The Realities of RED FLAGS: HOPE

 "And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulations bring about perseverance, and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope: Romans 5:3-4

Each year older brings me to the reality the I am capping the mountain of life. My sweet Grandma always said to me, "Anita, I have climbed up the mountain, and I am on my way back down.".  The truth in my grandma's words always stung. I viewed her as the strongest women I knew. I borrowed her strength secretly, I found myself clinging to it in my infant faith, I needed hers. 

HOPE

The last few weeks I have had to surrender myself in the maze of life. The path has been a bit unmarked, and I have found myself stumbling and unclear which direction to go. 

I haven't found clear directions and the wandering feels fierce, but I cling to the Lord. I grapple in hope that He is leading me blindly and it is frightening the unknown. 

HOPE

The warm summer of comfort has dissolved, and the gloom is sneaking in. My body is creaking just a bit more this season and my injury is adding some unwanted details. 

HOPE

I am three weeks out from intentionally facing the realities of RED FLAGS.  

INJURIES from my own stupidity. 

Denial is not a river in Egypt. I saw the red flags; hey, I felt the red flags and the truth is I had friends confront me with my red flags even. 

But the reality of the red flags set in when I had to step down from running. 

I confused HOPE with HURT. I HOPED that my HURT body was not a big deal even though the Lord had shown me otherwise. 

HOPE doesn't sugar coat of circumstances. 

HOPE doesn't glaze over the heartbeat of hardships. 

HOPE doesn't give us false truths to build our ego. 

BUT what HOPE does is so much more. 

HOPE redirects our meandering into HIS message. 

HOPE strengthens us as we go out cautiously into uncharted territories. 

HOPE shines the direction that we are searching for. 

SO many of us are drifting through mine fields. We are beaten up by this broken world and broken relationships. We are scared to make a move, and we are disoriented by the damage of our last steps.

Some of us struggle to hold onto HOPE because we are still searching for the God we have heard of but the god we feel has delivered so much pain. 

HOPE

Hope didn't dissolve my red flags. Hope gave me grace to accept them and confront them. Hope gave me the courage to face my character defects, and the Lord picked me up from that ugly realization. 

Hope reaches down for me in my faults and flaws. Then Hope stands me back up, holds me and directs my feeble spirit forward. 

Some life events have reminded me that hope has no limitations. And while the visibility of hope may not always shine brightly, it still outshines the darkness. 

Hope closes the gap of discouragement and despair, but it requires action. You have to exercise it. 

HOPE

THE RUNDOWN

I continue to keep my miles down and stay off the pavement. I am still doing my McGill's 3 - 6days a week along with other strength training. I have been hitting the gym again, rowing, stair climber, weights and dreadmill work out. 

DREADMILL workout: Start the incline at 3 and pace at about 9:30min/mi. I increase the incline and do about 3.5-4 miles. I add running backwards with the incline and a I just added a decline of 3%. 

 This week I slowly added more miles and was grateful to get to run at Pontiac Lake today. 

I have HOPE. HOPE doesn't ignore RED FLAGS-it helps me face them with honestly and courage. It steadies my heart when my body or circumstances warn me to slow down, listen, adjust or accept. Hope gives me gives me the courage instead of fear and the peace to trust Him. 

But I have a lot of hard work today. Hope doesn't always give instant results or even the results we might think we deserve. 

Hope does give peace though. And that's what I need to settle my drifting heart and anchor me in His will for me. 

"Now may the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

**PLEASE share what HOPE is to YOU, I would love to hear. 

In Peace Not Pieces

ANITA~