Vibrant Lives

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Inspiration Corner
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Inspiration Corner

Partnering with God...

7/18/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Since moving to Florida, I have found a new hobby called shuffleboard. This game has earned a reputation as retired person’s game, however that is no longer the case. Here in St. Petersburg is the world’s largest shuffleboard complex and has recently increased its membership to a cool 1000 members, of all ages, who enjoy playing this challenging game. The club has two competitive leagues and on occasion is the site for a number of tournaments as well as offer Friday nights that are free and open to the public. There is a long list of volunteers committed to its operation and success. It is a happening place!

This game has not only piqued my interest but has helped me to develop my competitive skills, find a new community of friends and has also proved to be a great place for interesting conversations with a multitude of diverse people. Like any sport, the way to improve and be competitive is to practice your shot, learn strategy and develop a rhythm with your partner. When you play league, the goal is to win games and the only way that happens is to build cohesiveness with your partner. Playing on a team forces you to rely on each other and trust your partner to be strong when you are weak and vice-versa.  Win or lose, you are a team.

This game reminds me of my relationship with God. We are a team based on a mutual need. You might be thinking, “What does God need from me?” I totally get your question because I can think of nothing to give that God doesn’t already have or need. I am human, God is Divine. I am weak; God is strong. I am faithless; God is faithful. My love is conditional; God IS love. So what could God possibly need from me? The biblical text 1 John 4: 9-12 explains it this,

This is how the love of God is revealed to us: God has sent his only Son into the world so that we can live through him. This is love: it is not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as the sacrifice that deals with our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us this way, we also ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. If we love each other, God remains in us and his love is made perfect in us.

God loves us completely! I will confess that I do not have a full understanding of what that means. To love unconditionally is easily said but more often than not, our love has conditions. God’s love does not.  Just as God gives us the love we so desperately need, we are in turn called to share with the world. People can see God’s love shining through us. So to me that makes God and me partners just like in shuffleboard. When I plan my strategy on the court and take my shot sometimes it lands perfectly in the 10-point spot or maybe in a square of lesser value regardless it is considered a successfully played shot. When the other team takes their turn and hits my biscuit off the court or puts me into the “kitchen,” for negative points; I need to rely on my partner to counter the other team’s strategy and help our team recoup the lost points.   As partners, win or lose, we work as a team.

In life, the same thing can happen. We can plan all of the right moves and then celebrate a well-executed strategy for success. But just as often, our plans can go awry and we need to rely on our partner to help us get through our struggles. As partners with a faithful God, we can rely on our loving and faithful God to work with us in the good and through the bad. As partners in shuffleboard, we rely on each other to pull our game out of a deficit and work together for a winning score. As people of faith, we rely on the Divine God to care and nurture us so that we can show people the love within us. I believe that God makes me a complete person and then God partners with me to be a loving ambassador to my neighbor and fellow partners on this journey of life.
 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Denise seeks to empower people to live into their true potential...
                               Read More

    Archives

    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015

    Categories

    All
    Abundance
    Acceptance
    Adapt
    Adult
    Advent
    Adventure
    Alzheimer's
    Angelic
    Angels
    Art
    Attention
    Baby Jesus
    Baptist
    Beauty
    Belief
    Believe
    Belonging
    Be Still
    Betrayed
    Black Lives
    Blessed
    Blessing
    Bold
    Bounty
    Breathe
    Brithday
    Brokenness
    Build Together
    Call
    Captivity
    Caring
    Celebrate
    Challenged
    Champion
    Change
    Chaos
    Children
    Choice
    Christ
    Christ Child
    Christmas
    Church
    Community
    Comparisons
    Compassion
    Confidence
    Courage
    Creating
    Creation
    Creativity
    Crooked Lines
    Cross
    Crowd
    Crown Of Thorns
    Crucifixion
    Darkness
    David
    Dawn
    Decisions
    Delighted
    Denied
    Depression
    Determination
    Detour
    Disciples
    Discovery
    Divine
    Divorce
    Dry Bones
    Easter
    Empowered
    Equality
    Extravagance
    Eyewitness
    Failure
    Faith
    Faithfulness
    Family
    Father
    Fear
    Flame
    Forgiven
    Forgiveness
    Freedom
    Friend
    Fruits Of The Spirit
    Game
    Gift
    Gifts
    Gladiator
    Glorious
    Glory
    God
    God Given Gifts
    God-given Gifts
    God Moments
    God-moments
    God's Glory
    God's Love
    God's Timing
    Grace
    Grateful
    Gratitude
    Greatest
    Greek
    Handiwork
    Healed
    Heart
    Holding Space
    Holidays
    Holy Spirit
    Home
    Honor
    Hope
    Hopelessness
    Humanity
    Humility
    I AM
    Identity
    Imperfection
    Inside
    Isaiah
    Jesus
    Jesus Christ
    Job
    John 3:16
    John The Baptist
    Journey
    Joy
    Judging
    Labels
    Lent
    Light
    Liminal Space
    Lion's Heart
    Listen
    Lonliness
    Lord's Table
    Lost
    Love
    Love One Another
    Manager
    Manger
    Mary
    Matter
    Memorial Day
    Memphis
    Mended
    Mercy
    Messiah
    Messiness
    Ministry
    Mom
    Mothers
    Moving
    Music
    Mystery
    Nations
    Nativity
    Neighbor
    New Beginning
    New Birth
    New Day
    New Year
    Open
    Pain
    Paradise
    Parents
    Partner
    Peace
    Pentecost
    Persistent
    Perspective
    Potter
    Power
    Praise
    Prayer
    Preparing
    Presence
    Promise
    Psalm 23
    Purpose
    Pursuit
    Questions
    Radical
    Radio
    Randomness
    Remember 9/11
    Respect
    Rest
    Restoration
    Resurrection
    Risen
    Running
    Sacred Pit
    Sacrifice
    Salt
    Savior
    Scarsity
    Second Best
    See Others
    Serenity
    Servants
    Sharing
    Shepherd
    Shines
    Sibling
    Simon Of Cyrene
    Son
    Spirit
    Spirit Of God
    Spirit Of Love
    Stone
    Storm
    Storms
    Strength
    Suffering
    Suffering Servant
    Surrender
    Temptation
    Thankful
    Thanks
    Thanksgiving
    The Wall
    Together
    Tomb
    Tower Of Babel
    Traditions
    Transition
    Trauma
    Traveler
    Trinity
    Trust
    Understanding
    Undervalued
    Unfaithful
    Unity
    Unworthy
    Value
    Virus
    Vision
    Voice
    Voiceless
    Waiting
    Wandering
    Water
    Weeps
    Welcome
    Wilderness
    Wind
    Window
    Wisdom
    Woman At The Well
    Women

    RSS Feed

MENU

HOME
BLOG
ABOUT
CONTACT

COPYRIGHT © 2015 VIBRANTLIVES.NET

CONNECT WITH US