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April 10 + April 11, 2024 Reflections

On vacation. Yoga this morning on the beach in the Florida Keys. The yoga instructor calmly exhorting us to, “Stay in your Bodies…”

Powerful statement. The words from Wednesday circled back to me sometime later after that beautiful practice.

It was powerful to hear her encourage us to stay in our bodies specifically as she guided us into yoga poses that required more intention because we would need to use more of our body strength and flexibility and even the endurance of our muscles to be lengthened and stretched out in those poses for sequences with supportive breathing. Not shallow breaths. We needed deep whole ones.

Thursday morning this caused me to think about what it means to truly stay in one’s body, especially in moments where it would feel easier to become fragmented, disjointed and disembodied. We can compartmentalize very easily as humans and maybe some of that could even be a safety mechanism to protect us for a season from being completely overwhelmed and overtaken by the circumstances of life that can so easily come, crash and destroy the plans that we have built. The waves and winds of unanticipated destruction, disappointment, ache, longing and uncertainty do come. For all of us. 

You can compartmentalize things sometimes and just live in your head. You can compartmentalize things and stay disconnected from your heart. You can even compartmentalize things in such a way that even though you might be functioning in your body you’re not even connected to yourself to feel, to understand and to know what’s actually happening in, through and around you. 

Compartmentalizing can be done temporarily but it’s not designed to be the everyday way you get up and meet the world. It’s a mini bandage that’s not equipped to heal what’s broken, bleeding and wounded.

Which is why the yoga teacher’s words yesterday that I’ve been leaning into are so very powerful. It IS a choice to stay in your body. It’s a choice to stay connected to your muscles, to listen to your heart as it beats. To breathe in and out, in and out, in and out and with each inhale and exhale in those breaths to feel them, to listen to them as you also listen to your body and what it is telling you it can and cannot do. 

Staying in our bodies I feel also means listening to our bodies to respect and honor what our limitations might be and where we might need to reside in a pose of ease that is non-performative while we gather the courage to heal, the restoration, the peace and the rest that is needed in that season and in that moment. This is true for yoga and how we live daily and the choices we make with ourselves, at work, in our relationships and more.

Stay in your body. 

Choose a pose of ease to recover.

What does staying in your body cause you to think about for yourself? 

How would you like to be more intentional to connect with your full self and feel all of your muscles and all the parts of you that are wired and sinewed together by God’s grace and creative organization that make you who you are to live in the life that he’s giving you right now? 

What are your limitations? Physically, spiritually, emotionally, relationally, mentally, financially? How do you need to honor these limitations?

I’ve told friends recently that our bodies are vehicles that our souls have the opportunity to live in. These are the very blessed ways that we get to experience life on the Earth and the functionality of having a body is so very important because if we didn’t need them we wouldn’t have them. 

We would live and exist in a very different way. But there is something very precious and sacred about God creating bodies for human beings to live in and to experience this world with. Which naturally leads me to consider, “How am I cultivating care in my body?”

As I think about my body as my vehicle and approach my next birthday this summer, I continue to set the intention to cultivate a practice in my life of honoring my body, understanding my body, stewarding my body, and living well in deeply connected ways for my body. 

It isn’t an elevation of my body as being the most important part of my living. My body is one piece of an integrated, congruent experience that I’ve chosen to have for myself that prioritizes my spiritual, mental, relational, emotional, and physical health and well-being as priorities I tend to on a daily basis. 

With this in mind, being a woman who invests in living an embodied life for myself is one of the most important decisions I’ve ever made. I entered into that shift with intention at the end of 2017 + beginning of 2018 and I haven’t looked back. Making that decision has changed the game completely for me. The ways that I’m showing up in the world honor myself. I’m keeping with a steady rhythm of living an integrated, connected and whole life.

For this I am thankful.

The gratitude is real.

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Moving Forward. Going Deep.

My best running happens early in the morning when my mind is fresh and my body is rested. But one late afternoon run I started at 3 pm, with eight long interval miles ahead of me. Training for my second half marathon in less than a year pushed me, while also giving me a new and growing confidence in the strength of my body and my mind.

My last two miles that Sunday were the hardest. My feet were sore, my legs tired. I made a new personal record for my 10K running time and even got some nice sprinting times in. Exhaling a long breath of joy as I saw my Garmin watch hit the 8.00-mile marker, I slowed my run to a stop and took note of my stats. I felt better than good, despite being sweaty and having legs that felt like jelly.


SURPRISES ON THE PATH

I was so focused on reading my finishing time and pace and run splits that I didn’t even see the very attractive thirty-something Black man in front of me. Until he spoke.

Him: “Hey…I saw you getting it in for a while here, you’ve been putting in work.”

Me: “Thank you. Yes, just finished eight miles.”

Him: “Wow!!! You really have been putting in work.”

Me, smiling with pride: “I’m training for a half marathon.”

Him: “Well keep it up.” He then smiled and kept looking my way as he walked past. Then he stopped and turned back towards me. “Hey, my name is Marcus. What’s your name?”

Me: “My name is Melody.”

After our brief introductions, we headed in our different directions, but I could tell he wanted to say more. He left me to my cool down walk and continued on his way. Our short conversation encouraged me as a single woman who has been praying about dating opportunities. It also reminded me of the peace and joy I experience when I have focused time on the pavement, whether training for half marathons or simply walking with intention as I pray and process my life with the Lord.


INVITING GOD’S PRESENCE IN OUR DAILY RHYTHMS

Making space for these times provides regular rhythms to be present with myself and invite God into the nuances of my life. He’s already there, but taking the time to actually talk with Him about my dreams, my needs, and what’s making me smile lately helps me build intimacy into our relationship. Moving my body through walking and running helps me move my words and thoughts out of my head and into my heart and mouth. My voice finds cadence for my feelings and longings with the rhythm of my feet hitting the asphalt under me, one step at a time. There’s a rootedness I feel, something Colossians 2:6-7 describes so well:

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith.” (ESV)

Life with Christ isn’t designed to be lived standing on sidewalks or sitting down on benches casually watching others take a lap around the park.

Life with Christ compels me to move towards Him, in whatever method of movement I can, and live in Him, receiving the supernatural anchoring and spiritual moxie that faith in Him produces in a willing heart like mine.

I find in my journey, Christ beckons me into life with Him, and that life necessitates movement with Him daily – whether that’s walking with Him, sometimes running, maybe a light jog, and in some moments of unimaginable loss and grief, the surrender to let Him carry me in His arms when my knees buckle and I can go no further in my own volition.

Each time I head outside my home for another walk or run, not only am I choosing to exercise my physical self, I’m giving life to my spiritual self too. Being aware of my whole self is very important to me. And with each mile laid down during my pavement times, I find that more of me gets rooted deeper into the story God is writing for my life. I join Him in the journey of my runs that keep me moving and the walks that give me the introspection my soul needs. He is Emmanuel – God with us, the God who walks alongside us, and the God who roots us deeply to Himself.

Featured in 2021 on Propel Sophia, a platform that’s part of the Propel Women collective.

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Jesus is My…

First, let me start by saying it’s been two years and nine months since I last published my thoughts here on my website.

Life moved fast for me March 2021 and onward. A lot of life happened – training for and completing my third half marathon, navigating the pandemic, running my second relay race, experiencing two career promotions, learning how to live more embodied. And there’s been a lot of deep loss and difficulty too.

I did write though during those years. I just didn’t put those words here. But I have them and when the time is good, I’ll share them. And while I was writing I was also creating in other ways, like this painting I did back in August 2023.

Another thing happened too, this year.

Y’all, I got locked out of my own blog! That will definitely halt the process of publishing for anybody. I finally got back in earlier this month. It feels good to be here and share the things I’ve been writing and reflecting on.

Like these words below.

I meditated on God’s Word this morning and spent time with a familiar passage, Isaiah 9:6.

Context means a lot to me so I like to see the broader narrative that verses come from in the Bible.

My meditation starts in verse 1 and goes to verse 7.

I picked The Message translation for the ease of reading.

But there’ll be no darkness for those who were in trouble. Earlier he did bring the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali into disrepute, but the time is coming when he’ll make that whole area glorious—the road along the Sea, the country past the Jordan, international Galilee.

2-7 The people who walked in darkness

    have seen a great light.

For those who lived in a land of deep shadows—

    light! sunbursts of light!

You repopulated the nation,

    you expanded its joy.

Oh, they’re so glad in your presence!

    Festival joy!

The joy of a great celebration,

    sharing rich gifts and warm greetings.

The abuse of oppressors and cruelty of tyrants—

    all their whips and clubs and curses—

Is gone, done away with, a deliverance

    as surprising and sudden as Gideon’s old victory over Midian.

The boots of all those invading troops,

    along with their shirts soaked with innocent blood,

Will be piled in a heap and burned,

    a fire that will burn for days!

For a child has been born—for us!

    the gift of a son—for us!

He’ll take over

    the running of the world.

His names will be: Amazing Counselor,

    Strong God,

Eternal Father,

    Prince of Wholeness.

His ruling authority will grow,

    and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness he brings.

He’ll rule from the historic David throne

    over that promised kingdom.

He’ll put that kingdom on a firm footing

    and keep it going

With fair dealing and right living,

    beginning now and lasting always.

The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies

    will do all this.

So much goodness here.

What stands out to me this morning are these things:

Jesus was born for us.

He was predestined to come to the earth and rescue us.

Jesus is a gift to me and for me.

He will take over the running of the world.

We need the Lord. 

He is an Amazing Counselor (Extraordinary Strategist is what the NET says).

He is my Strong God (Mighty God is what the KJV says).

He is the Eternal Father (Everlasting Father is what the KJV says).

He is the Prince of Wholeness (Peace is what the KJV says).

His rule and authority will grow.

There will be no limits to the wholeness he brings.

He will rule over a promised kingdom.

A kingdom he will place on a firm footing. 

A kingdom he will keep going (His kingdom is his own, not mine. I get the honor and invitation of being a family member and heir of his kingdom, I have a spiritual inheritance in the Lord that Ephesians 1 tells me is mine).

Jesus will rule with fairness and right living, beginning now and lasting always.

The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies (the Lord of Hosts is what the KJV says) will execute this reign.

There are a set of words I often hear when listening to Dr. Christina Edmondson pray at the close of different readings of the Bible from Truth’s Table’s Get In The Word audio Bible:

“God’s promises are always ‘Yes’ and ‘Amen.'”

Yes.

Amen.

He is saying these two declarations to me each day and inviting me to lean in closer, to listen and to hear.

Reading and sitting with God’s Word, I see it first for the people it was written for thousands of years ago, and then I ask the Lord for eyes to see and ears to hear what is he saying to me today with those same words. This is what I see and hear:

Jesus was promised to me and generations to come through foreshadowing. Just as he was promised to God’s people that Isaiah wrote directly to thousands of years ago. 

Jesus is a gift to me. So much is hidden in and wrapped up in the gift of his birth – salvation, redemption, restoration, rescue from sin and brokenness, kingdom living, healing, and much, much more.

Jesus is my…

Amazing Counselor, Extraordinary Strategist. What do I need to bring before him and receive his counseling, strategy for?

He is my Strong God, Mighty God. Where do I need to experience his strength in my life?

He is my Eternal Father, Everlasting in his parenting of me. Where do I need to feel him as father, parent, guide in my life?

He is the Prince of Wholeness. His peace makes me whole. Where do I need to be made whole in Jesus?

Selah. I’m thinking about this.

The gems of the Word of God are so rich and ready to be mined and sourced out.

God’s invitation to seek him and there you will find him when you seek him with all your heart are so true.

My heart says yes to the process.

Yes and Amen. 

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A Study of the Scriptures: Oneness and Diversity and the Heart of God

Early in 2020 I wrote a Bible study that dived into the questions of “What can oneness and diversity really look like among Christians?” and “How do oneness and diversity reflect the heart of The One, True and Living God?” This post and those that will follow are what I discovered in my journey of writing and spending time in God’s Word. For those who are journeying with God as believers in Jesus, I pray my reflections invite you to discover more of the Lord through His Word. If you are curious about faith in God, I hope this study provides you with a clearer view of Him, through His own words.

God’s love of diversity through creation and humanity is displayed cover to cover in the Bible. Cultural diversity in the body of Christ and beyond the four walls of the church reflects the heart of God. Through the unifying love of Jesus Christ, all human divisions are destroyed, and followers of Jesus are one in Him. Believers become a family of brothers and sisters, equals in our standing before God because of what Jesus did on the cross to reconcile us back to God first, and then to one another.

We can live out our faith in this area of oneness and diversity through the action of growing regularly in cultural intelligence, then cultural competency and our awareness of those different from us. Doing so helps us fully appreciate and recognize the ethnic and cultural journeys of other image-bearers of God. And it provides tangible tracks to build authentic relationships of proximity that express our oneness in Christ, not solely from a theological position but lived out in actuality in our lives.

Cultural Diversity Reflects the Heart of God

One of the gifts in cultivating a culturally diverse life is experiencing the blessing of sharing your journey with others as you also learn from theirs. While there’s perceived safety and comfort in living in a monocultural environment, the reality is much different.

Sameness can be incredibly limiting, muting the colorful potential of your growth and development because there aren’t other cultural voices intersecting with your life — spiritually, theologically, relationally, and emotionally.

Genesis 4:20-22 is an example cultural diversity in the Bible. We get a look into the life of Jabal, who fathered nomadic herders and his brothers Jubal, who fathered those who played the lyre and pipe and Tubal-cain, who was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. This example shows the presence of varying cultural expressions present in the biblical narrative.

Also Genesis 11:1-9 is another example of cultural diversity, through the creation of languages by God at the Tower of Babel. Through cultural diversity, God moves his purposes forward to fill the earth with human beings who reflect His glory.

Genesis 4:20-22 ESV

Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22 Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

Genesis 11:1-9 ESV

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused[a] the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Questions: Observation + Interpretation + Application

  1. Why do you think seeing and understanding different expressions of culture and ethnicity are important?
  2. What are the benefits of sameness?
  3. What are the drawbacks?
  4. How can understanding and valuing cultural and ethnic diversity help us grow relationally with others?

Why Jesus Destroys Divisions

The power of Jesus’ atoning work on the cross not only redeemed us back to God but it addressed the relational brokenness in our fallen world between believers.

Prejudice, the sin of racism, theological divisions, and differing temperaments can frequently blur people’s vision as we live in this world. Believers are not immune to these strongholds and can easily become offenders, hurting people in the body of Christ and beyond the church if we don’t submit ourselves to Jesus daily. Jesus brings us together as people, making us one in Him, which is illustrated in Ephesians 2:11-16.

Ephesians 2:11-16 ESV

11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

Questions: Observation + Interpretation + Application

  1. How does it make you feel to know you’ve been united with Christ?
  2. Why is Jesus’ sacrifice for you so powerful? How did it change your life?
  3. Why is it significant to know that Jesus Himself brought peace to different people groups and provides unity for us to live from?
  4. What can it look like, in your opinion, for different people groups to become one body in Christ?
  5. If Jesus’ death thousands of years ago on the cross put to death the hostility between believers, why do you think divisions and racism still thrive today in the church? What does it look like to work this out in the church and outside of the church?

The Reconciliation of Christ for Relationships

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross not only restores the relationship between God and those who believe in Him. His sacrifice also provides fertile soil for the seed of unity to grow and flourish through the relationships of believers throughout the body of Christ, as shown in Ephesians 2:18-22.

Because of the unity and reconciliation created by Christ’s death, believers are uniquely positioned to lead out the pursuit of reconciliation and healing the wounds caused by division in the broader culture.

Ephesians 2:18-22 ESV

18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,[a] but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by[b] the Spirit.

Questions: Observation + Interpretation + Application

  1. When you think of the word unity, what comes to mind?
  2. Why is it important for Jesus Christ to be the cornerstone that our faith is built upon?
  3. Why do you think unity in the body of Christ is such a powerful witness to an unbelieving world that is watching God’s church?

Unity in the Body of Christ is a powerful witness…In my next post in this series, I’ll examine what it looks like to begin building that kind of unity.


Featured Photo by JD Mason on Unsplash.
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The Incomparable Ms. Cicely Tyson

December 19, 1924 – January 28, 2021.

You were given 96 years on this earth. You lived them all with such great intention, grace, dignity, beauty, and power. I want to learn from you. So that I can live each of my years to come with this kind of intention. One of my earliest memories of you were glimpses of you in Roots, but watching The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman as a young Black teen girl is what deeply drew my heart to you. You became 110-year-old ex-enslaved Jane Pittman right before my eyes. You took and honored her story and you gave it to the rest of us, so we would know her. You brought people to life. The gift and function of story captured my heart very early in life and seeing that movie, seeing you act and tell and show one woman’s story so powerfully, sometimes with just the simple gesture of a movement on your face to inflect an emotion or what you didn’t say or do, to hold to the integrity of telling and showing a scene you were in, you did this with excellence. At the core of who we all are as humans, our stories are the connecting bond between us. Our humanity moves between us, through our stories. And you told stories, you gave them life time and time and time and time again, on the big screen, on the little screen, and on stage plays around the world. You are a forever example of #BlackQueenMagic for brown-skinned girls and women to glean from as we show up as our complete and full selves in this world, at the tables we’re invited to and the ones we build for ourselves. Thank you for holding and fighting for our honor, our dignity in the spaces you stepped into. Thank you for what you gave to us. Rest in peace and in the Lord’s great power. You are beloved.

featured photo courtesy of The Emmys.