OnFire Encouragement
Letter
OnFire #283 Lessons from
the Treadmill
While I was on PEI for vacation, I ran in a 5km
“fun run,” a semi-competitive race organized as part of a local summer festival,
the O’Leary Potato Blossom Festival, for those who are wondering. I had been
looking for a 5km race to try and this one was close to my mother’s cottage, so
at the appointed time I showed up, paid my money, stretched and finally lined up
on the starting line.
My goals in the race were very modest - not to
embarrass myself by tripping over my own feet, and to finish without walking. I
set a comfortable pace under the warm morning sun and hoped I would be OK. Lots
of people passed me, but I wasn’t running to compete, I was running to cross the
line.
At about the half-way point, it was fun to pass
some of the people who were now walking. I kept on plodding, one foot after
another.
A fun thing happened at about the 3.5km mark. I
passed a girl about 11-years-old who was walking. As I pulled up beside her I
asked, “You’re not going to let an old, bald, fat man beat you to the finish,
are you?” About 30 seconds later she passed me and I didn’t see her again until
the end.
What a joy it was to see the finish line. People
were gracious enough to clap. I made it, and actually managed a decent time for
a first timer. I had never, ever, run that far before in my life, so 31:28
wasn’t too bad.
When I joined the gym back in January, the
longest I could run on the treadmill was about 2 minutes. I went twice a week
all winter, and gradually built it up until I could run a whole mile. I kept
working on my endurance until I figured out that 5km was within reach. What a
difference training all winter made in my strength and endurance.
Romans 5:3-5 says, “We also rejoice in our
sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance,
character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has
poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”
Paul reminds us that suffering is not in vain.
We often think that our trials and difficulties are nothing but frustrations and
problems which hold us back from what we hope to do in life. On the contrary,
suffering can produce good things in our character.
There are character traits which we can’t
develop without facing challenges and troubles. That’s not so different from my
time in the gym. I would not have been able to run that race if I had not
strained and tested those muscles all winter.
I want to be clear. God does not bring suffering
into our lives to teach us lessons. However, God is a redeeming God, and He
brings good from the bad by doing this work in our hearts.
I wish there was another way to strengthen my
body to give me more power and endurance. Likewise, I wish there was another way
to gain perseverance, character and hope. However, it helps me to know that my
struggles are actually workouts for my soul, strengthening my faith and
developing deeper levels of perseverance.
Some struggles seem hard at the time, but
someday we’ll look back and see that we have gone on to handle even tougher
ones. And that gives us character and hope to trust in God as we face the next
challenges.
I hope this helps. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a bi-weekly letter on faith and
character written by Troy Dennis. Troy is the Pastor of Family Ministries at
Highfield Baptist Church, Moncton NB Canada. This letter published Aug 8, 2012.
Scripture taken from New International Version, 1984. To subscribe or reply,
email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com.
OnFire is an occasional letter on Christian faith and character
Showing posts with label PEI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PEI. Show all posts
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Thursday, December 15, 2011
OnFire #270 Christmas, Star Trek and From Away
OnFire Encouragement Letter
OnFire #270 On Christmas, Star Trek, and From Away
I grew up on Prince Edward Island, a beautiful place but not without its interesting ways of doing things. There is an expression every Islander learns from an early age to describe someone not born on PEI. “From away” is the phrase used to explain that someone does not hang from the branch of an Island family tree.
It is important for Islanders to be able to “place” someone, and so introductions and initial conversations often revolve around where people grew up, where their families live, maiden names, parents’ names. I call it the Family Name Game, and most Islanders of a certain age do it instinctively. You introduce yourself and the wheels of the other person’s mind start turning.
“Dennis.... Are you related to the Dennis’ in Ellerslie?” Everyone in Prince County knows Dennis Motors and wonders if there is a connection. If I’m talking with someone who lives closer to the middle of the Island, they might ask if I’m related to anyone in Charlottetown because a number of Dennis’ live there. This is how the name game works.
“No,” I reply. “My dad is from O’Leary.” (The original Dennis family settled near Ellerslie, but two descendants moved near O’leary and that’s where my family comes from).
“Yeah?” The response at this point is always hopeful. They are close to making a connection - they know someone in O’leary or have relatives there - “What’s his name?”
My father knows a lot of people, so sometimes this helps to make a connection. Sometimes not. They’ll probably ask about my mother’s family, or I might volunteer the information. This often helps because the name is common in that area. (I can almost predict that the Islanders reading this are now thinking about emailing me for the information because they don’t have enough info to finish putting the family connections together. The instinct is powerful.)
They will probably follow up by asking if I know someone they know. There are extra points if I do, with an additional measure of goodwill if the person is related to either of us. This is how the name game works. With my Island family credentials firmly established, conversation moves on to some bit of Island news, weather, or politics. There is a mutual feeling of trust because we share a common bond as Islanders. (Of course, if the family name has bad history this can also work against someone. Thank the Lord for great families!)
My wife was not born on PEI but the name game is played with predictable results. Her maiden name is not an “Island name,” which results in polite inquiry: “Where is your family from?” As soon as she tells them her parents live off-Island, the topic changes with a gentle, “Oh...” And forever after it will be said that I married a girl “from away.” There is no harm or malice intended. It is simply a signal to other Islanders that she cannot be “placed” in a family they may know. I’m sure this kind of thing happens in other places, too.
There is something comforting about connecting with someone from the same area because we share background and roots. We get the inside jokes and understand the idiosyncrasies of the people. It is not something which can be bought or earned. It comes from knowing the same people, going to the same schools, walking the same routes, knowing the same people, being born in the same place.
This is why it is so important that Jesus came to earth and was born as a baby. If had he been beamed in from heaven like a figure in Star Trek, he would be “from away” and could not have been “Immanuel - God With Us.” Jesus came to us as fully God but also fully human. He was born, learned to walk, grew up first as a child, then was a teen, and finally a man.
John 1:14 says, “The Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelled among us.” Hebrews 4:14 tells us, “We do not have a high priest who unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way as we are....” It makes me wonder - was Jesus ever bullied at the synagogue? Did he have pimples? Did girls have crushes on him? What did he do when an attractive woman walked into the room?
Of course, I fully believe Jesus treated people with utmost decency and respect. I’m simply thinking out loud to make a point. We can trust Jesus with anything because there is nothing we face which Jesus didn’t face. He encountered it all, maybe not in exactly the forms we do, but the essence of the testing was the same. Jesus was not “from away.” He gets it because he was born here.
May this Christmas be a reminder that Jesus is “Immanuel - God with Us.” May this thought add extra meaning to the holiday season, and point us, not to the gifts, food and parties, but to the Saviour who was born to be one of us. Hebrews 4:16 sums it up: “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
I hope this helps. Have a Jesus -centred Christmas and we’ll connect in the New Year. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a bi-weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. Troy is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church, Moncton NB Canada. This letter published Dec 15, 2011. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com.
OnFire #270 On Christmas, Star Trek, and From Away
I grew up on Prince Edward Island, a beautiful place but not without its interesting ways of doing things. There is an expression every Islander learns from an early age to describe someone not born on PEI. “From away” is the phrase used to explain that someone does not hang from the branch of an Island family tree.
It is important for Islanders to be able to “place” someone, and so introductions and initial conversations often revolve around where people grew up, where their families live, maiden names, parents’ names. I call it the Family Name Game, and most Islanders of a certain age do it instinctively. You introduce yourself and the wheels of the other person’s mind start turning.
“Dennis.... Are you related to the Dennis’ in Ellerslie?” Everyone in Prince County knows Dennis Motors and wonders if there is a connection. If I’m talking with someone who lives closer to the middle of the Island, they might ask if I’m related to anyone in Charlottetown because a number of Dennis’ live there. This is how the name game works.
“No,” I reply. “My dad is from O’Leary.” (The original Dennis family settled near Ellerslie, but two descendants moved near O’leary and that’s where my family comes from).
“Yeah?” The response at this point is always hopeful. They are close to making a connection - they know someone in O’leary or have relatives there - “What’s his name?”
My father knows a lot of people, so sometimes this helps to make a connection. Sometimes not. They’ll probably ask about my mother’s family, or I might volunteer the information. This often helps because the name is common in that area. (I can almost predict that the Islanders reading this are now thinking about emailing me for the information because they don’t have enough info to finish putting the family connections together. The instinct is powerful.)
They will probably follow up by asking if I know someone they know. There are extra points if I do, with an additional measure of goodwill if the person is related to either of us. This is how the name game works. With my Island family credentials firmly established, conversation moves on to some bit of Island news, weather, or politics. There is a mutual feeling of trust because we share a common bond as Islanders. (Of course, if the family name has bad history this can also work against someone. Thank the Lord for great families!)
My wife was not born on PEI but the name game is played with predictable results. Her maiden name is not an “Island name,” which results in polite inquiry: “Where is your family from?” As soon as she tells them her parents live off-Island, the topic changes with a gentle, “Oh...” And forever after it will be said that I married a girl “from away.” There is no harm or malice intended. It is simply a signal to other Islanders that she cannot be “placed” in a family they may know. I’m sure this kind of thing happens in other places, too.
There is something comforting about connecting with someone from the same area because we share background and roots. We get the inside jokes and understand the idiosyncrasies of the people. It is not something which can be bought or earned. It comes from knowing the same people, going to the same schools, walking the same routes, knowing the same people, being born in the same place.
This is why it is so important that Jesus came to earth and was born as a baby. If had he been beamed in from heaven like a figure in Star Trek, he would be “from away” and could not have been “Immanuel - God With Us.” Jesus came to us as fully God but also fully human. He was born, learned to walk, grew up first as a child, then was a teen, and finally a man.
John 1:14 says, “The Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelled among us.” Hebrews 4:14 tells us, “We do not have a high priest who unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way as we are....” It makes me wonder - was Jesus ever bullied at the synagogue? Did he have pimples? Did girls have crushes on him? What did he do when an attractive woman walked into the room?
Of course, I fully believe Jesus treated people with utmost decency and respect. I’m simply thinking out loud to make a point. We can trust Jesus with anything because there is nothing we face which Jesus didn’t face. He encountered it all, maybe not in exactly the forms we do, but the essence of the testing was the same. Jesus was not “from away.” He gets it because he was born here.
May this Christmas be a reminder that Jesus is “Immanuel - God with Us.” May this thought add extra meaning to the holiday season, and point us, not to the gifts, food and parties, but to the Saviour who was born to be one of us. Hebrews 4:16 sums it up: “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
I hope this helps. Have a Jesus -centred Christmas and we’ll connect in the New Year. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a bi-weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. Troy is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church, Moncton NB Canada. This letter published Dec 15, 2011. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com.
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