Ups and Downs

Victor Wembanyama is now a San Antonio Spur and the city of San Antonio couldn't be more excited. The AT&T Center was packed with fans on draft night waiting with anticipation for the obvious selection of “Wemby.”  

Even the guests of the Drury Inn Downtown received a letter ahead of time saying: "There is a potential chance you may hear some vehicle honking this evening in the downtown area. This is a tradition in San Antonio after the Spurs basketball team has won championships in past years. That said it has been a number of years since our hometown team has had much to celebrate. Tonight is the NBA Draft and uniquely enough our Spurs have the first pick in the draft that has garnered international attention this year……”  (Summary: Ups, downs, and now ups again) 

If you’ve been a Spurs fan for the last few years or so, you know that it hasn’t been pretty. It’s clear now that the front office chose to do their best to do poorly. The focus was on “development” not winning. Fan’s expectations tanked just like the team. Fans didn’t show up for games and if they did, left early.

It was easy to wish for the good ole days. Being at the bottom of the standings was not a place we Spur fans were used to.

I think the Spurs’ season sounds a lot like our lives. If we could choose between ups and downs, almost all of us would prefer the “ups.” We’re NEVER ready for the "downs" and they seem to come when we least expect. Often, we don’t want to admit we’re struggling and hide our hurts. We just want to get through the “downs” and get back with the “ups.”

I believe God wants to use both our “ups” and “downs” in our lives. In fact, as we invite God into these seasons, He helps us when we feel unable to help ourselves. Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 says “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead…. On him, we have set our hope and he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers.”

Paul’s view of suffering was radical. God uses our suffering to advance His kingdom. God uses our suffering to make us more like Jesus. God uses suffering to grow our faith. Suffering produces perseverance, which produces Christian character. (Romans 5:3-4 and James 1:3-4) On God, we set our hope.

When I live in the “ups” of life, when all is well, I can easily find myself relying on my own skills and abilities. But it’s those “downs” that I realize my own powerlessness and my desperate need for God. I imagine there were times the Apostle Paul wondered if he would ever escape his difficult circumstances. I know there are times I wondered that as well. I just wanted to get out of my “down” to get back to my “ups.”

As I’ve grown in my faith, I realize that having an attitude of dependence on God in the ups AND downs of life is crucial. God helps me gain His perspective and literally walks me through everything that comes my way.  I see Him doing that now as I grieve the loss of my dad.

It’s a new day for the Spurs and I for one, am ecstatic. It’s a new day for each of us as well, as we learn to depend upon God in our “ups” and “downs.”

Take a listen to Hills and Valleys (Ups and Downs) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4rRCjrAyCs

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

Home

Nikola Jokic, with the Denver Nuggets, was fun to watch in the NBA finals. I was especially intrigued by his excitement to go home, now that his team had won the championship. 

As soon as the game was over, he went immediately to his family and began the celebration. When asked what it feels like to win the championship, Jokic responded: “It’s good. It’s good. The job is done. We can go home now.” He just wants to go home. Even more interesting, he wanted to get back to his horse racing in Serbia.

I really liked Jokic’s humility and perspective on the game of basketball. He had won his first-ever NBA championship, yet that wasn’t the most important thing to him. Home was the most important thing.

It’s been said that “Home is where the heart is.” That can mean that wherever our loved ones are, that is our home. It may or may not be the place they grew up in. Just recently, while in Ohio, we went by the place I grew up in. The owner was outside and was happy to show us around. I was amazed at how small everything appeared to be on the property! I was no longer looking at it through the eyes of a child. It looked so different, yet the main buildings and landmarks were still there. As I went back memory lane, I remembered it was home then, but not anymore.

Paul in Ephesians 3:17 prays “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Paul was speaking to Christians who had Christ living in them. He was praying that Christ might dwell, abide, settle down, and be at home in their hearts. The word “dwell” literally means to “take up residence”.  So, in essence, Paul was praying that Christians might make their hearts the home of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Francis Dixon, Home in the Heart)

How do we make guests in our home feel welcome? When we have guests at our home, I like to call them “visiting dignitaries.” They’re special and we serve them the best we have. We give them the freedom to enjoy the whole house. We share fun and exciting things to do in the area but also give them the freedom to just hang out. We draw them into conversation, not always talking about us, but getting to know them.

So, it is with Jesus Christ. I want to welcome Jesus into my life each day. That’s why it’s a priority to take the time in the morning to read His word, pray, meditate on Scripture, and give Him my day. As I do this, I try to pray to Him and keep Him close throughout the day. I ask for wisdom, strength, guidance, help, discernment, courage, ability to love and show compassion to all I meet. I sense His presence throughout my day! When we invite Jesus into our lives, we give Him the run of our hearts all day long!

I’m so grateful that Jesus longs for us to talk to Him and be on intimate speaking terms with Him. To think Christ can dwell in our own hearts is just amazing! Is Christ at home in your heart? Invite Him in.

“Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.”  Ephesians 3:16 (NLT)

Take a listen as we invite God into our hearts today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkSBmRAVXNc

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

Needy

Managing grief is an oxymoron. It doesn’t make a bit of sense. How do you manage it? In just a short amount of time, I can get all teary-eyed, thinking about my dad and his death. The next minute I’m putting my groceries into the wrong buggy at HEB. The next minute, I’m laughing hysterically at a friend’s GIF. The next minute, I’m so exhausted I can hardly think straight. I’m all over the map and the map is bigger than the state of Texas.

Call me ditzy, fine. Call me, needy, yes! I guess being “needy” isn’t often adored or thumbed up on Facebook, right? Self-reliance is great. Being needy is bad, right? Wrong. Being needy means I can’t handle things myself. No one likes being needy unless we know the One who fills our neediness with Himself. So, in reality, I can experience more of God as I run to Him in my neediness. 

We live in a world that is full speed ahead most of the time. The constant pressures of life, commitments, and busyness make it so easy to forget that we need God in our lives. Until we do. When things go south, we struggle to know what to do. We were not meant to carry life’s burdens on our own. David, the Psalmist, knew He needed God and prayed to God in Psalm 143:8:

 “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I entrust my life.”

David was praying a prayer in what felt like a hopeless situation. He was crying out to God in a time of crisis because of his enemy, Saul. David had learned that no matter how dark things were or how much sorrow he carried, He could be confident that God was his help and strength. He knew he needed God! In some translations, the words “Let the morning bring me word” is translated as “Cause me to hear.” David needed to hear a good word from God. No doubt, you and I do too!

Call me needy, but I need constant reminders of God’s unfailing love throughout the day, just like David in this Psalm. David confessed he didn’t know the way to go. He needed God to show him the way. He didn’t just need to cling to God’s unfailing love, but he needed the guidance of God. A wonderful prayer for all of us is “Show me the way I should go, God.”

It’s God’s assurance of his unfailing love that allows us to go through the uncertainties and challenges that life brings. Whether it’s grieving a loss, losing a job, leaving home, loss of a relationship, or a traumatic event, our God is so present and available to each of us. Just like the Psalmist David, we can come to Him and pray.

I don't mind being needy today. For God always meets me in my need.

I love singing "Same God" in Spanish, Oh Dios te necesito, Oh Dios te necesito hoy, Te necesito hoy.... but here's the English version: (Same God, Elevation Worship) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LawxIZE9ePE

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

Pay Attention!

I was on my way back from a quick early morning run to Starbucks, not far from where I grew up in Ohio. The large road I was on had a series of lights, all of which were blinking yellow. The road had not officially “woken” up. Soon it would be bustling with cars. For now, yellow lights flickered as far as my eye could see.

We all know yellow lights allow us to proceed with caution and continue down the road. Not so with me. I came up to the yellow light and stopped. I’m not sure how long. No one was behind me, so no honks. All at once, I realized that I did not need to stop. Befuddled, I accelerated and drove back to our hotel.

What in the world was going on? I’m sure my mind was somewhere else. I was beyond exhausted and in just a few hours, we would be attending my dad’s funeral. My. Dad’s. Funeral. It still didn’t register.

I still wanted to be present in these moments ahead. I wanted to appreciate fully each person that came that morning. I wanted to take in, as hard as it was, seeing my dad in a casket. I wanted to fully feel the solemn moment of the taps at the cemetery and receiving the flag. I wanted to be able to be silly and laugh together with friends and family who had gathered for lunch. 

That ‘yellow light’ moment was a wake-up call for me to be fully present. Pain comes in all shapes and sizes and honestly, it’s way easier to avoid it at all costs. Humans do all sorts of things to run and hide from our pain. We run away. We over-medicate. We joke away our pain. We get super busy. We take our minds elsewhere, i.e., yellow lights. Thankfully, I had some time to pray. I asked God for help because I knew I needed it!

God carried me that day. He allowed me to be fully present and appreciate each person. I sensed Him partnering with me as I walked toward the casket and viewed my dad’s lifeless body. God helped me receive the flag and realize the symbolism of that moment. God allowed me to be fully present with my friends and family. It turned out to be a special day.

Walking with Christ doesn’t mean we’re perfect, far from it. It does mean that the Holy Spirit enables us to do what we can’t do on our own. The Spirit of God, who lives inside the believer, walks with us through anything we’re going through. Even though there are times that life is painful, there’s still life to live and we need to live in the present.

Eugene Peterson in The Message, writes in Matthew 6:34 says “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.”

There’s never a time to hide. I need to be fully present as I know the Lord is near. He cares about everything we're going through. I’ll sum this up with something we all heard growing up. “Nancy, (replace with your name) Pay Attention!”

Take a listen to this song about focusing on Jesus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiukM6WHQEQ 

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