4/18/24- Direction

Which direction are you looking, up or down, for your guidance and reassurance?

The example of how we walk and how we talk is something that all the world sees. God also sees our hearts. If I had a choice for a human to judge me for my wrong doings or for God to judge me, I would choose God every time. I know that He sees all, but He knows the truth.

My swim experience often times gave me a target on my front and back. I remember when my kids were 6 & unders on our local neighborhood swim team. I had been approached my a neighbor and told that there was a threat of the swim team dissolving because no one had stepped up to make sure all the jobs and positions were filled.

I didn't want the team to dissolve, so I reached out to a group of families and coordinated a meeting. We all met at the local restaurant and formed a swim team committee to make sure that all would get accomplished for the swim team to continue. All of these individuals had unique talents and volunteered our time to run the swim team. This opportunity that I took on, opened my eyes to so many things I could never have imagined.

The first day of practice, I was at the pool, holding my 3-year-old daughter. I watched as the new swim team members walked onto the pool deck and all the different feels that they were experiencing. The coaches were under the cabana waiting for all the members to trickle in and for practice to begin. My role on the committee was to fill the coaching staff, which I undertook for the next five-plus years.

All of a sudden a woman was standing in front of me, whom I had never seen before. She proceeded to yell at me and use choice words that were not suitable for a child or really anyone. This behavior she exhibited and anger she directed toward me was because the returning head coach hadn't greeted her daughter when she walked by him. Meanwhile, I was holding my child, who was innocent. Actually, what was I guilty of at that moment?

Looking inward and trying to look out for yourself and your children is a natural instinct. However, we are called to look outward. God commanded us to love our neighbor. What chaos this world can deliver to us when we least expect it. If we pick the right direction for guidance, maybe we can do the work God wants us to do, and spread love.

2 Thessalonians 2: 14- “Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.”