Anyone who knows me knows that I am not one for running. I may have the “runner’s body” but that’s where my running talents end. And believe me, I’ve tried. To this day the idea of running a mile causes my heart to start racing even before I take a step. My best friend is the complete opposite. She runs every single day, sometimes ten miles, or eleven, or twelve. Running a marathon for her wouldn’t be too big of a deal. A little training and some spaghetti dinners and she would be all set. Sometimes every day can feel like a long run and a sprint all at the same time. We sprint from bed to work or school and then to meetings and then home to do more work. And throughout the whole day, although we feel that we are going as fast as possible it never seems to end. It is a long and drawn out marathon. It is hitting the afternoon lag and pushing through, it is getting home from a full day only to do more work, it is never feeling that you have a second to breathe or even eat. So often we pride ourselves on this behavior. We are always encouraged to take on more. To multitask. To prove that we are hard workers. Well I say let’s all chill out a bit. What really matters in our lives? This question is so hard to decipher. Of course, what we are doing every day matters. Or at least I hope it does, if not we have a different issue. What you are spending your time on serves a purpose, work is to make a living, school is to learn and provide for your future, taking care of your children is to teach them how to be good human beings. There is a point for it all. But what do we do when all the hats we are wearing start to topple over? We have stacked them on for so long. We are a friend, a daughter or son, a sister or brother, a cousin, a student, a worker, a Christian, a girlfriend and boyfriend, a wife or husband, a mother or father. It can be so difficult to balance these roles. In life we must decide to stay on the rat race or to get off the bandwagon. Now I don’t mean quit your job or anything similarly dramatic. The point is, Jesus wasn’t rushing around. He took his time, he would withdraw and pray. He knew what the future held, he knew that he would make the ultimate sacrifice, but he didn’t plan out everything on the way. God knew the people Jesus would touch, but Jesus was simply following God’s plan and timing. Jesus was a son, he was a friend, he was a leader, he was a cousin and a brother and a worker and a student…he was the Messiah, the Savior of all mankind. Talk about a lot of hats. But what he was mostly, entirely, was Jesus. He was himself. He had his personality and his features and his spirit that still dwells inside believers. That is who we are too. You are you. I am Jaci. I have flaws and imperfections that I dwell on way too much. But still, I am Jaci and I have my personality and my features and my spirit that God uniquely gave me. This means that we aren’t tied to who we are as a student, a worker, or so on. Our striving and endurance in this marathon of life do not make up our identity. We all have a place here, one’s strength is another’s weakness—just like my friend is better at running and I can write blog posts. And this truth is what makes up the intricate patchwork of each one of us as God’s created beings. The Holy Spirit is within us, leading us along and fixing our paths. But when we rush and add so much unnecessary noise and pressure onto ourselves, we are doing nothing but complicating and overwhelming our brains. Jesus hates how the world gives us so much baggage to carry. The world is complicated and there is so much separating us from the simple truth and purpose that the Lord has for us. In Matthew 23, Jesus is extremely angry with the Pharisees, the Jewish teachers of the law, and says “They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” So often it can feel like heaviness is upon our shoulders and it is up to us to keep it all together. However, as Jesus stood up for his people then, he stands up for us now. He is here to help us run this marathon. In Hebrews 12: 1-2 the bible says just that: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” So, let’s run this race with Jesus and throw off the heaviness that the world is placing on us. AMEN Love, Jaci
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AuthorJaci Pederson Archives
January 2019
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