Is Life a Roller Coaster or Merry-go-round?

Is life a roller coaster or merry-go-round? 

That may be easy for some to answer and for some of us, it's hard to choose.  There are so many different areas of life in which we juggle or struggle with each day; relationships, taking care of family and the home, working hard at our jobs, making good choices for nutrition, exercising to keep our bodies healthy, and the list could go on.

I began to run again last week, which let me tell you I have a love-hate relationship with running, but it is the one exercise I do that not only clears my mind, but helps me think clearly.  Did I just confuse you?  Sorry.  Let me try to explain.  When I strength train, I am counting reps so that is my focus; put an exercise video in the DVD player, I am focusing on what the instructor is saying and what move comes next. The days I run, I just run (well sometimes throw in walking intervals if I need to be truthful), but, nevertheless, it clears my mind.  There is something about being out on the road or trail where all you hear are birds singing, and the breeze rustling the leaves of the trees, that it puts me at peace with myself, and I can think clearly with no distractions.  It allows me to play in my mind all the things that are bothering me and I begin to pray and release.  There are burdens that we are carrying around that we are not meant to carry, and it becomes a heavy weight!  I Peter 5:7 (AMP) mentions to start "casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]."  So, I pray and release it all to Him, which clears my mind, and then I am able to think more clearly and see things more clearly since I got rid of all that was cluttering my mind.  Hope that helped to explain what I meant.

So, roller coaster or merry-go-round; which do I choose?  Roller coaster.  Life for me, is up and down, hills and valleys, and I am supposed to enjoy the ride, but I have to admit that I do not.  There are some days, or let's shorten it to moments, where I do not like the ride, but it is part of the journey or experience we call life. On top of the roller coaster you can see what's ahead of you and are able to prepare and brace yourself so we feel a little more in control.  When you reach the dip, you can only see the uphill track in front of you.  It's the mountaintop experiences and the valleys of life that mold us and make us into who we are.  If we lived continually at the top, what could we learn or how could we grow?  Just as the top of the mountain shows less signs of life and can be a cold and brutal place; I believe it is how we can become if we have nothing that challenges us or to help grow our faith and realize that we cannot do life alone.  It is in the valley where the grass is greener, the trees are fuller, the flowers are blooming.  It is where we grow and come to life. 

If I really want to be truthful, there are times when my roller coaster just seems to be riding backwards, which can make me feel sick.  I think "why am I here again" facing the same battles, backtracking, if you will, to the same bump that I thought was conquered? I don't want to go over that same hill again and face the same pain or the same fears, AGAIN!  But, you know what?  I find it gets a little easier to deal with or I discover that there is something that I missed the first time around.  Like taking a test over to get a better score because we learned something new.

Whichever ride you are on in life, focus on what's ahead of you and ask yourself "what am I about to learn" and remember that you are not the only one on the ride.

Who Have You Left Behind?

This morning I was doing a devotion in Jesus Calling by Sarah Young and something hit me between the eyes.  This is what I read. "I am with you and for you, your constant Companion and Provider.  The question is whether you are with Me and for Me.  Though I never leave you, you can essentially 'leave' Me by ignoring Me: thinking or acting as if I am not with you.  When you feel distant in our relationship, you know where the problem lies.  My Love for you is constant: I am the same yesterday, today and forever.  It is you who change like shifting sand, letting circumstances toss you this way and that."

Don't know if that impacted you like it did me, but I had to repent.  There have been situations in my life lately where I have cried day and night (literal tears), first over the situation, then with self-pity, to where I have walked around tired and beaten.  Have to admit a little "snappy", as well.   After that, then I have gone to God and said "where are you?"  He hasn't gone anywhere, I moved my situation away from Him by trying to deal with it myself.  

How did I do this?  By rushing through my life and not taking the time to spend in reading His Word and praying, except little prayers I promised people I would pray.  To have any relationship, you need to make effort and time to invest in getting to know them.  God is no different.  

What relationship have you been leaving behind?  Spending quality time with kids or spouses due to busy schedules?  Never having time to get together with friends?  What about time for yourself?  

We need to cling tight to those relationships that are so important to us.  If you feel like God is distant, check where you have moved; He is still there!  Are you feeling distant in your relationship with your spouse?  When was the last time you had a date?  Feel like you don't have any friends?  Reach out: call, send text, FaceTime, send a note.  Little things make the difference. What about time for yourself?  When is the last time you did something you enjoy or made you feel better about yourself?  

Some of the clients I train will promise me that they will take walks, go for a run, or commit to exercising between their sessions, as well as eat, at least, better.  You can probably imagine the looks l get when I ask them at next session how did they do?  Trust me, their facial expression will tell it all. 

What steps will you take today to, first of all, build your relationship with God, secondly commit to yourself, and then to others?  If you are feeling alone, don't think about who is not there for you, but maybe who you have removed yourself from.  I have talked myself out of all these relationships.  I have jumped out of bed with a "thank you God', rushed out of the house with giving my husband a "brush-by" kiss and "call ya later", all because I have overflowed my schedule.  I have thought about talking to a friend and talked myself right out of it by convincing myself "they are too busy" when really it's about rejection if they are.

Trust me, I could go on and on, but I hope you get what I have tried to say here.  Even this blog, I was committing to writing once a week, and my last one was on February 7 (2 months ago).  Change your path today if you have been walking away from any relationships in your life - don't leave them behind; turn back around and run towards the love of the people that God has placed in your life. 

We are in this life together, so let's do life together!