IDareToHope

Fridays. Fridays are lovely if only for what comes after 5pm, or, in my case today, 6:30pm. Today was a day full of change at work – moving workstations and coworkers around offices, with the goal of creating more productive workspaces in which communication flows better. We got rid of a lot of things in our office to open up the room, and moved people around to foster more cohesive teams.

I went down to the beach during my lunch time, instead of my usual beeline home. Can you spot the SeaGlass in the photo above? The birds, perfect blueskies, and deep dark roll of the waves were a balm to my soul.

The shore is never the same, but always there. Each wave approaches the sand so differently: high, low, a rush of water, or a calm lick. 🙂 Isn’t that a fun visual?

This evening was my dear friend’s birthday gathering again at the beach. We could not waste the glorious weather gifted to us. We sat around the fire and laughed, roasted hotdogs and egg rolls, and dug our toes into the sand. It was the first time my friend took her daughter, Aunie, to the beach and it was delightful to witness her first sandy experience.

While sitting around the fire, my friends were talking about running a race tomorrow, debating on how long it will take them. They discussed bringing backpacks, and whether it’s a good idea to bring along the extra weight.

It brought this verse to mind, and I was encouraged by reading it in The Message:

Hebrews 12:1-3 Discipline in a Long-Distance Race

12 ^1-3 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

I lose sight of the goal, the prize, the end game on an almost dailyhourly basis. Sometimes I wonder how God our Father continues to deal with me. I so desperately wish to run with the abandon described in these verses – to just empty my life, my heart, of everything that weighs me down. To “Give it all to Jesus.” I think I’ve always thought of that taking place in a single moment in the timeline of life. A single moment of surrender, and then you’re just free. You gave it all up. You surrendered, and you’re good to go. Good to run.

But, I’m learning that it isn’t a single moment. It’s a constant state of surrender, of giving *all the things* back to God. Of continuously throwing off the extra junk, entangling sin, preconceived notions and boxes that we try to fit our CreatorGod into. “Stripping down” should be a daily self-check, at minimum. Much like the delightful seaglass above, I pick up things on a regular basis on my run towards Him and I need to check that what I’m carrying is meant to be brought on the journey. Things like doubt, self-pity, addictions, laziness, past hurts and wounds from people I thought were friends, bitterness, and extra stuff that takes too much time to care for and is cause for distraction.
I pick up all this stuff and I carry it around.
I carry it around for days, weeks, months, some of it years.

In the daily “throwing off,” I need to preach the Gospel to myself. To remind myself who God Is, who Jesus is, and who I am in Him. I found this lovely Q&A with Paul Tripp in which he discusses how he Preaches the Gospel to himself on a daily basis. Click below to hear more. I think I’ll end with that, because that’s where I want to start tomorrow.
Day 2 ♥