If we take two steps forward and one step back, we are actually taking one step forward.
Looking back over my last year, I am happy about the challenges I've faced and overcome. I am sad, however, that in some of those victories I've lost a little ground. It wasn't my intention to step backwards, but I did. Maybe it was out of fear, or maybe I just was not sure of what I was doing. It could also be the simple fact that breaking a habit takes time. Old habits creep in to take away a bit of the new and, well, I am sure you know how it happens. We all slide backwards now and then.
I remember learning to drive a stick shift and finding myself on a hill where I would roll back before I could get my foot to the gas peddle. If someone was behind me I would panic and hit the gas hard, causing the car to die. It was a hair raising situation, but somehow I never did hit the car behind me! I soon learned the delicate balance of brake, clutch and gas. I guess it is the same when starting a new habit. We need to learn to balance.
If taking two steps brings us off balance maybe the best thing to do is to take one step back. We have still made progress and kept ourselves in balance. I think I'll try to remember this when I find myself sliding backwards into an old way of doing things. I'll take a look in the rear view mirror and determine that I will take one step forward in balance!
My Lord God, Heavenly Father, You lead me with Your Spirit and keep me looking ahead! Thank You for forgiving my slide backwards. I trust You to keep me in balance. I need You to surround me and deliver me before I go back to where I do not want to be! You are good!
Showing posts with label balance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label balance. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Weary
I have tried all day to think of something inspirational to write here. Nothing has come, and so I began asking, "Why?" I do not feel empty in the sense of not being with Jesus, nor do I sense a drifting from my source of inspiration, (God). It has been a long week full of people and driving and I am weary.
I am an introvert. That does not mean that I shy away from people, although when I was young I did have a reputation for being stuck up because I was too shy to talk to others. I have learned that being an introvert is simply a designation describing how I get energized. I am energized by time alone. I am drained when with people. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being with people when I've had plenty of alone time.
This week has been filled with many people draining my energy and very little time to rejuvenate. I am out of balance!
Being out of balance makes me vulnerable to the schemes of the enemy. Temptations are harder for me to resist. Doubts about my self, depression, irritability, and overindulging in sweets are the most prominent ways in which the enemy attacks me. I have seen that this week. I am aware of his tactics and I am resisting, sometimes not so completely, but I know I win through Christ!
This weekend I will take time to get into right balance. I will be alone with God and let Him fill me! Next week will be better, I hope!
God, You are my hiding place. You hide me under Your wings and shelter me from storms. There are times like this week that I struggle with going deeper in You. I need more than those few minutes alone with You. Thank You for protecting me from the enemy, making his ways known, and being more than enough so that I could get through this week of battle. Thank You for making me the way I am. Thank You that I need You to be refreshed! I need You. I want You. I ask You to restore me with Your resurrection power!
I am an introvert. That does not mean that I shy away from people, although when I was young I did have a reputation for being stuck up because I was too shy to talk to others. I have learned that being an introvert is simply a designation describing how I get energized. I am energized by time alone. I am drained when with people. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being with people when I've had plenty of alone time.
This week has been filled with many people draining my energy and very little time to rejuvenate. I am out of balance!
Being out of balance makes me vulnerable to the schemes of the enemy. Temptations are harder for me to resist. Doubts about my self, depression, irritability, and overindulging in sweets are the most prominent ways in which the enemy attacks me. I have seen that this week. I am aware of his tactics and I am resisting, sometimes not so completely, but I know I win through Christ!
This weekend I will take time to get into right balance. I will be alone with God and let Him fill me! Next week will be better, I hope!
God, You are my hiding place. You hide me under Your wings and shelter me from storms. There are times like this week that I struggle with going deeper in You. I need more than those few minutes alone with You. Thank You for protecting me from the enemy, making his ways known, and being more than enough so that I could get through this week of battle. Thank You for making me the way I am. Thank You that I need You to be refreshed! I need You. I want You. I ask You to restore me with Your resurrection power!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Life Hangs in the Balance
Our neighbor is on the verge of dying. He has lived a full life and it seems his time here on earth is nearly over. Death does not wait for the long lived. The past few weeks we have heard of friends and acquaintances, young and old, taking the step into eternity.
No matter what our age we have no guarantee that our next breath will come. Today we may be balanced on the edge of eternity.
Eternity is a word that we cannot fully understand. It is a long long time and yet we cannot comprehend its length because it has no end.
I am convinced that heaven and hell are real. It is important to know that we choose where we will reside after we step through the doors of eternity. I am trusting Jesus to provide my entrance into Heaven. He is the only one who offers to let me in without my own perfection.
My neighbor is trusting Jesus as well, but some of those who have left this world trusted in themselves, their works, or failed to believe that eternity was real. The balance of our lives could be one breath away! The question arises, how will we make it into a perfect place if we have not yet reached perfection? Jesus offers His perfection as a free gift to anyone who wants it. I do! How about you?
No matter what our age we have no guarantee that our next breath will come. Today we may be balanced on the edge of eternity.
Eternity is a word that we cannot fully understand. It is a long long time and yet we cannot comprehend its length because it has no end.
I am convinced that heaven and hell are real. It is important to know that we choose where we will reside after we step through the doors of eternity. I am trusting Jesus to provide my entrance into Heaven. He is the only one who offers to let me in without my own perfection.
My neighbor is trusting Jesus as well, but some of those who have left this world trusted in themselves, their works, or failed to believe that eternity was real. The balance of our lives could be one breath away! The question arises, how will we make it into a perfect place if we have not yet reached perfection? Jesus offers His perfection as a free gift to anyone who wants it. I do! How about you?
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