Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Storms Blow

Hurricane Sandy has just punched the north eastern coast of the US. New York was hit pretty hard. New York is resilient though, always has been. Storms happen. They come and they go. Some make a whole lot of noise, some cause a whole lot of damage. We cannot avoid all of the storms that life throws at us. But, we can weather them.


We too, can be like New York. We can be resilient. More to the point, we are supposed to be resilient. Storms should not side track us. They should not keep us from reaching our potential, our goals, or our mission. We need to be able to weather storms - To survive their worst, to recover and move on.



How do we survive storms? We need an anchor. We need to rely on more than our own physical strength. Sometimes we need to rely on more than our own mental strength. We need to have faith. 



Faith is an anchor. It keeps you tethered to life. But, and I speak of my own faith here, faith also keeps you tethered to God. Whether or not you believe in God, without faith, you cannot prosper in this life. Faith can mean the difference between overcoming a storm or being destroyed by one. 



Faith keeps your hopes and your dreams alive. Faith is your anchor in a storm and it is your compass when there are no storms. Faith gives life to hope. Without faith, hope dies. When hope dies, so do you. Sure, you may still breathe and take up space, but you are merely the walking dead. Here, but lost. 



What in the blue blazes does any of this have to do with health? Absolutely everything. Do you want to lose weight? Do you believe you can? If you "fall off the wagon", can you overcome it? Can you dust yourself off, grit your teeth and get back on? Can you "see" yourself lean and mean? Trim and tone? 


Do you have a health goal? Do you want to be able to play frisbee with your grandkids when you have some? If you have "bad joints" now can you still imagine yourself playing frisbee with your grandkids? If you have "health problems" can you overcome them with your faith, or will you yield to what the doctor says? Or to what your neighbor says? 

Your faith, the very thing that makes "things that are not seen" real, is the one thing you have that can help you become an "overcomer." You have faith. Everyone does. Not everyone uses their faith. But, everyone has it. Faith, your faith, is your "overcomer" tool.

You were meant to be an "overcomer." You have been given faith. Your brain and your body will only get you so far. Storms come. Faith weathers them.  It allows you to tap into a strength that is beyond yourself. It helps you stand when others would fall. Don't get tossed around by the storms. Anchor yourself with your faith. Be an overcomer.