As a new season approaches, we all have a tendency to re-evaluate our lives. We think more closely about what we eat, what we do, how hard we work, and how often we pray. In the fall, we are focused on back-to-school if we have kids, or getting the house ready for the cold months. In the winter, we get more spiritual because the colder weather forces introspection and time with ourselves. In the spring and summer, we worry about getting fit for the warm weather and making sure our work schedules are in order to allow for vacation or extra money as needed. The seasons are cyclical in many ways, and for us as Christians, they represent different things at different times in our spiritual year.
I’ve been talking and advocating a lot about my “living strong” in faith and spirituality lately. I’ve been firm in my directives to stay focused and to remain stronger than the enemy, and I’ve waxed a bit poetic in my suggestions to look inside and to get to know ourselves better. Of course, I mean it all, and, as I write this post, I feel a certain urgency to remind everyone to tap into our strengths as this season of warm weather and more relaxed schedules approaches. I urge us all to dig deep and vow to remain rooted in faith and discipline. With relaxed days approaching, we need to make sure that we still live strong in all that we do.
In the shadow of the Memorial Day celebration, we find ourselves feeling nostalgic and thankful. This is a good thing. These are feelings that we need to tap into for our continued strength in our faith journeys and in our journeys to success in life. It is important to understand that this type of rest and reflection is important and productive, whereas simple inaction and permanent movement from the path of the disciplines we readily impose on ourselves is not. Straying too far from our goals and from our daily initiatives is dangerous; such behavior can open the door to idleness and laziness. If we allow appropriate rest and reflection or applied introspection and restful analysis to our daily disciplines, we can see enhanced results as opposed to inaction.
Living strong, or keeping that reserve of fortitude and resilience close at hand, is imperative to staying the path regarding faith and discipline. God wants us to rest; even He rested on the 7th day. He does not want us to lose sight of our goals, however, nor does he want us to lose our drive to create lives that are constantly improving. Knowing ourselves and knowing what we need to replenish in this time of both reflection and preparation is key to maintaining what we need personally, emotionally, professionally, and spiritually, to succeed in our daily lives.
