There's nothing wrong with looking back,
Especially to remember where we've come from and honor the events,
Both delightful and difficult,
That have formed us into who we are today.
But looking back is different than moving backward.
Sometimes we try so hard to go back,
To change the past,
To undo what's been done.
We live in the past,
Or in a cycle of rehearsing what-ifs.
And when we do this,
We experience dissonance,
Where our body,
Soul,
And spirit are not in harmony with each other or with Holy Spirit.
So here today,
In this moment of meditation,
We give a nod to what has come before.
Even with a certain reverence,
Perhaps you bring your hands together towards your heart.
Close your eyes,
Bow your head,
And take a moment to honor.
Honor God's presence throughout your story.
Honor the story itself.
It's not perfect,
But it is uniquely yours.
And every hill you've reached the top of,
And every low valley you've walked through,
Has brought you to this moment.
Letting go of any desire to change the past,
Accepting what has been and what is.
Feel what it's like to be alive.
You still have breath inside you.
No matter what you've walked through,
You still have breath.
We cherish each breath.
And with your eyes closed,
Maybe you lift your head again,
Chin parallel to the ground,
Shoulders down and back away from your ears.
Hug your lower ribs in,
Your head in alignment with your spine,
Sitting up straight and tall.
Extending both your inhale and your exhale.
There's no rush.
You're grounded here,
Stable and strong.
And you're not going backward.
Today,
In this moment,
You're preparing to move forward.
What does that mean to you today?
How do you want to move forward?
It could be any number of ways.
You could choose to let something go that's been tying you to the past.
It could be taking the first step,
Or the next step in starting something new.
A new business,
Or a new adventure.
Maybe it's asking that person for forgiveness,
Or maybe it's giving forgiveness to someone else.
It could also be as simple as setting an intention,
Or making that initial choice to move forward.
To take action where before you may have felt stalled or paralyzed.
As we prepare to move forward,
Let's start with breath.
Movement follows breath.
It's the moment before we speak,
Or move,
Or act,
We pause to find our breath.
To move from the breath.
Remembering that breath and spirit often share the same word.
Ruach in Hebrew.
We yield our body,
Mind,
And soul to our breath,
To our spirit.
We allow our spirit to go out ahead of us,
Ahead of our action,
So that we move from a place of being spirit led.
Then,
Just as we move with our breath,
We must move with belief.
We don't want to do things just to do them.
Don't want to do things because someone else says it's a good idea,
Or the culture around us is telling us this is what we should do.
We do not conform to the patterns of this world.
Like Jesus,
We want to do what we hear Abba telling us to do.
What we believe spirit is leading us to do.
Not robotically,
Not stiffly waiting for instruction.
But in the way a tree moves with the wind.
Every branch,
Limb,
And leaf responding to the breeze.
Sensitive to both the gentle breezes and the gusty winds.
Strong,
Yet flexible.
Rooted,
But with a great ability to dance and move and bend with the wind.
How do you believe God is calling you to move forward?
After we breathe and believe,
Then we begin.
We take that step.
We embody that intention.
We choose to be who God says we already are.
How will you begin or continue to move forward today?
And when inevitably you stall out,
Or get stuck,
Or find that you've gone down a different road than you intended.
You breathe,
Believe,
And begin again.
And again.
This is what it means to move forward.
You're moving forward together in community.
And let's take one last deep breath in.
And a long exhale out.
Together.
