Monday, August 31, 2015
God is like the wind
Sometimes I think to myself that God is like the wind. You can´t see the wind but you know it´s there when you look at how it affects nature and people. When you look outside and see big waves on the sea you know it´s windy outside. You can feel the wind but you can´t see it. I´m thinking that experiencing God is alot like experincing the wind. You can feel God´s presence in your life but you can´t see him. You can see that God is present in someone else´s life by looking at their actions. The wind makes the sea move and God makes people move.
God pushes us out of our complacent lives and makes us want to move, suddenly we want to do something to make the world better and to make ourselves better people. We want to love others, help the poor, heal the sick and comfort those who are lonely. God stirs us up like the wind stirs up the sea.
When we are struggling in life we can find comfort, strength and guidance from talking with God through prayer. When we pray and ask God to come into our lives and help us with the things we lack strength to handle on our own we can sense his presence. We can see God move in our lives as the circumstances suddely change, things happen that we know we couldn´t have done ourselves without his interference. When God guides us through our lives it´s like the wind blowing in our hair, we know it´s there but the wind itself is invisible.
I´ve met people who have experinced incredible changes in their lives that came after they invited God into their hearts and started listening to his still voice. My friend K was once a gang member involved in violent crimes and came to faith in God in prison after reading the Bible (in lack of anything else to read) in the high-security prison. Today he is a loving husband and father of two cute toddlers. I was very surprised when he told me that he once was a gang member because there is nothing in his lifestyle today that points toward that old life. He is one of the most genuine, kind and loving people I have ever met. Today he works as a pastor and is passionate about introducing the gospel to others who have no idea about how much God loves them.
When the wind is really strong a calm sea can suddenly change and become huge waves, it´s sometimes surprising how much the wind can affect the sea. The same way as the wind has the power to change the sea God has the power to change us, his goal is to make us into more loving and better versions of ourselves. God is inviting each one of us on that journey.
Friday, August 28, 2015
Time for rest and reflection
I´ve been reading alot of health magazines this summer. I love bringing magazines to read when I go to the beach. It´s fun to relax in the sun and be able to learn something new at the same time. My favorite Scandinavian health magazine right now is a magazine called "MåBra". I love this magazine because it focuses on both the physical side and the mental side of wellness and health. I find that many health magazines these days tend to focus a little too much on vanity and the perfect body. The mental side of health is easily ignored or valued less in health magazines.
One topic that was mentioned many times in the magazines I was reading this summer was the need for rest. Research shows that allowing your body and mind to rest on a regular basis is very important to live a long and healthy life. I also read daily in blogs and on facebook about how people are stressed, tired, and lacking sleep. It´s easy to prioritize other things over taking time to rest in today´s society because there is alot of pressure to constantly achieve things. More and more people push themselves so hard that they get burned out and are forced to give the body and mind what it needs.
I´m hoping for a future where being "stressed" or "busy" is less glorified and where taking time to rest is more prioritized. I talked with other women in our church one time and they were all complaining that they were stressed and tired from the lack of balance in their lives. They had their children, their careers, husbands and volunteer positions to think about. I said to them: "Sometimes I think that God probably knew our struggle to prioritize resting when he decided to make it one of the ten commandments. As Christians we don´t "get to rest" every now and then, we have to rest at least one day a week." That´s pretty awesome. When I rest God is pleased with me, I don´t have to constantly achieve. Rest is not something that I only deserve when I have done alot of great work and when I´m exhausted. Rest is God´s gift to all people. I have also noticed that I get my best new ideas when I´m resting. Time for rest and reflection is super important in my life.
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