We need a roadmap for where we’re headed, but first we need to know where we are going. It’s important not to dwell on the things in the rearview mirror that we cannot change, but to look ahead to better, brighter days for us rise up from where we are today. We remember from yesterday we have to choose to be happy while we are here in the waiting, doing happy and Holy things. Having a goal to shoot for gets us one step closer to being out of the ditch. Have you made your choices yet? Where do you see yourself this time next year? Healthier physically, financially, emotionally, relationally? Maybe it is all of the above and I’m totally with you. But what is done is done and we have to move on from here. Let it go and begin anew.
“The one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching for those things which are before, I press towards the mark for the high calling in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13
It’s been 3 1/2 months since my life up ended, sending me off in a direction I never thought could happen. Yet it did and here I am, a single, middle-age mom, taking care of myself and two college age “children.“ While I don’t believe in airing all of your dirty bloomers in public, as it has a potential to embarrass and affect others, I do know that our stories, no matter how hard, can ultimately help someone else in their own struggles. I’ve spent these months in a new home, after uprooting from the 18 years in my last one. The home where I raised my babies and saw them through from preschool to college. 26 years of marriage are over. This is my next chapter and I’m determined to make it count for something of value and not be permanently defeated by it all. I’m not allowing regret, guilt, shame or feelings of failure overtake me.
When we have been in a toxic, unhealthy environment for a long time, there can be a sense of relief and peace in the change, but there is still an air of grief and fear of the unknown. My first priority is getting my stress level down, balanced and strong, in order to be the healthiest version of myself. There is most definitely healing that needs to take place. Few people around me know my situation, by my choice. I do not enjoy drama or gossip and intend to keep my private life more private than some, because that’s how I’m wired. A handful of close family and friends are aware and understand what’s going on, but in time, I assume I will feel more like sharing information.
For now my health is my priority, as stress has wreaked havoc on me. Changing my thoughts, intentionally seeking peace, mindfully choosing my food, using it as a weapon for good health, rather than comfort. Seeing food as fuel and medicine has helped me control cravings, stress, weight and blood sugar levels. Food is helping me get off the 20 stress pounds that accumulated over the past few years, helping me sleep better and feel more like myself again. But asking God to help in the healing process is the first step in my desire to change things.
In John 5, Jesus heals the paralytic man that has been lying beside the pool of water at Bethesda for 38 years. Can you relate? He’s been lying there waiting for help, feeling helpless and hopeless. He thinks no one can help him. But, Jesus. Here, we need to please take note, that Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be healed?“ Food for thought… are we ready to be healed? Do we truly want it?
He goes on to tell him to “get up, pick up your mat and walk.“ I’m not sure about you, but that’s pretty convicting to me…if we have been waiting around for a long, long time on someone or something in this world to help us. If we have been paralyzed by our own thoughts, our lack of decision or direction, filled with complaints over our problems and having a generally good pity party, it’s time to Get up. Pick up your mat. Walk.
We can be healed in Him, too. He says so. But He also goes on to say, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.“ So there’s that. Stop sinning. No questions on that, just a direction from Him. Confess your sins to Him, ask Him for help with them. Here are three verses that apply to asking Him for what we need in this moment.
“When the righteous cry out for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.“ Psalms 34:17
“The Lord is near to all who call on him in truth.” Psalms 145:18
“And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.“ Matthew 21:22
In our church sermon last Sunday, our minister called Jesus a “wounded healer”healing out of his own pain. I’ve not thought of it that way before. He referenced a quote from Henry Nouwen that said, “the great illusion of leadership is to think that a man can be led out of a desert by someone who has never been there.” How true is that? Someone who has been there and done that can certainly understand our pain and suffering. How do our wounds help us heal others that are in the ditch with us? How can we point them to the way out? Together, we can heal our hearts, minds, bodies and spirits as people who truly want to be healed by Him. We are no longer interested in lying helplessly by, waiting on something to change. It’s time to get up.
“The question is not can we heal? The question, the only question, is will we let the healing power of the risen Jesus flow through us to reach and touch others, so that they may dream and fight and bear and run where the brave dare not go?” Brennan Manning
Get Up. Pick up your mat. Walk.
A FRUITFUL LEGACY 