How to Grow Closer to God

Like Hamsters in a Wheel

Megan Breedlove September 14, 2015 No Comments

Okay, so, science.

I’m not very good at it and never have been, really. I do all right with simple scientific principles such as “don’t combine baking soda with vinegar unless you want a volcano” and “plant a seed in the right kind of dirt, give it the right amount of water and sun, and it will grow”. I even find basic science (as in the really basic kind) pretty interesting sometimes.

It can also be pretty funny now and then, as in the video above. One hamster is running in a wheel that’s lying down. The challenge for poor little Puffy (or whatever his name is) is that the ground is spinning beneath his feet. Puffy is running in place as fast as he can, in order to keep from being spun off into oblivion.

Then, Muffy comes walking along, and she sees Puffy running for his life. She thinks, “Hey, that looks like fun”, so she climbs in and starts running, too. The two of them run together for a little while, until, WHOAH, Muffy can’t keep up and gets plastered to the outer wall of the wheel as she goes helplessly spinning around and around.

Eventually, she gets back to her feet, and she joins Puffy, who is still running. Now they’re both running in place, until, YIKES, Muffy loses it again, and then spins into Puffy, causing him to lose it too.

Okay, so here’s the point: I hate to ruin a fun, cute little video (it has hamsters, for pete’s sake), but there are tons of spiritual implications in this for us, as well.

You and I have all had times when we felt like Puffy and Muffy, being spun around against our will and out of our control. Somehow, we get our feet back under us, and then, BAM!, it happens again. We’re spinning.

Sometimes, it’s because we don’t stay as close to the center as we should.

There are times in every mom’s spiritual life when she feels like she’s this close to losing it. Like she’s running as fast as she can and can barely keep up. And sometimes, no matter how fast she runs, she will get swept off her feet and spun out of control.

But it’s a lot less likely to happen if she’s staying close to the center.

It has to do with force—the scientific kind of force. Whether you’re a hamster on a wheel or a kid on a merry-go-round at the park, the most stable place to be is right at the center. As you leave the center and get closer to the edge, the forces are greater. You’re much more likely to get ripped off the edge of a crazily spinning merry-go-round than you are off the center.

Spiritually speaking, you’re a lot less likely to get swept away when you’re staying close to Jesus. When you’re clinging to Him, it’s a lot harder for Satan or circumstances to fling you into out-of-control-ness.

So what are you doing to make sure you’re running in the center of the bowl? You don’t want to fall, and you don’t want to take anyone down with you, as poor Muffy did, just because you failed to do what you knew you were supposed to do—to stay center.

Stay center, moms. It’s more than science. It’s good spiritual practice.

Psalm 63:8—My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me. (ESV)

Getting Back in Shape…Again

Megan Breedlove February 16, 2015 No Comments

This morning, I alternated running and walking for 2 miles. I also installed the My Fitness Pal app on my phone and computer and began keeping track of my food intake so this app can help me determine how many calories I need and monitor how many I’m actually getting. I’ve upped my water intake, and I didn’t use creamer in my coffee this morning.

But lest you be impressed with me, I must confess to this: I haven’t done anything like this in quite awhile. That’s why I need to do it now.

6 months ago, I was in the best shape of my life. I was eating healthy and exercising regularly. My muscles were well-defined. I felt strong, and my body felt somehow “clean.” But then the thought occurred to me that I didn’t want to eat so strictly for the rest of my life; nor did I want to worry so much about exercise. So I started eating whatever I wanted (oh, the bliss!), and I stopped exercising.

I gained 25 pounds and a size and a half in terms of clothing. I had to buy new pants since I no longer fit into any of my old ones. But I was happy. I was still at what most of society would consider a small clothing size, and I decided I was content with that.

Until I went to the doctor for routine bloodwork and discovered that I had high cholesterol. Way high.

Well, nuts. So much for eating whatever I wanted. Now I have to start eating healthy, not for my figure’s sake, but for my overall health. I want to be around a long time, and I want to be healthy while I’m here. Hence, the return to running, exercising, and eating right.

It’s going to take a lot of energy and discipline to change my habits so drastically. But it’s worth it if it means I’ll live longer and maybe get to see my grandchildren or even great-grandchildren.

I wonder, though…with all this effort that I’m putting into taking care of my body, which won’t last forever…am I putting in anything close to the same level of effort in taking care of my spirit, which will last for eternity?

Some days, yes. I have my devotional time with God. I pray and read my Bible. If it’s Sunday or Wednesday, I attend church. I try to apply what I’m learning to my life.

But some days, no. I get “too busy” to have my devotional time, or I forget. I attend church, but I don’t concentrate on the sermon or lesson. I forget to make application to my life of what I know to be true—or I remember that I should do so, but decide not to.

Some of you may be in the same situation I am, in terms of spending your time and energy taking care of other things and neglecting your spirit. But there ought to be a disconnect in our minds between devoting all our energies to temporary things and neglecting the eternal. It shouldn’t make sense to us.

I’m not saying we have to spend more hours reading our Bible or praying than we do cooking, exercising, or taking care of our other responsibilities. It’s mathematically impossible; there just aren’t enough hours in the day. But if we focus on our earthly responsibilities and possessions to the exclusion of our eternal ones, something’s wrong. If we find ourselves willing to put plenty of effort into things that matter for a little while but unwilling to make time for things that matter forever, we’re on the wrong path.

If you don’t really desire to put much time into spiritual things, you need to pray for God to change your heart and realign your priorities. If the desire is there, but you can’t figure out a way to make it happen, then ask God. He’ll tell you. Consult your friends (or me!) to find out what they do to make it work (though remember that your devotional time doesn’t have to look exactly like theirs).

Make it your goal to nourish your spirit, even more than you nourish your body. Train yourself to focus on what really matters—not just what matters for now.

If we live to be 100, and we’re still fit and healthy in body, that’s good. But if our body is healthy but our spirit is malnourished, we’ve been pursuing the wrong goal.

Don’t spend your life putting all your efforts into chasing after what’s temporary—bodily health, material possessions, or even the elusive “happiness.” Set your sights much higher.

Set them on eternity.

1 Timothy 4:7-8—Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (ESV)

2 Corinthians 4:18—So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Getting in the Game

Megan Breedlove February 2, 2015 No Comments

I really love certain sports. Some, I enjoy watching; some, I really enjoy playing; and some, I love doing either one. It’s not that I’m very good at sports (except for racquetball and jiu jitsu); in fact, I’m no better than average, and sometimes worse. It’s just that I love the contest, the “giving it everything I’ve got,” the physical and mental striving, and the fun of the sport in question.

When the Olympics come around, I have the TV on for hours each day. In between Olympics, I also watch other sporting events. Of course, it’s even better if my favorite team is playing. Then, I feel like I have a personal stake in the outcome.

For Super Bowl XLIX this year, however, I’m not a fan of either team that is playing. My team didn’t make it this year, so I don’t care much about the outcome of the Big Game. I plan on watching it, because I enjoy football and I want to see the commercials (and, well, I want an excuse to eat junk food), but I don’t really care who wins.

Many of my friends feel the same way. They don’t have a team in the game, either. Still others of my friends don’t care about the final score because they don’t care about football, or even about sports in general.

This perspective—not caring about the outcome because we’re not invested in the struggle taking place—is fine when we’re talking about football. But it becomes a problem when we’re talking about struggles that take place in real life.

Scripture tells us that we as Christians are all members of the same body, that is, the Body of Christ. It also says that the parts of the Body cannot say they don’t need each other or are not part of the Body. Like a physical body, if one part of the Body suffers or rejoices, all the parts suffer or rejoice with it.

The problem is that we don’t always apply this to our relationships. We look at the struggles of others, and we say, “Well, that doesn’t really affect me.” Or , “Wow, thank God I’m not going through that.”

If we truly realized how intimately connected we are, we’d be a lot more concerned about what is happening to members of our body. Because the truth is, no matter how unaffected we may feel, we are affected. Scripture says so.

When our Christian brothers and sisters around the world are tortured or even killed for their faith, we should take it personally, because it affects part of our body. When a friend is struggling with depression, discouragement, or loneliness, her struggle should matter to us, because she is part of us. When someone is mistreated, overwhelmed, sick, or at her wits’ end, we should treat her as we would treat our own body—because she is our body.

It’s sometimes difficult to know how to come alongside someone and support her. But instead of doing nothing, let’s ask God how to help. Sometimes, God may tell us to step in, in a physical, emotional, or financial sense. Other times, He may instruct us to work behind the scenes in prayer or in enlisting others to help, with no direct involvement ourselves. It’s up to Him how He wants to use us. But we need to make ourselves available for Him to use.

If the school nurse, daycare provider, or preschool teacher called from your child’s school saying your child had fallen on the playground and needed stitches, you’d take immediate action. Why? Because you love your child, and because your child is a part of you.

It should be the same with your Christian brothers and sisters. What happens to them should matter to you. Because they are a part of your body just as much as you are.

If you’re like me, and you sometimes get caught up in your own life and focus on yourself rather than on others, you need to ask God to help you not forget the rest of your body. Ask Him to show you how to be sensitive to others, even in the midst of whatever’s going on in with you. Because in caring for others, you’re caring for yourself as well.

1 Corinthians 12:26—If one part [of the body] suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.