The opportunity for a fresh start is always slightly unlikely in January when its cold outside and we are full of viruses and bugs, and can’t face going back to work. I always think it’s daft time to start a new regime, but the papers and magazines will next week be full of ways to lose weight, give up smoking and plan a new life. In church today we were looking at how to avoid distractions when walking in faith which is certainly very difficult for me.. (what was that again?!)
The basics of life coaching and anything in life you want to get done I think is, set a target, work backwards to what needs to happen today, and then write a list. Thinking what the target is is often quite hard and most of us therefore don’t bother at all. Small steps, small challenges are much easier than major revamps or U turns. Even if you are planning a U turn, you have to start the journey and move in that general direction to get started.
One of the things I asked for for Christmas was a book called “You have to get out of the boat to be able to walk on the water”, and am planning to buy myself in the sales, as my family clearly don’t think it was a wise idea to buy for me!
Today in church there was a picture of Peter on one of our windows being held by Jesus as he’d stepped out in faith and actually walked on the water. As christians you might think we are more confident to step out of our comfort zones, but in reality we often think more of Jesus as a cuddly kind person who likes children and animals, and less of him as an outdoor pursuits leader, asking us to climb mountains and scale new heights!
The passage below describes the story in the Bible, and the main verse that stands out to me here is “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid”.
Matthew 14:22-33 Jesus Walks on the Water
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
inspiredinyork 