Crashing Lessons
My son came home from college in early December- coinciding with an early start to ski season. I live less than thirty minutes from our local resort, and we purchased season passes this year. I was determined to take advantage of every opportunity possible to spend our time together, enjoying our mutual love for the outdoors and that exhilarating feeling of flying down mountains on skis. It all started so well.
I was having fun, and though I was well aware that trying to keep up with an athletic nineteen-year-old with a high-risk tolerance might push it too far for this forty+ mom, I tried. I was learning and improving. I also crashed or fell most days, ending up with an impressive assortment of bruises on my body that I mainly viewed as badges of courage. Then, on January 2nd, I had a big scary crash that ended with a ride down the mountain on a toboggan with ski patrol. And now, I’m on crutches. I’m certainly not the right person to give anyone any ski lessons, but I have a takeaway on crashing, which seems to apply beyond skiing.
Every crash (even the big one) happened not on the more challenging black diamonds but on the “easy” parts. This surprised me at first. Then my husband told me this matched his experience. I thought about it and believe it’s because when we’re on more challenging terrain, we’re on guard, focused, and not moving as fast--but when we get too comfortable, we can take our eyes off where we need to be looking and go too fast. And sometimes, we end up paying a painful price.
Is there a life lesson here? I think so.
“Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things, and give me life in your ways.” Psalm 119:37
The world is full of distractions, many of them “good,” but if we’re focusing on those things instead of what God has for us, we can lose our peace. We’re not called to do all the things. We’re not made that way.
The practical application of this truth fits with a word I believe God gave me for this year: quiet. I’m just starting to get a glimpse of how this word will apply to my life in 2023, but for me, the first steps mean quieting distractions so I can make more space for God to speak to me. For example, it looks like more analog time and less digital, less social media, and more face-to-face interaction. It may look different for you. The critical point is to get quiet and listen to what God has for you--and then focus on that.
Sometimes I end my quiet meditation time in the morning with a simple prayer:
My God and my all.
I pray this now for all of us, asking that it might be true in our lives.
FYI: Look to Jesus: How to Let Go of Worry and Trust God is free for digital download on Amazon today through Thursday! You can get your copy here.
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