Like a Gazelle...

Yesterday, while at the park enjoying the swiftness and ease our grand daughters seemed to have on their small scooters, I took in the freedom they demonstrated because of the balance they have...the control of what pushes them forward. 

Then, our Lindsey, a mature young woman and the one that Warner calls "Momma", leapt upon the pump track and began waving her arms while running behind the girls on their scooters. They thought it hilarious, and Reagan (Meg's girl) labeled her "A Lindsey." "Look!, it's a Lindsey!" 😂

As she tired (one and a half times around the track), she jumped to the ground, and said..."Like a gazelle."

And...if you know me even a little, you know where my mind went. Immediately. "He makes my feet like hinds feet and sets me upon high places." ~Psalm 18:33

A hind, is a gazelle...like a female deer.

Everything seems to rotate around balance...

With balance, one becomes sure-footed. Foundational. Equipped to excel, even in the face of difficulty. Spiritual stability creates mental stability...mental stability creates worldly stability.

And who wouldn't want stability? I would much rather have solid ground than trying to walk of fluidity. It's the goal, however. To be able to walk upon injustice and the ever changing landscape of what life lays at our feet.

So, I look at the deer. Their agility. Their speed. Their balance. 

I have found a new appreciation for the deer that roam residential areas here, in NC. They have no problem coming up to the borders of your yard while they scope out the immediate dangers that may be present. Many times you must look hard to see them, as if they are camouflaged in their surroundings...until they choose to be seen. 

Once they determine your yard to be safe, your garden will become fodder for their hungry tummies...so, there must be a balance of what you allow, if you, yourself, want to enjoy the bounty you worked so hard to produce.

Our choice is always to set boundaries without doing harm to the deer. Not every human can be trusted to do that, however. And they can sense it. They do love a safe yard. One where they have no problem bringing their wobbly legged babies to...that soon become sure footed like a gazelle runs on mountain tops.

Soon, barriers mean nothing to a deer. They can leap over most obstacles without falling prey to animals that lay-in-wait for them to appear. Or to human predators. Because they are so quick and sure footed. Oh, to be like a gazelle...reaching high places, away from the dangers that want to over-take.

Mountain tops are great. Beautiful, even. Fresh...with less danger to encounter than in the valley.

However...nothing much grows on the mountain tops. To find life, one must ascend to the valley below. Where danger may be laying in wait. Yet, it's where one receives strength of body, and of mind. 

We are trained in the valley of despair. Of loneliness. Of difficulty. Where choices must be made to follow the crowd, or listen to what was instilled in us as we were being formed inside our mother's womb. 

We must never lose sight of that still, small voice that alerts us to danger, and directs us in the way we should go. The voice that helps us make difficult decisions because we understand right from wrong. Unless we have ignored it for too long, we'll always be guided to places that give life...instead of take life.

Timidity cannot survive, if a place of joy and security are desired. Yet, boldness and courage are born from adversity. Mentally, physically, and spiritually.

Living out our lives, we either learn to trust, or to run away from. Running is not always bad. Just as the deer in my yard run away if they think I am out to hurt them. 

But, when they are able to stand still and look me in the eye, they see I am harmless...or if I'm there to hurt them.

Facing our fears...enemies of our strength and looking them in the eye, so-to-speak, is a must. But only if we desire freedom more than living in fear. 

As always, here you will find me...in Mary's World

P.S. Habakkuk 3:19, Psalm 18:33, and Samuel 22:34, speaks of "hinds feet" and is used as a metaphor for divine strength and spiritual resilience. It symbolizes God giving a person the ability to rise above life's difficult obstacles, stand securely in high or dangerous place, and to move forward with joy and confidence rather than fear.

*Recommended reading: Hinds Feet Upon High Places by Hannah Hurnard

 

Seeing Into the Mind of One MJLewis

Read on for just a tiny piece of the large puzzle I am working on...

These last few months I have had more on my mind than most of the entire last year. I've always strived for perfection. Perfection in whatever my hands find to do. I was raised this way and it has stayed with me. Some would say it was closer than any friend I've ever had.

Actually, I think most of us are this way, whether we believe it to be, or not. We want to grow and flourish in whatever we find to do. Yes? Whatever our lives consist of, we want it to be the best it can be.

Yet balance is so important in life. To expect instant gratification is to hold onto so many things, while hoping nothing is going to drop. Hoping that others see us. Hoping they confirm our existence, because we, ourselves, wonder if we are important. To anyone. I know, it's childish thinking, but so many adults walk this earth just needing to be seen. And I know why. But this is not about that.

It's my opinion (I have one...so do you), in order for a well balanced life, we must take a step back from our overwhelmed normal days and find a place of peace that will allow some things to just drop, without trying to catch them, if it means we will be able to hold other things more closely.

This may look like not saying yes to everything, but saying yes to only a few very good things. And in this revelation comes the battle of the mind. It will show us all the reasons why this line of thinking is just a bunch of misguided crazy thoughts. It will tell us to stay the course, then throw the "what ifs" at us. We prepare our lists of pros and cons, just to throw them out and begin again. And again...

I am not overwhelmed at this stage of my life. I have been overwhelmed, in years gone by, in my growing years...but not today. So you could say I believe myself to be bit of an expert on this matter. I came here to say that too much of anything brings with it the impossibility to balance any of it, and it will become a place of chaos. Not peace. And the family suffers as we continue living on this merry-go-round. At some point we must remember that only we, ourselves, determine who want to be. We find our peace, our comfort, our existence, when we find our Creator. The perception that we need to please others so they will find us pleasing, is a myth. A lie, of sorts. Once we realign with God, we will find balance and then be able to release the unimportant things we have believed to be important.

Soooo...Spring is looking at us this very moment. It's so close we can feel it, see it, anticipate it. It's the perfect time to breathe in and exhale. The perfect time to let go of the unnecessary, so we can hold the really important close.

Today, you have seen into a tiny nook of my mind, which I believe to be stable. Mostly...

and here you will find me, always...in Mary's World.