Crash with the Past This Instant!

I’m not sure how most people mark the passage of time in their minds. For me, the different stages of my life are marked in my memory by places.

I was blessed to have a stable upbringing – ages 0 through 18 were spent in the same town – Salem, Oregon. So, while those years are not marked by changing cities, they are marked by changing schools – elementary, middle and high school. After that, someone must’ve dumped heaps full of ants in my pants, because I haven’t stopped moving around since high school graduation.

First came college. You say Spokane and I think: ages 18 – 21. Then came Colorado Springs, and I think: ages 21 – 24. Next? Bend, Oregon. Ages 24 – 28. Following that: Portland, Federal Way, Wash., Portland again, and now? Salem. Yup; I’ve come full circle and landed right back where I started.

Now, because places equal seasons in my life, you can imagine how I feel when I go back to the places that have defined me. When I visited Spokane for the first time since college graduation for my ten-year reunion, I traveled back in time. Spokane’s streets and restaurants existed for a young, floundering girl who wasn’t ready to move so far away from home, but did so anyway … allowing a fiercely independent young woman to emerge in her place. Colorado Springs birthed a bright career for her as she spread her wings, made mistakes, had a thriving night life, and learned what it was she really believed. Bend became a place of deep inner healing punctuated with fun as a lighthearted twenties-something. Portland and Federal Way hold their own profound moments shaping my personhood. And now Salem? The mid-30s me crashes with my inner child in no graceful terms whatsoever.

I drive the streets of my youth. I walk past the bike shop where my dad bought me my first 10-speed. I visit the shops in the mall I strolled as a teenager, gossiping and laughing with other friends who also got dropped off there by their parents. These are places that exist in the crevasses of my memory, and yet, here they are today – innocently and inviting me in again … the new me, the adult me. And I come to realize – the places of my life do not hold various, chopped-up segments of me, but rather I am one whole and congruent person who holds these special places as key pieces in the puzzle of my formation.

Have you ever confronted not only a place from your past but a former version of you? How have you responded? Is your heart open to the One who delights in masterfully weaving all the disjointed segments of your life together so that they form one beautiful and breathtaking story? Can you let Him hold all of your random yesterdays, average todays, and untold tomorrows so that, more than anything, it’s His story that is renowned through you?

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”  Revelation 22:13

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 3:13-14

Perfect Posture This Instant!

No one ever intentionally slouches, but most people do it anyway.

Posture is a funny thing. When you’re not thinking about it, it just is what it is ... and that means it’s probably not great. But when you do think about it, when you turn your attention to the way you’re sitting or standing, you become prompted to hold yourself differently. You probably pull your shoulders back, your gut in, and your head up.

Perfect posture doesn’t happen on its own (unless you’re a professional dancer). It requires conscious effort. The more you pay attention to it, the more you strive to make it better and the easier it becomes to sit and stand straight. The same holds true for other things you long to change about yourself.

Struggling with bad habits? Stinkin’ thinkin’? Unhealthy but familiar patterns of relating with someone? Sure, you want to change, but it’s just so hard. The process seems too daunting. So you carry on “as is,” wishing things were different, but not putting forth the effort that actually causes change.

Instead of waiting for an instant, magical new you, what if you saw your “issue” as you do your posture? You can’t automatically have great posture without ever practicing great posture. And you can’t suddenly kiss your “issue” goodbye without ever putting forth bits of effort that will eventually make it a thing of the past.

As you try pulling your shoulders back, won’t you also try a small, kind gesture in place of a rapid, rude response? As you lift your chin, won’t you also try respecting your personal boundaries? As you sit with your tummy tucked in, won’t you also try replacing that self-defeating thought with biblical truth?

Practice, practice, and more practice ... it’s the perfect posture prescription!

“How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Luke 6:42

“First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” Matthew 23: 26