Downward Facing Jen

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.     Proverbs 3:5-6

In my yoga workout there is a pose called Triangle and it involves standing with one leg stretched out in front, one leg in back turned sideways and then you bend your upper body forward with your arms outstretched till one hand touches the floor. I’m not great at describing yoga poses (or doing them sometimes…) so take a look at the picture. It’s not the hardest pose but it always trips me up when the instructor talks about keeping your balance. “Just lean like there is a wall supporting you at the side! Lean!” I may not be an expert but I don’t think anyone actually leans against walls looking like this. But if they did, I wonder if they would be more stable than I am while doing this pose, because try as I might, my ‘leaning against a wall’ usually ends up with me ‘falling to the mat’.

Yesterday was not the easiest day for my Lenten fast. Part of it was hard because it was a lazy Saturday where I’m not adhering to a schedule or dinner plans. Part of it was because it’s been a hard week emotionally and a portion of the day was spent attending a funeral. Those are all excuses though, because the main problem was that I was trying to do it all myself. I had decided that it was going to be a rough day and then told myself that I could handle it. Did you notice how many times I mentioned ‘me’ in that last sentence? Yeah, that was my problem. Way too much of me and not enough God. I actually visited a grocery store, a restaurant and two fast food places trying to come up with lunch for myself. I struggled to make any decision at all because I was trying to make that decision on my own without God.

Life is not really like the Triangle pose in yoga. I don’t have to balance precariously, trying to find support in an imaginary wall. God has thankfully given me support with the Holy Spirit, the Bible and my fellow Christians. He has blessed me with the chance to stop leaning on imaginary things and start putting my faith in Him. I’m praying that today I stay off the mat.