Skip to main content

Fighting Gravity

Have you ever just reached a point where all you can do is just lie on the ground because you just feel that all of your being is just trying to fight gravity? Then once you let yourself lay down and you feel like gravity is going to try to pull you through the floor - it's just that strong? I hit that point today. Couldn't even rest my hands on my stomach, they just felt like that were being pulled to the floor. It's not a very comforting feeling. It's almost out of body sort of thing. After my inital fights with myself to just try to get up and fight whatever was going on I just let myself lay there and be. I just simply let the universe and gravity do its thing and I just had to let it be. It's funny how sometimes the most basic principles in the world that we know just smack you up side the head and force you to be with yourself. To stop denying and fighting and make you lay there and observe and feel. Gravity was bringing me back down to where I needed to be instead of trying to pretend that I was above my stuff, my being. Maybe what's going on in this world isn't so important as listening to myself, to dealing with my stuff and to just block out the "other." Eventually gravity lessened on me and I was able to get up. And that's the key to this - I did eventually get up. I didn't stay there forever. I could feel and embrace it and then I could get back up. Gravity - maybe it's not so simple as I thought.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2024 Wrap Up

 Happy New Year's Eve! 2024 is almost gone as I type this. And it's been ... a year. To whomever may be reading this know this: I'm glad you made it through 2024. You're you and you're here. That's enough. Whether you met your goal/goals or not, you survived. You're still breathing - even if it's hard to do sometimes. I'm proud of you. Keep going. Even if all you can manage is the next minute. Keep going.  Here is my updates and reflection on 2024. The biggest thing for me has been my move and new ministry in Wisconsin. I said goodbye to two lovely rural Nebraska churches in February and started my new ministry in Wisconsin March 1. It was funny that I was actually attending a UCCB meeting in Ohio when I officially met my new conference minister in person on March 1. God has a sense of humor. This past 9 months has been learning about the systems of the church and the community and trying to find my place. I haven't been perfect in this, but I...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stories from Ministry - Things You Can't Make Up

Funerals can bring out the best or the worst in people/families. Here's a story from a funeral that I can't make up. Note that this story is not from my current ministry setting and names and identifying information has been changed. I was asked to officiate a funeral for a family that wasn't connected to a church but wanted a minister. I met with the family before the funeral and learned I was only meeting part of the family and that there was some sort of rift between the adult children. I made a mental note but the family seemed to be okay. Fast forward to the day of the funeral. I arrive half way through the visitation before the service and check in with the funeral home and family and things seem to be okay. It's clear that there's a divide between the children but folks seem to be staying on their respected sides and behaving. The service goes off well and the casket gets loaded into the hearse. Family members get in their vehicles and I get in the hearse wit...
1 comment
Read more

Political vs. Partisan in Preaching

For years now, I have heard in preaching and clergy circles about being political in sermons; the good, the bad and those who state that church shouldn’t be political. There are workshops, books, and podcasts talking about politics in the church with a variety of opinions. What do people mean when they make the statement that the church shouldn’t be political? The IRS has the most say about the rules for the separation of church and state/politics. If your church wants to be tax exempt, there are rules: don’t endorse any candidate or party, if you allow one party to use your space, other political parties also must be allowed to use the space, etc. The UCC’s general counsel, Heather Kimmell, has a webinar on this topic if you’d like to hear a more detailed explanation which can be found on the UCC’s YouTube channel. Churches have gotten “creative” in how to get around this, often partnering with another non-profit group to give support to a particular group. The UCC is proud to claim...
Post a Comment
Read more