Posts Tagged: relaxed attentiveness
“No Matter How Far You’ve Traveled”
“No matter how far you’ve traveled on the road of recovery, the ditch is still the same distance away.” (From a 12-step friend who got it from another wise recovering person.)
“But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (The Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 9:27, English Standard Version)
When this covid-19 plague got going, I stopped. I stopped going, that is. I didn’t drive for weeks on end. There was nowhere to drive that I wanted to go. When I finally drove for the first time in a long while, I noticed that the ditch seemed closer than usual.
Well, no, that can’t be right! I was just a little rusty in my driving skills, and a bit more prone to weaving. The truth is that the ditch is in the same place it was before the pandemic began.
Now that I’m driving a bit more, it is important to remember that the ditch is still in the same place. And no matter how far I drive, it is still going to be about the same distance from the highway. And that means that the ditch is going to be close to the road. I still need to be careful. I still need to pay attention, and not speed.
So it is with life. So it is with my life as a Christ-follower. So it is with my recovery from addiction. Confident is not far from cocky, and cocky is not far from the ditch. Sometimes I think that cocky is the ditch.
Of course, being uptight can also land me in the ditch. If I get too anxious about life, following Christ, being a good husband, or addiction recovery, I am likely to oversteer. And a person who oversteers is an accident just waiting to happen.
What is the solution, if both cockiness and uptightness are problems?
Relaxed attentiveness! And for me as a Christ-follower, both relaxation and attentiveness have the same origin: trusting God. When I remember that God is actively involved in my life, I can relax, knowing that I am loved. I can also pay attention to the road in front of me.
Remembering that the ditch is still the same distance from the road doesn’t mean that I have to end up there.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
- DTEB, “Getting Christ and Ourselves Back in Focus” November 11, 2024“Col. 3:1 ¶ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Col. 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Col. 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden […]
- “Search Me!” October 27, 2024“Psa. 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24, English Standard Version) I am participating in a Bible study, and this is a prayer […]
- “Christian Speech” October 26, 2024“Eph. 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Foulkes, in his excellent commentary on the Book of Ephesians, writes the following, which I quote at some length: “29. Now the […]
- “God is in the Details” October 11, 2024“The devil is in the details.” (A general saying, often quoted by lawyers, reporters, and negotiators.) “God is in the details.” (Me, almost certainly not original.) “Luke 12:7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Jesus) God does not micromanage, but God […]
- “Grandma’s Pump” October 8, 2024When I was a little critter, I would stay at my grandma’s house for a night or two sometimes. I liked this for a lot for many reasons. One thing I liked about staying with her was that Grandma’s house was much more technologically advanced than ours was. For one thing, she had indoor water—sort […]
- “Wearing the #14 Wrong-Side-Out” October 5, 2024Pete Rose, #14, is dead. Many of the old guys with whom I play softball watched him play and appreciated him greatly. I do as well. He was one of the greatest players who ever played the game. Yes, he admitted (eventually) to betting on baseball. But many of us still regard him as one […]
- “Passing Along the Love (and a Link)” October 4, 2024Several years ago, a friend of mine put me onto a daily meditation by Richard Rohr and friends. I don’t read them all the time, but I probably should. They are good! I thought that today’s writing was especially good, and I also figured that this would be a good way to post something. I […]
- “Witnessing Versus Being Witnesses” September 19, 2024“Acts 1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, Acts 1:2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after […]
- “A Bathroom Prayer for Hurting Hands” September 11, 2024A week ago Sunday, my hands were hurting so badly at church that I went to the bathroom to run hot water over my hands. Arthritis perhaps, or carpal tunnel, or general orneriness—I don’t know why my hands hurt, but they do. They have for years. So, while I was running hot water over my […]
- “Waiting and Seeking” September 10, 2024“Lam. 3:19 ¶ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! Lam. 3:20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. Lam. 3:21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Lam. 3:22 ¶ The steadfast love of the LORD […]
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