truly non-negotiable, and where might you spend your time more wisely and to God’s glory? Romans 1:21-23

Saturday Pray again for yourself. Remind yourself that you are a unique child of the Most High; no one can prepare the way quite like you. Rest and listen. Psalm 86:11

Sunday When you greet one another today, don’t be afraid to look into the eyes of the one you greet. The Christ in them desires to see the Christ in you. Rejoice! Isaiah 61:1-2


If you are reading this, you have survived your entire life up until this point. You have survived traumas, heartbreak, devastation, the different phases of Life—
and HERE YOU ARE! You-- are awesome. --Anonymous

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spiritual dehydration

  Inside myself is a place where I live all alone, and that is where I renew my springs that never dry up. –Pearl S. Buck   The past two years (at least) have been exhausting, haven’t they? We had a pandemic that physically left us anxious and afraid. Our churches, where we go for nourishment, were closed or online longer than we wanted—and even now, we are careful. Politically, we have been divided against one another, and those wounds are still bleeding in many cases. We need to take care of ourselves. And it’s never been more difficult. What to do? How do I make time in our busy schedules—for me ? The simple answer: Whatever it takes. Remember when we would fly to a vacation destination? How the flight attendant would remind us that if the cabin loses pressure, the oxygen masks would drop down out of the ceiling? And that before we offer to help anyone else, we need to have our own masks in place ? Good advice for life in general. Today: Pause. Take inventory ...
Read more

What are you waiting for?

  The waiting is the hardest part. –Tom Petty   We spend a lot of time waiting. Waiting for the coffee to finish dripping. Waiting for the light to turn green. Waiting for the next available agent. It’s inevitable, really. We cannot always be first, and if we aren’t first, we’ll have to wait. But I think the more important thing is to ask yourself: How am I at waiting? Do I find myself getting anxious and fidgety? Am I worrying about things not going the way I really need them to go? Is my attitude rubbing off on people around me? The best way to wait is not to worry where we are in line, or gripe about wasted time. The best way to wait—is to be right there , in the moment of waiting. The disciples waited in fear; we wait in hope. Why not use this waiting time to pray? Welcome God’s presence into your heart. Ask God to bring you into the moment. Inquire what God would ask of you in this moment . Thank God for wisdom, patience, humor. . . . Take a d-e...
Read more

Don't be afraid.

Living is a great deal more than simply not dying. It is carrying out a mission, committing oneself to fashion some meaning that will attain eternity. –Leonardo Boff When asked, “What are you afraid of?” we offer a myriad of answers: snakes, spiders, flying in an airplane. But when pressed, many people, believers and non-believers alike, will admit that the one thing they fear most, at the core of their being, is death. Most of us enjoy having control over our lives, and frankly, we have very little control over, or way of knowing, how or when our earthly journey will end. And we have even fewer concrete answers about what will happen next. We have the profession of our faith and the occasional “crossing-over” story—but. No wonder death is near the top of that list. But sometimes, as I look around, it seems like people are less fearful about dying—and more afraid of living. Really cutting loose and enjoying our time together as human beings privileged to live in God’s am...
Read more