Posted on May 15, 2022 Posted By: HCCCategories: journey
Heartland Community Church
THE JOURNEY
MindFull: Resilience
By Sarah Hahs
Every year for the past 7 years I have found myself on the side of a mountain in Colorado in mid-July wondering why I had agreed to this crazy adventure that is the Heartland Women’s Colorado trip. Every year I’m convinced at some point in the hike to the summit that I’m good right where I am. That I don’t need to climb a mountain, that breathing is overrated (elevation is not kind to us flat-landers), and every year I reach a point on the trail where I have to make a decision to keep going. Where my body has decided it is done. And my brain is trying to logic it’s way out of the pain that is happening in my lungs and everywhere else. Every. Year.
And yet . . . it’s in that moment on the mountain I find out who I am, what I’m made of, and I am met in my weakness by a God who meets me in the valley and stands with me on the summit. The valley, or the pressing, which is the phrasing Dan used today, is where the learning happens, on the trail and the quiet footfalls one right after the other. That is where we find our answers. One of the greatest guides I have ever met in Colorado, Addy, had an amazing phrase which was, “Nothing grows at the top of the mountain besides rocks and perspective.” It’s only once I’ve gone through the valley, or the pressing that I gain the perspective on how it has shaped me and made me different.
What I find helpful in that process are the things Dom Scalise talked about today. It’s important to have practices in the pressing: prayer, relationships and serving. On the trail it’s helpful to have all three. I use a mantra prayer when hiking. It’s a short phrase I can say over and over with each footfall that resets my brain and gives me something to focus on. I always hike with people, it makes it more fun, not to mention the safety of having strength in numbers. And encouraging one another is a service you can do for others when they too are being pressed and their resiliency is being tested.
But what I loved most from today’s message was the moment at the end where I was reminded again that Heartland was a place where my problems, my pressing, were OUR problems. That I have people here who will do all of those things. Pray with me when I’m struggling. Share their lives with me. And serve alongside me every Sunday. It’s also a place where we have professional help if needed, and I have needed it. My sessions with our Friends University interns were incredibly helpful and helped me refine my life practices into healthy ones.
My hope from today is that, if you have found yourself in a season of pressing, you would know that you have a God who longs to talk with you about it and that you can take all of your thoughts to him. That you have identified some relationships that are worth investing in so that you have someone on the trail of life with you. And that you have discovered some way of serving others in order to encourage one another along the way. Resiliency isn’t built on top of the mountain, it’s built on the way there.
*Sidenote: if you’d like to learn about the 2022 women’s Colorado adventure Sarah mentions, CLICK HERE.
Observe, Reflect, Apply: Are you feeling pressed, perplexed, persecuted, or struck down? This verse reminds us that if we follow Jesus, and allow him into our struggles, our internal conversation, our hardship . . . the story is not over. It’s a struggle for sure, when troubles are not resolving as I would like them to. Yet, I have to remind myself of the hope that comes with choosing to follow Jesus. How can you shift your focus from trouble to hope? From pain to hope? From hardship to hope? We are praying for and with you that we would all experience more of Jesus this week, and shift our gaze toward hope.
{heartland mental health and care resources}
Join us this month and next for Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. This 8 week course will help us all explore how to puruse emotional health in our relationship with God, our understanding of ourselves, and our relationship with others. You can sign up for the in-person course starting in May, or the online (zoom) course starting in June. CLICK HERE to sign up.
Need an assist from a member of our care team? Contact us at care@heartlandchurch.org, and our team will reach out to connect you to the best resource for your need or interest.
{bible reading plan: psalms spirituality}
For the next few months we will be exploring the Psalms. For an overview of the Psalms, watch this 9 minute video from our friends at The Bible Project. To learn more about how to read the Psalms, check out this video resource.
In the series "MindFull" we specifically will explore Psalms through the lens of movements described by the author, Walter Brueggemann, as orientation, disorientation and reorientation. Our life experiences move through similar themes as the writers of the Psalms express. One day, we are oriented well toward Jesus and purpose, the next we might encounter a move toward disorientation. As we engage our relationship with Jesus, he comes alongside to reorient us in so many facets of life. If this idea intrigues you, check out his book, Spirituality of the Psalms.
This week the psalms we are reading focus on the theme of reorientation . . . gaining a right perspective on who God is, and who we are to him. Read Psalm 3 and pay attention to how the writer reorients his fears and anxieties. If you were to write your own reorienting psalm, what would it say? Consider trying that exercise this week, and share it with a trusted friend.
How do we see David reorienting his throughts in this prayer? I love his ask . . . show me, lead me, remember your unfailing love and compassion. What are you asking of God this week?
Are you waiting patiently for God to answer a prayer? Heal a loved one, heal you, resolve a conflict, repair a relationship. Read these verses a few times. Try reading in a different version. Choose a phrase that you could use as a mantra prayer (a short phrase you repeat over and over when you are distracted, hurt, waiting or in pain. We will be praying along with you.
These prayers were uttered after David had committed an egregious sin and been confronted over it. We hear him asking God to see him, to forgive him, to restore him, and to make him able to choose the path of following Jesus as he moves forward. Many of us have been there at one point or another in life . . . in need of a rescue, a restoration, and a new perspective that helps us move beyond shame and guilt, toward grace and hoipe. Locate yourself in this psalm, whether it be from your distant past, or just this morning. How would you share your thoughts and your requests with God?
Where do you need God to see you in your trouble? What do you need him to do for you? Take some time in prayer today, inviting him to meet you and telling him what you need.
I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken. Sometimes I remind myself of this, and other truths about God, in the form of a prayer. I know it in my head . . . but it’s hard to trust it in my heart, or live like it is true with my actions. Join us in praying this prayer leading into church tomorrow morning.
{extra journey resources}
CLICK HERE to visit The Bible Project site and explore their super simple, super informative Bible videos (and other resources). You can also download The Bible Project App HERE.
CLICK HERE to get the Read Scripture App, from our friends at The Bible Project.
CLICK HERE for more on how to use the observe-reflect-apply approach to getting the most out of your Bible reading.
The Bible App Get the free YouVersion Bible for your phone, tablet, or computer. Experience the Bible anywhere, with options to highlight, save notes, and share what you are reading with others.
The Bible App For Kids YouVersion partnered with OneHope to develop the Bible App for Kids, designing it specifically to engage children with Bible stories on an age-appropriate level. The Bible App for Kids is a free app for Android, Apple, and Kindle devices, available in over 60 languages.
Bible Gateway Provides advanced Bible searching capabilities, which allow readers to find passages in scripture based on keywords, phrases, or scripture reference.
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