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| ps from ps… Remember when you were a kid and you played with blocks? Or maybe you do now with your kids or grandkids? (Or maybe you do now on your own when no one is looking?) I was always a big fan of plain wooden blocks. Made forts with them. Made roads. Houses. And sometimes towers, just to see how high I could get them. (This was all pre-Jenga’s existence). But I think my favorite part was knocking them down. It was so easy. A gentle swipe. A quick pope. A block pulled from the bottom. And down they went, sprayed all over the floor. But then the harder part began….building them back up. Knocking them down was easy. Rebuilding and building up a new tower took much more work. But when I did it, there was a deeper satisfaction with the tower back in place. We’re not too much different than towers of blocks. A lot easier to knock down than to build up. In all phases of our lives: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Everyday life and people and stuff and junk can more easily knock us down than build us up. I went for a run yesterday morning. 2.8 miles. It was my first run in almost a month. (Which is why my legs felt like I ran a marathon yesterday when I walked downstairs this morning). Between illness, surgery and loss of a family member, I got knocked down. And it was very easy to get out of any physical (and for me running is also spiritual) routine. I did a guided run with my coach called the: “I don’t wanna run Run.” The run helped me name some frustrations, realize how out of routine I was and give space for the frustrations of how slow I was going. But at the halfway point of this 25 minute run, he helped me realize that I was already halfway through. That I already battled through the toughest part and that I was back on the “road” to being successful, whether I realized it or not. No matter how much slower my pace, how ugly my form, my success came from just starting. He said: “Congratulations. You could have not run at all today. But you did! It’s way easier to knock yourself down than it is to build yourself up. But when you make that effort, you will have already succeeded.” Jesus was telling his disciples that time after time in Scripture. He doesn’t ask them to be perfect. He invites them to start the journey, and then restart after they messed up. After the tower of blocks got knocked down. Their success came from beginning that journey each and every day with Jesus by their side. One time they came back from being sent out to the towns and villages around them and when they returned they told Jesus that they saw “Satan fall before their eyes.” The success comes every time we restart. Every time we begin to rebuild the tower. Take time this week to assess where you are on the road. In your routine or needing to create a new one? Thriving and tall or feeling knocked over? There is no right place to be. There only is where you are right now. And that place is just right. But when you find the blocks knocked over (and don’t worry…they will be at some point), we are invited by God to begin the run again. To replace block by block and create a new tower. It may not be as easy, but it’s in that beginning where we fill find success. Lord, help me to pick up one block today. Amen Still in One Peace ps |
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