Time to Reflect

In the distracted pace we live, we often have little time to reflect. Rich introspection demands time to be still, contemplate and thoughtfully look at one’s life. Who has time for this?

Between a long list of to-do’s, following up with emails and the demands of family, when do we find time to pause? And to be honest, do we really want to reflect? It’s sometimes easier to hide from our own thoughts rather than truly take a peek into our true self.

Alan Noble in his book “Disruptive Witness” writes: “Our frenetic and flattened culture is not conducive to wrestling with thick ideas, ideas with depth, complexity, and personal implications. It is a culture of immediacy, simple emotions, snap judgments, optics, and identity formation.” Is it any wonder that reflection has been quietly shoved to the side?

When’s the last time you reflected on questions that bring out the real you?

• Has God given you any new beginnings this year? How are you doing living in the new beginning?
• For what moment today are you most grateful? For what moment today are you least grateful?
• When did you give and receive the most love today? When did you withhold love?
• How are you dealing with the problems/challenges in your life? 
• What was the most life-giving part of your day?
• What is it like for you to set aside time to play?
• What character trait of yours needs to change the most?
• How aware are you of the possibility of meeting God during your workday?
• When was the last time you had a deep sense of connection with God? (Questions from Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, page 53-61)

I suppose we all struggle in this area. We have good intentions to pause and reflect, but life takes over. Why not try to have some personal time this week to just pause and reflect? Invite God to reflect with you and note where changes need to be made. It will truly be a gift for you.

“My soul finds rest in God alone.” Psalm 62:1

“People in a hurry never have time for recovery. Their minds have little time to mediate and pray so that problems can be put in perspective. In short, people in our age are showing signs of physiological disintegration because we are living at a pace that is too fast for our bodies.” Archibald Hart

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio

Stick With Love

Martin Luther King Jr. experienced racism from an early age. I can only imagine that the events he went through stuck with him for life.  Amazingly, he used his pain to make a difference in the world. He became an activist, a pastor and began leading a series of peaceful protests in the south that significantly changed laws dealing with the equality of African Americans. His work changed our nation forever. We are forever grateful.

I think most of us have a hard time loving those who persecute us. To be honest, most of us have a hard time loving those who slight us, judge us or even challenge us. To think that Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about love so profoundly is beyond beautiful. In human’s eyes, he had every reason to hate. But, he didn’t. He chose love.

Check out his following quotes on love:

“He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.”

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.”

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.  That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”

“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”

“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life was cut short, but no one could stop the dream he had! No one. Today, we continue to be inspired by his words. Just think! What would it be like if we loved like this? God calls us to love our fellow man like this.

Who might God be calling you to love that’s not easy to love? An irritating relative?  A difficult staff member? A not-so-kind member? Inspired by MLK, let’s make a difference in our world by sticking with love. 

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Ephesians 4:2

“Above all, love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

#TylerStrong

I’d never heard about Tyler Trent until sometime back before the Ohio State Buckeyes and Purdue Boilermakers football game in October. The week leading up to the game, Tyler Trent’s name became more and more prominent.

Tyler Trent was diagnosed with osteosarcoma as a 15 year old in 2014. In 2018, cancer spread to his spine. He had been attending college at Purdue University at the time and had to return home to his family in September of this past year.

Trent and his family had made plans to attend the October 20 game against Ohio State. Many assumed that this may be his last trip to the Purdue campus. It was that week, I remember Tyler making a prediction that Purdue would beat Ohio State. What????? As much as my little Ohio heart didn’t want that to happen, as the game progressed, I began to want Purdue to win too...for Tyler. The Boilermakers ended up upsetting Ohio State just like Trent had predicted!

In the two months that followed, Tyler received many awards, co-hosted an episode of Sports Center, and wrote guest columns for the Indianapolis Star newspaper. He used his platform to bring in thousands of dollars for cancer research funds.

Tyler Trent died January 1, 2019. Tyler Trent got a chance to speak at his own Memorial Service by video. Check out what he had to say….

“The first time I had cancer, there was a lack of trust. I did not trust the Lord in any way, shape or form. I didn’t think He could heal me. I thought He was out to get me cause of the mistakes I made. This time around, I’m fully confident in whatever and trust Him for whatever He has planned, it’s for the better. I don’t know what that is yet.”

“At this point, time is really precious to me. When you’re healthy and life’s going right, its not as precious as it should be. When time becomes precious for other people I want them to have the same security and confidence and hope that I have. The option is to sit around and do nothing or go out and do something.”

“I want to be a good representation for Christ for those around me now and those who’ve always been there for me on my entire journey. I always want to be impacting and providing hope and being a good steward of those opportunities.”

“If Christ has allowed me to live this long, this is pretty unprecedented for anyone with this cancer. The Lord commands us to rejoice always and give thanks in all circumstances. He says not just the good circumstances but all circumstances.  My strength comes from the faith I have and is accessible to anyone who believes in Christ. If you don’t believe in Christ, that strength is not possible.”

“It’s easy to shake your fist at God because you’re paralyzed from waste down or on your left side or have to go through pain from emergency surgeries. He’s given me my cancer for a reason and wants to be glorified in this cancer. I want to leave a legacy of what the Lord can do when you allow him to work. There is always time in the day to give glory to God. If you don’t think you have time for the Lord, make time. We don’t know how many days we have. No one does. There’s one person that does.”

Sometimes you and I complain about the most insignificant things. We wake up grouchy and mad the world. We get sideways about the silliest of things. Maybe it’s time to rise up and live like you're dying. Tyler left a legacy for you and I. Let’s rise up!

“His goal was to leave a legacy- but not his own. He wanted people to see him and think about how Christ worked in him. He wanted people to see more than Tyler Trent, more than a cancer fighter-he wanted people to see God.” Annie Osborne

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

To Boo or Not Boo?

What happened when Kawhi Leonard entered the AT& T Center last Thursday night as a Toronto Raptor? There were a variety of speculations- boos, silence, or cheers? Even the national media chimed in with their opinions. A common question that everyone had leading up to the game: Is it OK for Spurs fans to boo Kawhi Leonard?

Despite Coach Pop hoping that the fans would treat Kawhi with kindness and respect, there were different sentiments felt in the crowd that night. Kawhi was booed from the moment he came out of the gate, even in practice. This practice of booing continued every time he touched the ball.

In my review of Spurs’ Twitter-Verse the next day, everyone still had an opinion. There were legitimate reasons given that Kawhi be booed. There were legitimate reasons given that Kawhi not be booed. Who’s right?

Perhaps, maybe there's another question. How do we judge what’s right and wrong? Our culture often thinks that anger is the only and best way to change things. When someone says or does or believes something different than what we feel is “right”, what do we do? Get angry? Have a strong opinion? Snub them? Boo them? Often that opinion affects how we treat a person going forward. Often, that person is stuck forever in the doghouse of our mind. We have placed ourselves as the judge.

I didn’t boo Kawhi during the game. Did I like what he did or how he acted? No, but I don’t know the whole story. I know a very small part of the story. So often, we take it upon ourselves to judge people, not knowing who they are, why they did what they did, or what they truly believe. Our assumptions become our reality.

By judging others, we make ourselves easy to judge. When we stop judging others, our hearts are softened. We open our heart to people and have the actual ability to love them. You can usually tell when you’re being judged by someone…there’s no room for love.

It’s not fun to be judged. I’m sure Kawhi didn’t enjoy it. You don’t either. No one does. If we’re to have true YMCA John 17:21 unity, it’s time to lay aside our judgments of others. We may always have different beliefs, but that doesn’t hinder us from having the same love.

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”  Matthew 7:1-5

"Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness  and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one is spirit and of one mind.” Philippians 2:1-2To

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

A New Start

I looked around my home office floor and cringed at the disarray before me. I really don’t like clutter and the floor was definitely clutter 2.0. Papers, files and trash….everywhere. It’s that time of year when I work hard to get super organized by throwing out the old stuff and making way for the new......New files. New ideas. New beginnings.

It feels really good to get organized and start anew. But, I always get stuck on the resolution thing. Statistics say I’m not alone! 80% of us have stopped practicing our resolutions by February! Shocker!

So, I’m all in for setting some new goals for the year. I certainly have them tucked away in the corner of my mind….and they will soon get to paper. But, what will actually help you and I live out our goals for 2019? 

We need each other!  Drew Dyck writes about a conversation he had with an older man at the airport. Dyck learned he was a recovering alcoholic who’d been clean for years. When he praised him for his self-control, he smiled “Self-control is important,” he said. “But if you just rely on self-control, you’re dead. You need a community around you. I know alcoholics who haven’t had a drop for 40 years and still go to the AA meetings.”

Whatever your goal, you are not designed to do it alone! We need those around us encouraging us, challenging us and listening to us. Reach out and ask for help…don’t go it alone!

Invite God to help you.  Long ago, an older woman mentor from seminary challenged me toward setting goals in all areas of my life. This was the first time I thought about the concept of God partnering with me in accomplishing my goals. For each goal, I wrote down what I needed to do and then how I would need God to help me. I would pray for each of the goals throughout that season. I still today remember how God used that season to help me both professionally and personally make some key changes!

Just think! Jeremiah 29:11 states  “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” If God indeed has plans for us, wouldn’t we need to stay close to the Planner and allow Him to guide us?

Don’t give up.  It was Winston Churchill that spoke the infamous words “Never, never, never give up.” He also said “Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” Wow! How can you and I keep the same enthusiasm for our goals both now and next spring or summer or fall? How can we keep them on the front burner ALL year? That’s for each of us to decide, but it can be done.”

So, here's is a brand new start to the year ahead! Make it your best yet! Happy New Year!

“For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:37

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.