On the eighth day, I gave up coffee

And on the ninth day, I picked it back up. I thought about feeling bad for only making it 24 hours, but at the very first sip of deliciousness, I decided I didn’t care. I like coffee. So there.

But what I have been successful at is my walking. 11 days now! (12 minus 1 due to a very bad weather day on top of a chiropractic adjustment — but I did exercise some, and I do think the mad dash into Walmart for sugar and back out again should count.) I know, I know…once again, it’s too soon to tell and celebrate because I’m in the very early stages of this, but I’m proud of the progress I’ve been making

(Why am I including shots of the weather too? Because it’s important to me to remind myself on hard days that I know how to push through, even when it’s VERY cold out.)

It looks good, right? This physical movement, this busyness, and my to-do lists are just chock-full of marked off items because I’m on fire!

But I also keep getting these kinds of reminders –

Exercise — and busyness — mean nothing if I’m not staying spiritually fit. I go great periods of time where I am deep in the Word, and then other long periods of time where I am decidedly not. I make plans to begin doing this, and then I miss a day, and then another, and then…what was I doing again?

In a way, it’s like how I gave up coffee for a whole day. Boiled down, I missed two cups of coffee. That’s it. But I felt headachy and fatigued. As someone who’s not even a heavy coffee drinker by America’s standards, my body immediately felt the withdrawal, and when I had my first cup after the temporary insanity of quitting, I felt my body perk up immediately.

That’s a very real example of how I feel when I neglect my spirituality. I feel sluggish, worthless, and like nothing I do matters. I should quit, I should shut down the Internet and hide away. But when I plug back in, I feel my spirit soar. It no longer matters (as much – let’s be real…I’m STILL human) if what I do is successful or leads to feedback or clients. I know that God has this all in control and I am able to relax a bit better.

When I walk, I don’t go out with an agenda to think about this or that. I go out to clear my head and listen for God. I go out to see what God has to show me. And I go out without plugging my ears with music so I can hear the beauty that God has in store for me, even when it’s just the wind rushing past my ears, because God is in the wind, all quiet and on a mission. I see and hear more clearly away from the noise of the busyness my to-do list is calling me to. I see the art waiting for me in the shadows, and the glory waiting for me to notice in the distance.

These first 12 days of the year have been teaching me about slowing down, weighing out what to do more of and what to do less of, and how to listen and see. My walks are about more than toning my body and strengthening my lungs. And my days are not meant to be spent fulfilling my (wo)man-made lists but instead to leave room for what God calls me to do.

Less to-do, more Him.
Less noise, more Him.
Less me, more Him.

It’s as easy and as hard as that.

Now Playing at Klocke Photography: Austin, Class of 2013 {Colorado Senior Photography}