-Rev Melissa Fain- When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak. Acts 2:1-2 CEB Like I said two posts ago, every year we pick a new ornament to go on our tree. That ornament is symbolic of something that happened that year. This is our 2018 ornament. This past summer, my in-laws took all of us to Disney World. It was amazing. I don't think we could thank them enough for taking us. We all had the opportunity to do something fun and focused on what we liked.
Besides fun, my daughter and I each had our own life changing event. My daughter's event was very scary at the time, but welcome now. She saw food and water as optional. She disliked eating almost anything, and complained about most meals. Many mornings she would allow her milk to just sit on the table. Put that attitude in the blistering hot, humidity of Southern Florida with the body build of a beanpole, and you have the recipe for heat exhaustion. I'd tell her to take a drink, and she would pretend to drink her water, while not actually drinking. Her reward? She spent about two hours heaving up nothing in the First Aid building of Hollywood Studios. That day, she learned the importance of eating and drinking. Two week later, the two of us spent some days camping up north, she listened and followed direction when I told her to drink more. Today, she has a general respect for food and water. Meanwhile, I was discovering a new truth. Our Disney trip came with meal plans. I knew I couldn't put on any more weight, but I also knew there were some delicious food choices. I decided the best was by doing a basic math problem. I'd eat less the week before the trip to off-set the explosion of food options coming my way. Scout Day camp was the immediate week before the trip, so I had no trouble packing healthy calories. I was active, a den leader for a group of rising second graders. This is the first time I've shared this, but when I stepped on the scale to look at my amazing weight loss week, I discovered I put on three pounds that week! I would be going to Disney weighing more than I planned. At the park, I began to see food differently. While my daughter was beginning to succumb to heat exhaustion, I was eating an apple crumble ala mode. Staring down at the quickly melting ice cream I realized I didn't have to do this. Tossing the remainder, I made myself a promise. I was going to eat less, and exercise more. I wasn't going to "diet." I wasn't telling myself, "I need to lose weight, so I'm going to follow this plan." I simply knew I needed to be healthy, so I was going to be healthy. Now I've lost 30 pounds, and I have 10 more pounds to go. Being healthy, caused me to set goals. I feel good for the first time in years! Good days are active days! You see Mickey Mouse on our Christmas Tree. I see a moment where half our family had a moment of clarity, and changed their life. This is what it means when we are told faith produces fruit. What our soul believes, our soul speaks through our bodies and actions. At Disney World we changed, and the change produced action. The Spirit is like fire because, like fire it bursts through everything false and burns down everything but the truth. We can't help but act towards God's Kingdom, because God's Kingdom is the truth, and everyone should know it. A Christian speaks truth all the time, and often without a single word. The Spirit lit upon those Apostles that first Pentecost, It didn't matter what was going to happen (for most, terrible deaths), they were going to speak the truth into the world. Our actions speak to our souls, and a soul focused on God's love made manifest through Jesus speaks love into the world. As Advent begins this Sunday, let good change come from our core innermost being, and reflect in what we do. Let us pray: God of love, help change our soul so we can speak your Love into the world, often times without a single word. Amen. |
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