Another Purpose for My Grand New Goal

Throughout the school year, I sit across the table from college students who are struggling with motivation issues. I often hear myself asking these students, "Why are you pursuing this education? Tell me about your goals. How much are you willing to sacrifice for those goals?" Some of the best things in life are difficult to attain - a college education; strong, healthy relationships with God, friends and family; a fulfilling career; fill-in-the-blank ________________.

For me, education comes easy, and my motivation is naturally high. BUT, I am NOT extremely motivated to eat healthy and exercise. Some of the students I advise are athletes. I often compare drive on the athletic field with drive in the classroom. Great athletic accomplishments require great discipline, sacrifice, and motivation. Student athletes at the collegiate level understand this concept well. More than once, while having this conversation with student athletes, I am convicted of my lacking motivation. I hear myself say to students, "It's midterm, there are only 8 weeks left. You can do anything for 8 weeks, can't you? Isn't your goal worth the commitment?" I must ask and answer the same questions for myself in a different, yet oh-so-similar, realm.

My "Grand New Goal" is for my family, and for my personal well-being, but it is also an effort to practice what I preach. Academic endeavors are easy and natural for me. To understand the students with whom I work, I need to push myself in a way that is unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and seemingly impossible. I need to commit, exercise discipline, and persevere even when I don't feel like it.

I have been reading about Grand Canyon hikes. I won't lie: I am very intimidated and doubtful. This journey is not natural for me; it may be the most difficult goal I have ever set in my life. I am taking the next step - joining a gym - today. I plan to partake in my first workout tonight. One step at a time... every day... for the next 12+ months. I am focusing on the joy my family will experience in achieving this goal together. I am focusing on the forever memories we will create amidst the journey. I am focusing on my students who feel like giving up when the road is rough, and how this experience will allow me to relate better with them. O Lord, help me!

A Grand New Goal

As my second academic year at NNU comes to a close, and as our family appears to be quietly settling into our new life, I am beginning to dream about some new goals. One area clearly stands out: I need to become physically fit and healthy. This need takes center stage beginning today.

I inherited a neurological disease called Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT). Though I have been aware of orthopedic difficulties since Kindergarten, it has only be named for me in recent years. CMT is in the muscular dystrophy family. No one in my extended family has had a severe case of CMT; it is really more of a nuisance. For me, it plays a big role in my lack of motivation to be physically active. Couple that lack with my love for good food, and I have a problem! As the mom of two active boys living in a adventurous area of the country, I feel like I am missing out on real living. Knowing that my dad had a heart attack in his 50's, and knowing that I seem to favor his genes in other significant areas, I feel fearful for my future. It is time to act!

This burst of energy to act has come and gone numerous times over the years, so I need to an exciting focal point. Thanks to my boys, I think I've found a deeply motivating goal. They really want to hike the Grand Canyon! Tanner asked to do it this summer, and I grieved the fact that I would not be able to join the family on such an adventure. As we discussed our options for this summer, we decided to hold off on the Grand Canyon until next summer. Viola, folks, I have a dream!

I am headed to the Nampa Rec Center tomorrow to purchase a family membership. My healthy eating plan commenced today. I want to buy bikes for the family - including a tandem bike for Steve and me (my CMT includes issues with balance). Yesterday I publicly shared my goal for the first time. I have 12 months to transform my life, and create an awesome family memory!

The boys' desire to hike the Grand Canyon was born on a trip with their grandparents.

There are many aspects of my job that I enjoy, but the most fulfilling piece is when I have the opportunity to encourage a student. Some students are doing well, and just need a pat on the back to keep their focus on the goal. Some students are failing, and they need encouragement in understanding that academic probation or failure does not define them. Some student pass their courses, but it takes every ounce of fortitude to complete the tasks. These students face obstacles beyond my understanding, and I find myself wondering, "Why, God?" Encouragement is fulfilling to give, and it is vital to receive!

As I am reading Adam Hamilton's The Journey (2011), I am reminded of how much we all need encouragement! The angel Gabriel offered Mary encouragement. In a dream, God offered Joseph encouragement. Elizabeth heaped encouragement upon Mary. In the midst of trying circumstances at work this semester, several key folks offered me encouragement, and it made a tremendous difference in my journey. I realized that I work in an environment where appreciation and encouragement are common. And, you know what? It makes me want to appreciate and encourage others more!

Look around you, and prepare to encourage those who cross your path. Encouragement is a free gift (and you don't need a coupon, or a frequent shopper card!). Enjoy blessing others!

One of my favorite pre-school "projects" brought home by Ty.

Emmanuel - God with us.

I have no earthly idea how people without faith in God deal with life's difficulties. "God has not promised us a life without suffering or a world without pain; he has promised to walk with us through the suffering and the pain (The Journey, Hamilton, 2011).

Am I alone in this, or do most people have an aversion to pain? There is someone close to me who is suffering, and I want to fix it so badly. I even blame myself for the pain he is feeling. As recent as Sunday night, my mind would not rest for re-living decisions, and wondering if things would be different if only....

I am responsible for nurturing this person, and I am so imperfect. Have I caused the pain? Can I fix it?

As I recall my own adolescence, I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that pain led to significant growth in me. Oh, but it is so much harder to watch another face such development from this perspective. I said to a friend today, "Do they have any idea what they do to us?" No, no they don't, and they won't until the roles change. In the meantime, I know Emmanuel, and I know He is with us... always.

The cliche is very true, "They grow up so fast!"

Righteous, Baby!

The word "righteousness" is not popular word. Some people have done great things for righteousness sake, but others have acted out really horrible things for righteousness sake. Hamilton (The Journey, 2011) describes Joseph as a righteous man, but not in the way I might immediately think....

When Joseph first heard of Mary's condition, he intended to quietly leave her - this was considered righteous by a literal reading of the law. After Joseph heard a word from God regarding Mary and the baby she carried, he disobeyed the law and married her. "Joseph's righteousness led him to ignore the clear teaching of the law. What does this tell us about the New Testament definition of righteousness" (Hamilton, 2011)?

Open-mindedness to these ideas inspire me to avoid quick, judgmental attitudes towards those who think differently from me - in any direction. How might God be working? Might He be working in ways that are not immediately evident to me? Might He work in ways that I do not understand? Might He work in ways that I disagree with? Based on the Biblical account of Christ's birth, it is likely!

Another gift from Christmas '97 that I hold dear to my heart!

Doubt at Christmas

Doubt is not a common theme at Christmas. I like the way Adam Hamilton (The Journey, 2011) compares Joseph with "Doubting Thomas" upon hearing Mary's news:

Joseph was the first person in the Gospel who doubted; he might be considered (with "Doubting Thomas") the patron saint of doubters.

Interesting. Hamilton (The Journey, 2011) also remarks that "doubt is not the enemy of faith; it is often the doorway to a deeper faith." Even more interesting.

For better or for worse, I am not a doubter. It is fairly easy for me to believe in Spiritual things that I can not see, or fully understand. Yet, I yearn for a deeper faith. Hamilton (The Journey, 2011) suggests that we may overcome doubt by "remain(ing) open to possibilities." I think the same is true for people who, like me, find faith in God rather easy. The "doorway to a deeper faith" for me is remaining open-minded to the possibilities. God is not finished with humanity. He continues to influence humanity, and teach us His truth. It is not that His truth is changing, BUT it could be that as He continually reveals His truth, WE are changing.

I have added this ornament to a Christmas tree for as long as I can remember. Raggedy Ann has nothing to do with doubt - she is just a Christmas memory.... :-)

More Christmas Pondering

We've made Christmas beautiful and busy. Not all bad, but not all good. The beautiful part is nice - warm memories, emotion-filled music, pretty decor, thoughtful gifts for/from special people. Like the history of many nice things, humanity steals the joy and adds excess until we are warped. This phenom is not just about Christmas. It is about nearly everything, including our ideas of what is right and good. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with how screwed up we all are in our thinking and acting - each of us in our unique way, of course.

As an example, Adam Hamilton writes (The Journey: A Season of Reflections, 2011):

When Matthew tells Jesus' genealogy he lists two prostitutes and an adulteress, women who were outsiders....

If tradition is correct, Mary's family lived in the cheapest form of affordable housing at that time: a cave. Mary's village was considered of 'no account.' But it was precisely here that God...

Even by today's standards, these examples not pretty, perfect, or glamorous. Why do we equate "the good life" with beauty, perfection, and comfort?

I love this nativity - it is rough and imperfect!

Why do we work so hard to be "happy," or to ensure our kids are happy? to be "successful," or to make our kids successful? If we believe anything about God, we believe he acts unexpectedly:

God routinely chooses the humble and the least expected in and through whom he might do his greatest work (Hamilton, 2011).

Shouldn't we be searching for God in the unexpected? Shouldn't we be acting in unexpected ways? Shouldn't we be considering ideas that are unconventional - whatever our particular convention of thought might be right now? Might not God use us in unexpected ways, if we look for Him in our discomfort, our imperfections, our ugliness - again whatever defines our discomfort, imperfections, and ugliness? I don't know about you, but my discomforts, imperfections, and ugliness vary, but they never completely leave me. My Christmas ponderings are leading me to embrace them, rather than avoid them.

Please God, help me to to embrace
Your ideas  with open-mindedness; 

release me from the ideas of this world
that paralyze me.