Love thy neighbor as thyself

Good days and Bad Days…

Have you ever had a succession of really good days and sometimes ignore your attentiveness to Christ? Well, then comes humility, and humbling events that reawaken our need for Christ and prayer.

You see, I have been humbled by life since early childhood. Being accident prone has allowed me to pull the reigns when my pride or ego seem to get slightly overinflated. Consequently, I discovered the practice that humbling myself was the key towards developing a deeper love for Christ. It reminded me that I need Christ, always, and that self-reliance would only get me so far before falling flat on my face.

For example, as I would sprint on a treadmill, I would sometimes fall flat on my face. Literally, not figuratively. In fact, as I was trying to break a personal record pace on the treadmill for a 2-mile run, my foot caught the edge of the tread, and I fell flat on the treadmill. Furthermore, the treadmill was still moving at 10 miles per hour, and I had to fight against the tread and pull myself up. Thanks be to God, I did not suffer any injuries other then sheer humiliation. I tried explaining to onlookers, “I am okay, everyone!” Despite the embarrassment, I grew spiritually from this experience and many more humbling moments in life that I will share as we journey in our walk with Christ together.

How did I grow from this, you might ask. You see, I took my fall as a friendly reminder that I need Christ even when things are going my way. I cannot simply rely on my own self determination and strength to navigate the waters of life. As my ego and pride were determined to break a 14-minute two-mile pace, I fell flat on my face as I neared the goal line. I thought, isn’t life much like this experience?  We go on moments of great pridefulness and egotism, and we believe we do not need others (especially Christ) simply because we can rely on our own strength.

Now I remind myself that I must not try to go it alone. I should take time to acknowledge the love of Christ daily rather than ignore him on good days. I still struggle with this, so don’t worry if you can’t quite stay on track (no pun intended) on placing your trust in Christ. He always welcomes us back no matter how many times we fall on our face. So, my advice to you is: Love Christ always during the good times and in times of struggles. Jesus, I trust in you. Amen. By Isabel Anderson