AlzLove: Feeling down? Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are the earth.

Psalm 121:1-2 ESV

A Song of Ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

“Look up!” I heard the still small voice say to my soul… “Look up!” it said again. I enjoy my relationship with my Heavenly Father, especially during exercise when my body and mind and soul seem to have a heightened sense of awareness.  I rounded the corner on the paved trail that I had jogged many times before as my heart sensed His calling. The crisp air along with the warmth of the sun on my face was already lifting my spirits as my feet hit the pavement with each step.

Obediently, I lifted my head up towards the sky. He pressed harder “What do you see?” the still small voice echoed again in my soul. I replied in my heart “I am noticing how tall the trees are in front of me.” The trees lined the jog trail like soldiers lined up for battle, one after the other. As my eyes looked up, I realized that I was jogging directly under a very large tree that was providing a canopy of shade for the jog trail. It reminded me of God’s protection over all of us as we journey the roads of life. While looking up, I glanced at the underbelly of the leaves as they swayed gently in the wind and noticed their delicate, fragile state. I have often felt delicate and fragile on my own journey here on earth and it made me glad that my Heavenly Father was always with me and protecting me.

The still small voice persisted. “What else do you see?” The sky was painted with feathery cirrus clouds that glorified and accented the beauty of God’s heaven as I jogged. I replied in my heart “I am looking at the beautiful clouds that are before me.”

My Heavenly Father said “You jog like you live life…”  

My heart quizzically asked Him what He was trying to tell me. “He replied deep into my soul “You always look down when you jog.”  I thought for a minute as I jogged and then realized that He was right. I took a hard fall while jogging last year, and consciously and subconsciously I do look down as I jog. The fall was awful. I was at the end of a 10K run, and my legs were quite tired. The pavement in front of me was uneven because the roots of the trees had pushed up the pavement on the concrete trail. I didn’t quite compensate for the uneven pavement, and I felt my body trip and become airborne and then finally land in a belly slide on the hard concrete. My body felt like tiny bees stinging me as my skin was being scraped off from the rough pavement. I remember that fall like it was yesterday. So, I lightly replied to my Heavenly Father, "I look down because I do not want to fall again.”

But He was right. I did look down in life… things had not turned out the way I had planned. The season of testing had grown long and hard and it seemed like no matter what I tried to do in life, it just never seemed to work out in my favor.

Caring for my mom with Alzheimer's had been quite a journey. Seeing her body slowly disappearing before my eyes and watching her memory slowly fade was heartbreaking. 

So, depression set in…jealousy and resentment became my best friends.

At this point in my life, I just believed that my life would never get any better.

I did expect the worst and I continually had a bad attitude about my life in general.

My Heavenly Father was persistent. He said, “Look up!”  So, I again looked up to the heavens once again, and this time I saw a family of birds that were flying at least 30 feet above the trees. They almost looked like children playing in the clouds as they were floating and gliding effortlessly in the air.

My Heavenly Father persisted…

“This is the life that I have for you!

You have a tendency to look down on life. You walk in fear of falling, and you are cautious with every step you take. You are living your life as if you will fail and are unsure of recovery. I need you to look up and let me guide you.”

So, I pressed harder and asked my Heavenly Father to tell me more. He replied in my heart “I want you to focus on looking to me in everything you do and stop focusing on earthly matters. I want to guide you in life so that you move in the direction that I am giving you. Just as these birds are gliding in the wind that I have given them. Let me provide the wind in your soul to lift you to greater heights. I can’t do that if you are constantly looking down and have a fear of the unknown path before you.”

He continued … “You have been the hands and feet of Jesus by stepping up and caring for your mother. To live one's life for other shows how much you have grown in me and as a person.

You are chosen, anointed and loved. 

When you are weak, I am strong. You can do all things through me that strengthens you. Seize the day and see the love that surrounds you. This season, albeit seeming long, doesn't last forever. Enjoy this time with your mom while you still can. She knows you are there and loves you so much and is grateful for all you do in helping her.”.

I ended the jog exceeding my normal 10K, and with a fresh spirit. I went home and found the passage Colossians 3:1-2 that was a reaffirmation of the message that I had been given during my jog:

Colossians 3:1-2

New International Version

Living as Those Made Alive in Christ

3 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Let us pray:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your correction from above in directing my heart to seek you. You are the way the truth and the light. Your ways are not my ways, and you see everything. You know my coming and going, and you know the number of hairs on my head. 

You know the struggles that I have faced in caring for my mother and yet You walked each step with me. You even sent my husband to help me through it all. 

Please continue to teach me how to look up to see your glory for the rest of my days and give me courage to trust in you with every step that I take in life. You are for us and not against us. You carry us in the palm of your hand. Let me rest in you and look up all the rest of my days as I walk on this earth and let me let you direct each step. I wish to be stress free and let you be the wind that lifts my soul on a daily basis and having you carry me and encourage me and guide me all the days of my life.

Amen

Written by, Caroline Hotmer, Founder of AlzLove