The Man in The Red Jacket

Sometimes I am inspired by a person whom I have never met.  Normally, it’s a trait that he or she possesses that I find to be inspiring in ways that may or may not make sense to anyone but me.

Lately, my inspiration has been found in a stranger: the man in the red jacket.

I see him out running, mostly in the morning hours.  I see him on the bike trail, a full head of silver hair, wearing a red jacket, running with a slow but steady pace.  His form is perfect, posture precise; I’m guessing at one time he was a force to be reckoned with.

The man in the red jacket appears to be unconcerned about his time.  His focus is on the path in front of him and nothing else.

This morning, the man in the red jacket was in my neighborhood.  I passed him in my Ford Focus and our eyes met for a second.  We exchanged a cordial wave.

I know this is odd, but in that brief moment of connecting, I felt hope.

As a woman who found solace in the pounding of the pavement for many years, the discipline and dedication of a silver haired gentleman reminded me of the joy and freedom I, too, had experienced as a pavement pounder.

I would run when I was happy, sad, confused, stressed, anxious or for no reason at all.  After I reached the point of physical exhaustion, the end of my own resources, in raw weakness I would often hear His voice.  Sometimes His voice was so clear that the sheer weight of His presence would stop me dead in my tracks.

The man in the red jacket symbolizes the ability to remember the past without still attempting to live there; the ability to accept one’s present set of circumstances with all the grace and ease possible.  A realization that we need to neither forget nor hold onto the past as it has helped to shape the present yet does not necessarily negate the future.

Each time I spot this man, I am inspired.  Somehow his quiet resilience gives hope to derailed dreams and unmet expectations.  A good running coach drills one unbendable rule  into the head and heart of a runner: “never, never, never look back.”  The man in the red jacket seems to be living by this rule; embracing his present season of life one slow hill at a time.

If you are going through a time of disenchantment, a season of realizing lost dreams and weighty disappointments I pray you will be encouraged by the strength of another.  Take a slow look around, wherever God has placed you, and allow your Maker to show you something that resonates with the person He has made you to be.  Be inspired.  

And remember, you may unwittingly be the person who inspires another.  Just keep moving forward at whatever pace you can muster and never, never, never look back.

Stay the Course…

Sheila

I Am The Problem

Turning the corner on the half-century mark of my life is proving to be quite interesting.

Just as we watch our children grow and mature into the man or woman God created them to become; there comes a time in each one of our lives when we, too, are able to take a look at ourselves through a different lens.

The lens is proving to be painfully honest.

It is mostly in the still of the morning, when I am alone, that I am able to catch a glimpse of the me that I want to be; she is usually wrestling with the me that I am.  

Singing songs of worship, sharing my thoughts, complaints and concerns to my Father—this is how I often start my mornings.  However, it is in the being still and listening that He graciously adjusts the lens of my perspective.  These days I am deeply humbled as He is showing me that perhaps, just maybe, I am the problem.

In the silence He reveals to me that those things in my world which I cannot change are not the problem.

World views, church views, my views; issues that provoke strong emotion within—they are not the problem.

I am the problem when my lack of trust in God or my strong need to be right causes me to raise the flag of self-righteousness as I dig heels deep into the soil of rebellion.  For no necessary reason, other than pride, there lies within me a desire to prove something to someone; even if that someone is just me.  

However, something strange has been happening as of late that is becoming a game changer for this (almost) half-century chic.

I believe that the Spirit within me has proven over the years to be a voice of wisdom and truth, deserving of my full attention.  As I am learning to put my own thoughts and world solutions aside, the Spirit is teaching me that the only One able to bring change does not need my help.  He is in control, I am not.  Instead of believing that there are problems that I must fix; He is teaching me that unless He asks me to do something—I may potentially become part of the problem, not the solution.

The view from my new lens with which I am becoming familiar with has me in awe and wonder.  As I go about my day, I am able to behold His beauty in all that I see and touch.  The need to be seen or heard is diminishing as the desire to simply be in awe of the Creator and His creation has turned my lens upward to behold the Lamb.

I am finding great peace and unexplainable joy in placing my trust in God instead of in my circumstances or in myself.

No need to worry or fret over the view that tomorrow’s lens may bring—I am not in control.  If I am not in control, I am free to become a part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

From time to time when I feel my heart racing and my perspective becomes blurry, I slow myself down. As I intentionally set aside time to withdraw to the place where He is waiting, I kneel before the One who holds the solution to every problem—the One who holds me.

Stay the Course…

Sheila