A Rough and Tumble, Unrestrained Joy

So says the quote from Selenia's magazine game that I carry around in my Bible.

"A ROUGH AND TUMBLE, UNRESTRAINED JOY"

One of my two life mottos for the moment, in spite of the fact that there is digging at my heart with spoons in order to get there. :)

The other is "LOVE WELL."

Both scream to me "live exuberantly. fully. from the heart!"

If you follow my blogs you know this is not a blind PollyAnna life style.
I am not naive, innocent of nor blind to, the things that go on in this world.
Shoot, many of them have happened to me.

EVENSO!
"Live a life of rough and tumble unrestrained joy while loving well!"

Even so.... the Greek translation is: "despite everything to the contrary".

Despite everything to the contrary,
live a life of rough and tumble, unrestrained joy while loving well!"

LOL!
Yes, it's good.

It makes me think of Benaiah and how he went down into a pit and killed a lion on a snowy day.

Lions are scary, snowy days dangerous, pits unnerving.....but the desire to love well and live in unrestrained joy call us to go into the pit on that snowy day and kill the lion. (preferably with a sword).

Despite everything to the contrary,
live a life of rough and tumble, unrestrained joy while loving well.

Me? Well.......

I think of wrestling Mike (or a semi-reasonable facsimile) in the fencing club....which I should have done with my inside voice. ;)
But it was indeed a moment of rough and tumble unrestrained joy.

And it makes me think of drilling with Kelly when she has me laughing so much I can't concentrate anymore.
Unrestrained joy.

It makes me think of making obnoxious comments with Kevin and balancing pepper shakers while at an office lunch and Jane, my boss, commenting that she just can't take me anywhere.
Unrestrained joy.

It's putting on my headphones and dancing in the garden.
The stirring of tenderness when I look at my wonderful husband.
Feeling the nearness of Jesus when I wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night.
Hearing Anita London pray up the hall and all going out to join in.

It's going to a tournament and making new friends.
Having the feel of a blade in my hand and working out in the garage.
Fencing sabre when I don't have a clue HOW.
Hanging out with fencing friends at BW3 until late laughing.

It's making a game out of a task.
Finding fun in the mundane.

It's even being deep and intense.
It's sitting for hours in silence.

It's seeing people set free.
It's listening when you'd rather not.
It's walking in good character when it's hard.
It's integrity.
It's keeping your word.
Rough and tumble.
Loving well.

It's having a tender moment with a friend you deeply love.
Unrestrained joy.

It's even the stirrings of hoping for a friendship.
The bittersweetness of uncertainty.
The joy and anticipation of hope.
Rough and tumble.
Trying to love well.

It's the reconnecting with friends from the past.
Looking forward to seeing them again.
Unrestrained joy.

The knowledge that you have ones that, even when things have gotten hard, will stand in and keep going.
Rough and tumble, surely.
Unrestrained joy also.

It's crying your guts out in an effort to heal so that you might love better.
It's allowing others to cry their guts out.
Rough and tumble.
Loving well.

It's living to the fullest extent everything that you were created to be.
(not the weird broken heartless things that you have taken on)
It's being fully human and thus fully alive.

It's living the paradox.

Rough and tumble.
Unrestrained joy.
Loving well......


Despite everything to the contrary,
live a life of rough and tumble, unrestrained joy while loving well.