Fencing was supposed to be fun. Exciting. And just darned good exercise.
Well, apparently God had other things in mind.
Things like looks into the depths of my soul and life lessons.
I feel a little banged up in more than one way.
Good grief.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So....what am I learning? (other than how to bloody my knees...)
From my instructor, Kelly, I'm actually seeing what walking in your identity looks like. Something God has been trying to get me to understand lately. I'm getting it. Because I'm seeing it.
From the bouts Sunday afternoon I learned that things like being on Communist Guerrilla hit lists, living in a quasi-cannabilistic tribe, being attacked by street people, watching atrocities overseas that I will not mention...etc....has taken more of a toll that I knew.
So, it's inner healing and identity time. I'm game.
It's good to find God and His lessons in everything.
(Today I will comment on lesson 1. I'll get to a blog on lesson 2 later this week.)
Lesson 1:
I've watched Kelly for a few weeks now and have seen in her a humility that is unusual. Refreshing. And makes you want to be humble yourself. I see Jesus in it.
If you ask her about her fencing history you discover she coached at a college. Somehow she failed to mention that she won a silver medal at a Senior World Championship and coached the Senior World Championships in Seoul Korea. (I found that out by accident when I was browsing the fencing center website for workout info).
I found myself wondering how someone gets that kind of humility. And, in light of that, the stunning patience she shows with all of us pathetic students. How does that happen? Just being around her you think "nice kind lady who cares about helping me improve my lousy fencing skills", you're not thinking "Good night, World Champion who could kill me 40 times before I even lift my foot." How does she do that?
And God told me.
It's a matter of identity.
When you know who you are and you're secure in that reality, you become humble, gracious, gentle....because you have nothing to prove. You know who you are. That Christ-like quality is what I am seeing in her.
I have heard of the concept. I've even read about it. But, to my knowledge, I'd not ever seen walked out. Alot of people who claim to "know who they are" are actually selfish and difficult. Hardly humble. Not so here. I had heard about it with my ears, but now I have seen it with my eyes....and I want to walk in it too.
What I learned is that if I really really understand who God is and therefore who I am in Him...in other words...if I really have my identity settled, then I will naturally walk in humility, in gentleness, in peace. I will be able to lift up the weak and encourage them. I will have nothing to prove and my energy will not be wasted trying to prove it.
I want this.
I want what Kelly has.
I want to be like Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment