Fully Alive
Awakening
I watched a flash-mob marriage proposal on facebook yesterday, and my heart pounded and my eyes teared up. A few months ago, I watched a video ad for some exciting vacation destination with a Bungalow over the turquoise water surrounded by coral and fish, and my heart cried out for that kind of beauty and rest and adventure. A couple years ago I watched the making of the “This is Me” song from The Greatest Showman and I wanted to stand up and dance and sing along, actually, I think I did. These things moved me, they stirred something inside of me. Each of them echoed off a different part of me that has been tamped down, quieted, suppressed. Too many days, the flash-mobs are lacking and the cries of the struggles of the people that I love are loud. Too many days, the dreams of bungalows and coral reefs and turquoise waters drift away and the tide of financial concerns, duties and responsibilities roll in. Far too many days, “This is me” sounds more like a quiet apology that a proud declaration. Anybody else?
A Different View
I can, and I have in the past, looked at those things and myself and quieted them with the words of selfish, or unreasonable, or too much; but what if those things that cause our hearts to quicken aren’t the result of selfishness or unreal expectation. What if they are just a glimpse into the world and life we were made for, the Eden that our soul was made to live in. If I take a moment to think of the world God created for us, before the fall, a life of acceptance of each other, a partnership with and enjoyment of nature, an easy conversational intimacy with God, the joy of work without toil and life of adventure without pain , then… is it any wonder that the glimpses of beauty and peace, joy and laughter, strength and hope call out to my heart? Jesus came to offer us life and life to the full. What does that mean? I think these little things offer us glimpses. They stir our hearts to re-awaken what living is supposed to feel like, but not so that we run off and chase the things, but so that we recognize the places we need more life and places we are called to offer life.
Fully Alive
What if you moved and breathed and loved and lived from the heart of someone who, not only, was fully alive, but aware of the power of being fully alive. Who knew that your very presence could breathe life into those around you, that your energy entering a room, could spark energy in those present, that your joy brought joy, and your hope brought hope, and that when your love filled a room, no heart could remain untouched. Oh my beautiful friend, you do, you have all of it inside of you, Jesus has given you His hope, His joy, His love, His life – keep chasing Him and embrace it.
“Look out ’cause here I come
And I’m marching on to the beat I drum
I’m not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me.” – The Greatest Showman, This Is Me
Trista Maclin says:
hi there, your article is perfect.Following your posts.