Water-based Workouts

Water-based workouts are gaining in popularity. While balancing on floating mats, participants go through the exercises demonstrated by the teacher. This requires serious engagement of the core muscles to maintain balance on an unstable platform. I imagine there is a lot of hilarity and frustration as participants regularly plunge off the bobbing base.

We live life on a bobbing base. Storms of uncertainty, of sorrow and grief can seriously rock the mats on which we balance. Jesus told a story about building our lives on the rock of faith in him, but even when our lives are built on the rock of Jesus, we can still be threatened by choppy waves of circumstances and events. 

Though alarming and unwanted, these waves of life can help strengthen our spiritual core. We don’t really welcome trouble but Jesus also told us in this world we would have trouble. Jesus had trouble. He had the cross. 

The cross is our spiritual core. Tsunamis of grief and pain may threaten to sweep us off our rock of faith in Jesus, but as we cling to the cross we discover that we are anchored forever in him.

Yesterday

Yesterday afternoon, the skies opened and shot bullets of torrential rain at us. Monsoon-style. Shortly afterwards, the sun shone again and the ground began to steam. It steamed and steamed until there was an eerie fogginess shrouding the world in mist as darkness fell around 9 pm. 

An hour later, a mighty army of (sorry to mention this Chrisie) snails and slugs had slithered out of their green bunkers and moved en masse across the path and on up the wall of the house. 

This morning, dewdrops (or left-over raindrops?) clung beautifully to the spider webs whose numbers always amaze me. Stretched between prickly gorse branches, filling spaces between the ripening brambles, reaching between rowan leaves showing the faintest hint of autumn colours: I love the webs but you can keep the spiders.

The skies have cleared, the sun is shining bright and warm and we are enjoying another summer day – though the drenched lawn tells a story of yesterday’s deluge.

Whatever hits us in life, has consequences. Some are exquisite, some are curious, some are out of a horror movie. When you’ve built your life on a rock, though, you can be assured that whatever problems assail you, Jesus never leaves you. He is always there, loving you, whispering words of guidance or condolence or encouragement or laughing with you.

A crutch? Never. A friend and a powerful Lord worthy of love and praise.

Rudderless

Someone I know is bobbing around mentally just now. She has lost sense of direction or progression and contradicts her adamant pronouncements within seconds. Every pronouncement she makes, she believes to be a true assessment of the situation, and yet a few moments later she can express certainty that it is just the opposite.

It is as if she has lost her rudder and the ability to steer a course through her days and weeks. The familiar compass points of time and days is muddled and has to be checked by notations on numerous calendars round the house. 

She doesn’t seem anxious or even aware of her frequent self-contradictions. 

Though she has lost her rudder, her anchor is still sunk deep into her faith in the Lord Jesus, and it is that anchor which is holding her. She is safe, bobbing round first facing one way, then another, but still held securely to the rock of ages.

There is an old hymn, ‘Will your anchor hold?’, and I am seeing this demonstrated in this person’s life. Everything else seems to be slipping, but her anchor is holding fast. 

Thank God.