Daily Graces

No Pain, No Gain….But why does it have to hurt so much?

Published on August 1, 2015August 1, 2015 by KateLeave a comment

In case you haven’t picked up on it, exercise and working out are not high on my list of activities. I understand the value and recognize the need, but I have not found the proper level of discipline and motivation.

Our base gym has a fantastic service called Peep Drop. It used to be that the parent signed up to volunteer to watch the kids. For every hour you volunteered you got so many hours of gym time and your kids could be taken care of. This was a pretty good deal. Apparently, however, this volunteer for gym hours still wasn’t enough to get me to the gym. Recently, they took away my last excuse. Now you don’t even need to volunteer. You automatically get 10 (I’m pretty sure) hours a week. No more excuses. I couldn’t justify not going anymore.

So, twice this week, I’ve gone to the gym. The first day for a class and the second for some time on a treadmill (i had hoped for a second class but misread the schedule – oh well, I probably would have fallen over in the class anyway). As I sit here writing, I would love to not get up for the rest of the evening. I am so sore!

I was telling Ben about my aches and pains and he laughed. “But it’s a good hurt” he said. “My hamstrings won’t move because I did legs yesterday. It’s awesome,” he boasted. What?? How on earth is that awesome? Maybe I am missing a few synaptic pathways in my brain that have to do with exercise and the body aches it causes. I mean, I get it, kind of. The main means that you worked the muscle and as it heals, it grows stronger. That’s nice and all, but the process hurts.

Since my body aches every time I move for the most part, I’ve obviously spent a lot of time dwelling on it. There are a lot of things in life that are for our good and overall benefit that involve a process of pain. How many times does a child learning to walk fall before acquiring the core and leg strength and balance necessary? How much did your head hurt when studying for a difficult final or exam in school? How much did it hurt your pride to have to admit an error or mistake at work was your fault? So many lessons in life are learnt through a process of pain. But we grow because of it. We learn to walk. We retain the knowledge from the test which shapes our future learning experiences. We grow as an individual when we own up to the mistakes we make.

Even faith grows in a similar manner. St. Peter tells us, “So that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7) Even though tested by fire – sounds painful to me. But, if my faith deepens and grows because of it, isn’t it worth it? If I am able to more clearly see the hand of God in my life and am better able to trust in the good plans He has crafted for me, isn’t that enough?

If we expect our faith to carry us, then our spiritual muscles need training to go the distance. Habits of prayer, sacrifice, communication, service, self-denial. All these are elements of a healthy, active and growing spiritual life – spiritual muscles.

If we neglect one area, we may find some fatigue, some soreness or discontent, not unlike what my body is presently experiencing. The challenge, just like with exercise, is to go back even though you are sore, confident that any pain or frustration is temporary and that good will come from it. So, maybe it’s time to stop complaining and start training.

Faith Like a Child…..or at least like my children

Published on July 27, 2015 by Kate1 Comment

In Matthew 18, Jesus brings a child before his disciples and tells them that if they don’t start acting like children, they won’t get into the kingdom of heaven. Ok, so that’s a bit of a paraphrase. (Here it is for real). Now I don’t know about your kids, but if you acted like mine all the time, I’m not so sure you would get into heaven. Don’t get me wrong, I love them to the moon and back, but angels they are not.

Fortunately, Jesus wasn’t telling his disciples that they should be self-centered, whiny, nose-picking, diaper-filling children. Jesus was pointing to other things which I can see in my own kids.

Children are full of trust. They rely completely on their parents and adults around them to fulfill all of their needs. Think about a baby. Clare at 10 months old cannot communicate what she needs. She trusts that I will figure it out every time and take care of her.
Children have no worries or cares for tomorrow, or yesterday. They live completely in the moment, focused on the here and now. They don’t trouble themselves with what went right or wrong yesterday and they harbor no fears about what may or may not happen tomorrow.
Children have an incredible capacity for wonder and awe. We will go for a walk and Rosie will stop and smell a flower as if it was the first flower she had ever seen (and she will tell you, every time, “Look Mommy, Look! The most beautiful flower I’ve ever seen, I’ve never seen one before!”).
Children are always learning something. They seek greater knowledge every day. Sometimes it seems like they need to learn more than they need to breathe. Side story: There are pros and cons here for the parents. Pros – your child is learning to walk, talk, write, read, etc. Great! Cons: When your 4yr old and 2yr old learn that when the baby cries it means that mom had to put her down because she is coming back into their room to tell them to go to bed for the 10th time so they scurry back in bed before she gets in the room to act like they weren’t just jumping on the bed – great cause and effect learning, frustration for the mother.
Children don’t need complicated answers, at least the little ones don’t. As children get older, the wonderful question “But why?” comes into play. This ties back into the constantly learning piece.
Children don’t care what others are thinking. If they are moved to dance, they dance. If they are moved to cry, they cry. They aren’t concerned about putting on a show or a mask for appearances’ sake. (see my last post about that).

Trust, contentment, wonder, a quest for knowledge, simplicity – these are some of the qualities that I see in my children which inspire my faith every day.

Joyful Noise

Published on July 24, 2015 by Kate1 Comment

It was such a lovely day today! I was able to open the windows, let in light and lots of fresh air. The kids must have felt my good mood and, miracle of miracles, all fell asleep….AT THE SAME TIME! Yes, the capitals are not only appropriate for that statement, they are necessary. It was wonderful. I was able to sit in complete quiet, the breeze coming through the front windows and indulge my creative side for a few moments.

As I saw writing, I became aware of how my sense of hearing heightened as the stillness and quiet of the house lengthened. I could hear kids playing, dogs barking, the bustle of life just outside my door. I was drawn to the sound of a child playing and talking loudly.

As I listened, the talking turned, surprisingly, to song. It’s not uncommon for my kids to spontaneously burst out into song – we listen to so much music throughout the day. After naps we had a jam session – me on the guitar and John and Rosie taking turns playing harmonica and singing random nothings. At dinner tonight, John started singing “Human Again” from the Beauty and the Beast musical soundtrack. But our musical outbursts are usually confined to our house or car.

But I digress. This child was incredible. She was quite literally singing at the top of her lungs. It was as if she was the only person around and she had no shame or fear at being overheard. By now you may be trying to guess what song she was singing. Taylor Swift? Or perhaps Justin Bieber or Selena Gomez? Not a chance.

She was singing “One Thing Remains” by Passion, a Christian music group. She kept singing the same part over and over again, probably because it’s the chorus and it’s an easy musical line. “Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me.” Over and over again, she bellowed with more gusto than even the best opera singers. She had no audience, there was no performance. Over and over again, “your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me” (Song here).

We go to church, Sunday after Sunday, expecting to meet God. And often we do. How many of us expect to meet God on the street corner at 2:30pm on a Thursday afternoon? This little girl proclaimed the purest praise that I think I’ve ever heard. It was so inspiring and has stuck with me. What a profound statement of faith.

I will hold onto this memory. At moments of doubt, uncertainty, or fear, I hope that this young girl’s voice comes to mind. Her joyful, innocent praise should fill all of our hearts. It makes me think of Psalm 100:

A psalm of thanksgiving.