Monday, September 23, 2013

CELEBRATION OF LIFE

Since the 80’s I started the practice of stepping back for the month of August from most of my obligations.  I take time to reflect, redirect, and refresh myself naturally and spiritually while celebrating myself, my birthday is in August.

You might think this a vain exercise until you hear my reasoning.  Many years ago I discovered that I was caught in a rut.  I kept going but discovered that I was going in the wrong direction after it was too late to change the end result.  I learned that stepping back and taking a fresh look at situations and reconnecting with God, keeps me on point and is a better use of my resources and time.  I don’t wait on others to celebrate me.  I don’t look to others for validation.  This practice has kept my heartaches and disappointments in my fellow man to a minimum.

This is no exercise for the weak.  I take a look at my past year’s activities and outcomes and evaluate if I responded correctly and if I could have done better.  I look at my weaknesses and shortcomings and search for ways to strengthen them.  I examine the distractions that came to throw me off course and how I handled them.   I evaluate my resource pool and try to gather more.  I seek God’s input on my life and get direction for the next year.

It has been my experience that when I lay my prior year’s activities before the Lord, He always gives feedback.  There have been many times that I’ve asked for forgiveness or a do-over after learning His perspective on things I’d done.  One great thing about getting God’s input in my life’s matters is He never makes fun of my ignorance.  The second great thing about getting Him involved is that His presence insures my success.  I still make mistakes and must constantly keep my emotions in check.  But the month always ends with encouragement and grace from God that enables me to run with gladness into my next year.  I gain more self esteem and confidence in me that equip me for whatever challenges and decisions I may face in the upcoming year.

Take time to nurture and cultivate the greatest asset you’ll ever have, yourself.  Celebrate yourself and know that God is there willing to help you in spite of your weaknesses and faults.  He paid a great price for your success.  Take the time to know yourself and know your God and learn to trust them both.  Invest in yourself.   Do things to enhance you or that you love to do.  Love yourself and the God who loved you the best.  Find your place in God. Start your own tradition, celebrate your life.

 

 

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

A WALK IN MY OWN SHOES

I went to my foot doctor to understand why my feet and knees had been giving me the most excruciating pain for the last few months.  I attributed it to my increased yard work, aging, or just from the added weight I had gained.   I learned a painful lesson that should have been obvious to me.  I’ve been using my husband’s old shoes while working in the yard for almost two years.  Since they are not quite my size, old, and run over, they had thrown my entire body out of alignment, starting with my feet, then my knees, going up to my already twisted back, ending in my neck and shoulders.   Adding insult to injury, during this period, I decided to resume walking barefoot, a definite no-no to anyone with reoccurring foot injuries. 

I quickly learned his shoes were too big for me to ever fill.  How often we think just by looking at a person that we can accomplish or walk so easily in their shoes.  Who knows what challenges they face to even stand?  When we walk, our entire bodies are engaged in the process.  Now that I’ve put on my own shoes for yard work, my condition improved in a matter of days.  My orthotic s in my shoe correct the weakened areas in my feet and force me to stand tall and straight, even when walking along the hills and dips in my yard.

Our feet are a very important part of our body.  The nerves from each destination in our body end there.  The major idea behind reflexology is the feet and hands can be massaged to stimulate each organ in our body to promote activity.  A sensitive area on the feet can determine if any organ is under stress and slight manipulations can stimulate that area toward healing.  Each foot is different on each person and both are unique to every individual, even if they are the same size.  They develop and form based on our individual standing and walking style.  Our arches support us in our development of gait and stance, allowing even pressure to be distributed equally across the entire foot.

Doesn’t life teach us that we each have our own individual walk and no one else can walk in our shoes?

Have you ever wished to be in someone else’s shoes? Be careful what you wish for, you never know what lies ahead in their path.

I think of the sandals or shoes of Jesus.  His feet may have been worn, but He kept walking straight down the path that led Him to Calvary.  I imagine He remembered that we would need a straight path to victory, although narrow, that only He could make.

We may be faced with many valleys and hills to climb in life and some long roads ahead, but remember we have a God who will walk besides us, to lead us along the way.

Don’t be afraid to walk in your own shoes, they’ve been modeled for your unique journey in life.  You may need to add spiritual orthotics, but add whatever you need to continue on, but don’t forget to add God.