Alright, we're at the mid-way point of our week together, and we're going to be taking a sharp left turn from the previous posts. I have no wisdom to impart or knowledge to share on this topic (though let's be honest, I rarely have wisdom to impart anyway!); rather, my goal today is to get the gears of your mind a'cranking. So pull out your Thinking Cap and get comfy!
Today's discussion was inspired by a cramp I suffered in my leg last night curling. Not quite the existential inspiration you were perhaps expecting, but it's true. While delivering a stone, my right leg (the one I push off from the hack with) cramped, which makes it pretty difficult to concentrate on your shot!
On every subsequent shot, I would say a little prayer to God. "Lord, please be with me and my leg and help me not to cramp up" is what I would say every time. Later in the game I wiped out and semi-twisted my ankle, so my prayer became "Lord, please be with me and my entire body and help me not to cramp up or injure myself further". I decided not to even throw any stones in the final end (we had already lost anyway) to prevent further aggravation.
In addition to prayer, I also stretched my leg as best I could (and yes, I did stretch before we started curling) and ran inside to down a few cups of water (as dehydration is one cause of muscle cramps).
Now, what deep question am I pondering after all of this? Here goes; to what extent are we to rely on God, and to what extent should we look after ourselves? Should I have relied on prayer alone, or on the physical measures I undertook to correct the problem?
Clearly God has the power to alleviate my muscle cramps, but like any Father I think God wants me to learn to take care of myself as well. Here's an analogy; when kids are used to being spoon fed and are starting to learn how to feed themselves, they might try to revert later to being spoon fed. The parent knows that the child has to learn to do this on their own and as such does not spoon feed them.
We're taught to rely on God's power rather than on our own, but then there's free will. Since we are free to choose our own actions, we must also bear some responsibility for our well-being as well, right?
When thinking about this topic, I was reminded of a post over at "Notes To Myself" that echoes this one. Alyssa wrote about a family that had a broken stove. Rather than going out and picking out a new one, they waited nearly 2 years before they purchased a new one, as they were waiting for God to show them one just like the one that no longer functioned. (if you want to read Alyssa's thoughts on this topic, head over to her blog via the link above and enter "stove" in the Search feature)
Let's break down the stove scenario then. This family believed that they had to wait for God to show them the perfect stove. Assuming that the family could afford a stove (for sake of argument let's say they can), God gave this family the tools needed to hold down the jobs needed to pay for said stove (intelligence, skills to hold down a job, etc), and the wits to buy one. So really, aren't you still buying this stove through God?
I could go on and on and go deeper and deeper, but I think I'm going to halt this one here. I don't have any answers for you, but I hope that maybe I've made you think in ways you may not have before or have very often. Sometimes simple contemplation is reward in and of itself.
Feel the magic, hear the roar!
--JBo
3 comments:
I agree with you Jay. I don't think God always comes and simply takes our pain or problem away. He is more than capable of doing that, but I think we learn a lot more from God providing us with the tools to deal with the problem. My son used to want me to fight his battles for him when he would get in trouble with other kids in the area. While the Mother in me wanted to protect him and fix the problem, I knew he needed to learn how to handle arguments and problems on his own. I would give him some suggestions and let him go deal with the issue. SO HARD TO DO!!! I wonder if God feels the same way. Knowing this is what is best for us, but really wanting to jump in and save the day.
Praying to God during both small things and big things I'm going through/working through, reminds me of a childhood memory. The day my Dad took the training wheels off my bike we made a few trips down the driveway with him running behind me, holding onto the back seat to steady the ride. I always had to look back the first few times, make sure I could see him just behind me. But all the while he was telling me to look straight ahead and concentrate. I remember pedaling a little faster each time, feeling the breeze sweep over me and grinning from ear to ear. I noticed I had gone a long way, and glanced back to see my Dad in the distance, hands on his hips, proud look on his face.
Sometimes we gotta do the work. But I feel like that little kid sometimes... just knowing that my Heavenly Father is watching over me through all sorts of situations gives me the strength (and the wisdom) to do it on my own.
Good Post Jay.
Well, I think if God is going to rescue us,solve all our problems and iron out all the tiny details of our lives, what , then is the point of our lives? A friend once said to me the meaning of life is to honor God. I thought about this for a long time. I think there is truth in this. I think we can honor God by making use of the knowlege he sends our way, by being responsible people (by looking after our bodies, after all, we know how to) and living our lives creatively.(amongst many other things) As a parent ,you know you have done your job if your children grow up to be self sufficient, able to solve their own problems and figure things out for themselves, right? I wouldn't want my kids phoning me to ask what to do about a hangnail, on the other hand if there are big life decisions they are mulling over, I would like to be in on it. Same thing?
By the way, you are a good writer.
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