What does that mean anyway? I have it tattooed on my wrist and stickers stuck everywhere as a reminder to live " Like Rushing Waters", but what do those 3 words mean?
Let me begin by stating the obvious if your not living like rushing waters then you are stagnant... The definition of stagnant is " Having no current or flow, motionless, stationary, standing, dull, dormant, sluggish, flat, depressed, dying or dead. Is it starting to hit home yet? This is what a stagnant life looks like.
We watched an episode of River Monsters one night and they were fishing at a river in Africa (I think) and they were explaining that if someone or something fell into this river there was no hope to gain it back. NO hope whatsoever. The current was so strong that the river was absolutely unstoppable and whatever tried to block it or redirect its path was immediately overwhelmed by the force of the water.
That's it!! To live like rushing waters.. To be such an unstoppable force that if something tries to stop you, you immediately overcome it. If there is an obstacle in your path one of 3 things happen: 1. You hit it with so much force that it is taken down and swept away with the current. 2. You may be blocked (dammed up) for a moment but the waters rise and overcome the obstacle. 3. You simply divert the path, change the direction or the current but still head towards the final destination.
The only way that any of this is possible it to have a force behind the flow, something very powerful and strong behind the current. The source of the water... I find my source in my Faith, in Gods commandments. Deuteronomy 31:8 says And the Lord, He is the one who goes before you, He will be with you, he will never leave you nor forsake you; do not fear or worry. God does not only go with us but he has gone before us and laid out our path, NO that does not mean it's all rainbows and sunshine but it will be possible and all I need is possible.
Where did this all begin? Here is a little of my story.
I have a fear of being still.. Strange I know but I have had several injuries in my past which resulted in multiple orthopedic surgeries. When I'm still I hurt, I never sit still, stand still, or lay still. I am constantly wiggling around because if I become motionless I easily can become uncomfortable and am reminded of the pain that comes with injuries. The last few years I developed a fear of pain and tried to avoid it at all cost. The mistake with that was to avoid injury or pain I would do nothing (if you hide in your house surly you cant get hurt right?)... see where this is headed? I didn't want to run because I was sure I would hurt, I didn't want to go to the gym because I would be sore or could risk injury, I stopped racing because I FEARED injury, the list goes on. I was a new mom so all of this was easy to get away with right? You're supposed to rest and not do to much in those first few days... weeks... months..... and years right? (sarcasm) Well if your not moving your still, your stagnant. I went from having goals, dreams, and plans for the future to the mentality of I will simply survive and just get by. This was crippling me!! Can I say it again, It was crippling me! My mental game was off and my physical game was shot ( Birthing a baby is no easy task ). Then came the depression and self critical side, that may be better told in a later story but I prayed God please give me a direction, some hope! The word stagnant came to mind over and over but I never put it together until one day I was praying/begging God for an answer and it was like he shouted it's been there all along. STAGNANT!!! So I looked up the definition immediately ( Re-read it above please, I'll wait)….
I was everything I feared. I was motionless and when you are motionless you are DEAD. Is that a strong enough word to hit home?
I love to learn so I jumped right in and started reading about the opposing definition of stagnant and there it was, when I saw it and it resonated with every part of my spirit, Rushing Water. I am an outdoors person so I began to envision a rushing river ( like that one from the tv show) with a force so strong that nothing could come against it. It would be unstoppable but move with grace and could redirect its current whenever need be. I want my life to resemble those rushing waters. I want to live with the mindset that obstacles will come but what will I do when that time comes? Will I sweep them away with the force of my current, will I rise above them and overtake them with persistence, or will I redirect my path but stay in constant flow towards my goal? I will live LIKE RUSHING WATERS! Constantly learning, constantly evolving and ever moving towards the betterment of myself.
Let me begin by stating the obvious if your not living like rushing waters then you are stagnant... The definition of stagnant is " Having no current or flow, motionless, stationary, standing, dull, dormant, sluggish, flat, depressed, dying or dead. Is it starting to hit home yet? This is what a stagnant life looks like.
We watched an episode of River Monsters one night and they were fishing at a river in Africa (I think) and they were explaining that if someone or something fell into this river there was no hope to gain it back. NO hope whatsoever. The current was so strong that the river was absolutely unstoppable and whatever tried to block it or redirect its path was immediately overwhelmed by the force of the water.
That's it!! To live like rushing waters.. To be such an unstoppable force that if something tries to stop you, you immediately overcome it. If there is an obstacle in your path one of 3 things happen: 1. You hit it with so much force that it is taken down and swept away with the current. 2. You may be blocked (dammed up) for a moment but the waters rise and overcome the obstacle. 3. You simply divert the path, change the direction or the current but still head towards the final destination.
The only way that any of this is possible it to have a force behind the flow, something very powerful and strong behind the current. The source of the water... I find my source in my Faith, in Gods commandments. Deuteronomy 31:8 says And the Lord, He is the one who goes before you, He will be with you, he will never leave you nor forsake you; do not fear or worry. God does not only go with us but he has gone before us and laid out our path, NO that does not mean it's all rainbows and sunshine but it will be possible and all I need is possible.
Where did this all begin? Here is a little of my story.
I have a fear of being still.. Strange I know but I have had several injuries in my past which resulted in multiple orthopedic surgeries. When I'm still I hurt, I never sit still, stand still, or lay still. I am constantly wiggling around because if I become motionless I easily can become uncomfortable and am reminded of the pain that comes with injuries. The last few years I developed a fear of pain and tried to avoid it at all cost. The mistake with that was to avoid injury or pain I would do nothing (if you hide in your house surly you cant get hurt right?)... see where this is headed? I didn't want to run because I was sure I would hurt, I didn't want to go to the gym because I would be sore or could risk injury, I stopped racing because I FEARED injury, the list goes on. I was a new mom so all of this was easy to get away with right? You're supposed to rest and not do to much in those first few days... weeks... months..... and years right? (sarcasm) Well if your not moving your still, your stagnant. I went from having goals, dreams, and plans for the future to the mentality of I will simply survive and just get by. This was crippling me!! Can I say it again, It was crippling me! My mental game was off and my physical game was shot ( Birthing a baby is no easy task ). Then came the depression and self critical side, that may be better told in a later story but I prayed God please give me a direction, some hope! The word stagnant came to mind over and over but I never put it together until one day I was praying/begging God for an answer and it was like he shouted it's been there all along. STAGNANT!!! So I looked up the definition immediately ( Re-read it above please, I'll wait)….
I was everything I feared. I was motionless and when you are motionless you are DEAD. Is that a strong enough word to hit home?
I love to learn so I jumped right in and started reading about the opposing definition of stagnant and there it was, when I saw it and it resonated with every part of my spirit, Rushing Water. I am an outdoors person so I began to envision a rushing river ( like that one from the tv show) with a force so strong that nothing could come against it. It would be unstoppable but move with grace and could redirect its current whenever need be. I want my life to resemble those rushing waters. I want to live with the mindset that obstacles will come but what will I do when that time comes? Will I sweep them away with the force of my current, will I rise above them and overtake them with persistence, or will I redirect my path but stay in constant flow towards my goal? I will live LIKE RUSHING WATERS! Constantly learning, constantly evolving and ever moving towards the betterment of myself.
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