Windy’s Blog

I was walking on the treadmill tonight, listening to some old tunes on the mp3 player, when a song came on that made me think. I usually don’t like to think while exercising, because I like to reserve that time to clear my head, not fill it. But tonight was different. The singer finished his song, then spoke about Psalm 102. And so I let my mind consider the words….

The Psalm begins with the title, “a prayer of an overwhelmed saint.”

How many of us have felt overwhelmed at times? We think that we will never be able to accomplish all that needs to be done. Or we feel that life has dealt us so much, and we question “how much more can I take?” It is good to know that we are not alone in those situations. People from generation to generation have gone through similar situations. They have persevered, and so shall we.

Life brings change. That’s one thing I have learned through my journey. Some change is good, some not so good. As I get older, I realize that some things that I depended on have also changed. For instance, five years ago the walk on the treadmill would have been easy. Tonight, not so much. Fifteen years ago I would not have imagined myself living back in my hometown again. Yet, here I am.

And still through the ups and downs, the changes that come and go, there has been one constant in my life: my belief in the existence of a loving God. This belief was instilled in me as a young girl, as I witnessed my grandmother praying for our family. I wonder what she would think or say all of these years later, as I continue to follow her example.

In psalm 102 it states “this will be written for a generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.”

And those were the words I was thinking on as I walked on the treadmill tonight. Things do change in this life. But one constant remains, and that is the Lord. From generation to generation, He continues. The same God of my grandmother, my mom, me, and now the God of my grand nieces and grand nephews, remains.

I find it interesting that the psalm started out as a lament from an “overwhelmed saint,” who came to the conclusion that, through it all, God remains. And here I am, thousands of years later, drawing the same conclusion! How awesome is that? We think we are so different from people of the past, but really, deep down inside, we are all the same.

“Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure…..the children of Your servants will continue, and their descendants will be established before You.” (Psalm 102:25-28).

Just from my grandmother to my grand niece and nephews is 5 generations, and still our God remains faithful. He still provides, He still cares for us, and His love will continue on.  May we all realize the significance of the words of the psalmist. Whether exercising on a treadmill, or dealing with the “treadmill” of life, there is always One on whom we can depend. Over and over and over again.

Some pretty good thoughts to have while exercising, don’t you think?

I love word games. Recently I finally succumbed and began playing Words with Friends over on Facebook. It’s like a “virtual” game of Scrabble, where you play against your opponent over the Internet. I quite enjoy it, as I find many similarities between that game and my own personal life.

First of all, you must think. Just as in life, you must form a strategy for moving on in the game. You can’t just put down letters in any fashion, but you must form words with letters that can be used as the game progresses. In other words (pardon the pun), you must put down a foundation and build off of it. Otherwise, both you and your opponent will get bogged down and will not be able to make moves in the future.

And isn’t that just like life? If we do not have a firm foundation, we will surely fail. If we don’t have something that we can build off of, there is no where to go, and we are stuck.

In the game we are dependent on the letters that are randomly chosen, and we must use our thinking to create success out of what we are given. Isn’t that true in life also? If we are to succeed in this world, we must learn how to deal with what we are given. We cannot just accept what has entered our lives, but we must reach higher, and develop strategies to move on.

In the game we are dependent on the other player. If the opponent forms a word that blocks the letters we intended to use on the next round, we must adapt and move forward. Similar to the way we must be dependent on each other in this world, we also must learn to adapt and move forward. Sometimes we build off of one another’s experience. Together we press on, learning to coexist in a world of many possibilities.

The game, just as life, has rewards. You can earn triple and double points for letters and words. But you must be creative. You must contemplate how to use the letters to create the best words and earn those extra points. At the same time, you must not restrict yourself from future moves. It can get complicated, uh, yeah, much like life!

Oh, sure, you can easily play the game with hardly any effort. You can block your opponent and yourself from future successes. You may just toss a few letters down and see what happens on the next round. You won’t have a very rewarding game, but it can be done.

So you see, the word game is so very much like our life. There are times when we can just “coast,” from day to day. Times when we don’t put a ton of effort into the journey, but just meander along. In the end the journey may not be very fulfilling, but it can be done.

In the word game, you must wait. You play your turn, and then must wait for the other person to play. Sometimes you have to wait just a minute, other times you may have to wait hours, or even days before the next turn. And isn’t that just like life? We can’t always have everything at our fingertips, but must wait for our strategy to prove itself. As Tom Petty sang, sometimes the “waiting is the hardest part.”

Word games and life’s journey. What we do with either one is up to us. As for me, I like the challenge of a good opponent and a fair challenger who will force me to be creative. I don’t skimp on the game, and I enjoy the ride. And in the end, I will succeed.

It seems that the hustle for the holidays has kept me away from my blog for a while. I can’t believe it is almost the new year already! I’ve spent the last few weeks running errands after work, and each weekend in December was packed with events. But I made it through! Amidst all of the busyness, I did have moments of spiritual reflection. However, I will admit that some of those moments were pleas (even screams) of “God, help me!”

Work has been extremely hectic and taxing on my brain, so much so that I actually handed out envelopes with gift cards this Christmas, instead of spending hours wrapping gifts. My brain could simply not handle the tasks of gift wrapping this year.

During one shopping excursion to the local Walmart, I reached the end of my stress tolerance level. The aisles were so crowded that, at one point, I found myself in a line waiting to get down the aisle! You could not even get around the shopper’s cart in front of you. I was very agitated as I finally pushed through the mayhem and stood in line at the check out counter.

The cashier said to me “how are you?” and I went on a rant about the store and ended with “it’s crazy in here!”

The woman’s reaction was priceless. She didn’t let my anxiety pass on to her, but rather, she started humming a Christmas carol as she rang up my purchases! I did not say another word, but found myself humming the tune as I left the store.

And there it was. The true meaning of Christmas came to my mind, pushing past all of the other thoughts, and coming out of my mouth as a hum. Instantly the anxiety of the store left as I enjoyed a peaceful moment reflecting on Jesus and His birth.

And then I reached the parking lot and spent twenty minutes trying to navigate my way out of it!

But that’s how life goes, sometimes. There are peaceful moments, and hectic ones. Ups and downs, losses and wins. Yet I have a strong belief in the gift of our Savior. I believe in the glories of His righteousness, and that they are mine because of Him. The wonders of His love are too many to count. His peace surpasses all of my understanding and can reach me even through my stubborn thoughts about the crowds at Walmart!

And even through busy times of stress and numerous tasks, I found the reassurance to keep going this holiday season. It started with a cashier humming, and ended with moments of reflection and peace.

Joy to the world….let men (and cashiers) their songs employ!