Hanging By a Thread




"The filter through which we choose to view life is what determines the amount of beauty we assign to whatever we are looking at." - Coach Kelly

"I raise my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lordthe maker of heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:1-2CEB).














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My Reflection:
Monday started out as a beautiful, sunny, August day; but then the clouds blew in and the rain poured down. I had just gotten back from town and decided, for some reason, to take some pictures of our flowers - in the rain.  Divine inspiration for today's post?  Or just a combination of a few of my favorite things: rain, flowers, and photography.

As I approached our lone Resurrection flower, I remembered a photo I had taken for an earlier blog so I thought it would be neat to recapture it as closely as I could. The primary difference wasn't the additional blossom-clusters but the tone of the sky. As I was playing around with some gadget on my phone, I added the pictures side-by-side and inspiration hit...but that was only the beginning.  I thought that it would be neat to do an 'after the storm' photo as well. So the next day, Brut and I trudged up the driveway, bowed down on the still wet grass, and started snapping. Immediately I noticed that one of the petals had broken way from its cluster. It was literally hanging on by a thread. Even after the wind and rain, most of the new clusters looked pretty good although some had completely disconnected, withered up, and died. But not this one; while mostly disconnected, it was still pretty and pink...but still disconnected and holding on only by a thread.



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Picture This:

John 15:5 records Jesus saying: "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. Without me, you can’t do anything" (CEB).

Fast Forward to 2016:
Sunny days, rainy days, and post-storm days are part of life's journey. Our courage, our beauty, our full potential, aren't tested on sunny days, not when life is good and we are content. Nope, courage is tested during the storms of life...on life's rainy days. But our beauty, our full-potential - these are seen after the storm. And after the storm is when our true strength and beauty have the opportunity to shine through. But sometimes I wonder how resilient we are about holding on to God after the storm. When our new normal is nothing we would have chosen for ourselves...

I have had times when, like this petal, I have held on by a thread, but still, I was holding on. And that is where our neighbors, our family, our church comes into the picture. Thankfully, unlike that disconnected petal, we have a cluster of folks around us with hands to pull us back up. A cluster of believers with hearts of compassion to wipe our tears. A cluster of fellow human beings able to offer us words of encouragement. And a God who will never leave us hopeless.


I am closing this post with a proposition: If you feel like you are barely hanging on by a thread, just keep holding on. Ask Jesus - the author of finisher of your faith - to come alive inside your heart. Trust Him to be your savior, shield, comforter, and advocate...He is these things and so much more...How do I know for certain? Well, I am a firm believer that He is to be experienced and not merely explained. And I've experienced Him working in my life. I've seen Him work miracles of healing. I've felt the Holy Spirit stirring within my gut. And I want you to know and experience this same relationship. 

How? Well, other than invite and receive Him into my life, my salvation experience with Him is not because of anything I have done. It is because of what happened when He arose from the tomb. It is because He was held to the cross by His love for us not by nails. He knew that there would come a day when we would barely be Hanging by a Thread...so He overcame death, hell, and the grave; ascended to glory and is preparing a place for us so that one day, if we keep holding on, by a thread even, we too can overcome the storms of life. I believe that life is a journey not just a destination. So I encourage you to live each day to the fullest, to find joy in the simple things, and trust that God desires for you to experience His love, joy, peace in mighty yet subtle ways in your everyday life. To build a relationship with Him on purpose. 



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Hey y'all, have a blessed Sunday

In Christ with love and compassion,

Coach Kelly

#YourLifeCoachingWV; #BeyondTheMirror; #WVStrong

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