Running along the parched mud I followed the once snow covered trail through radiating wild flowers that stood tall like seasoned soldiers saluting me as I passed. The heat index was in the 3 digits as the sweat poured from my smiling face. It wasn’t the scorching sun from my environment, but the temperature with in that delighted me.
Just 15 below 0 a few months earlier, I thought of my well covered body prancing through the knee high snow drifts concealing any hint of the actual trail as I plunged through my ghostly Nordic wonderland.
How beautifully we are designed to thrive in diverse climates with a powerful internal thermostat. Weather it be 10 below, or 110 above, with proper nourishment and care, our bodies CAN maintain that fine-tuned 98.6 degrees (or close). This is amazing. It enables us to freely partake in life much deeper then we would if we were not able to self regulate. Although many think that the external climate dictates ones internal comfort, it’s not true. “Its hot, so Ill go work out inside” or. “It’s so cold so Ill stay in today” is what I often hear. NO!…That is not what we were created for. We weren’t created to be imprisoned by external influences.
It’s the same with our heart and mind. We were designed to regulate our internal thermostat like our bodies. Just like I have to stay balanced in my minerals by added Himalayan salt and hydrating well when running in the extreme heat, so I also have to stay well balanced in my thinking and hydrate spiritually when the emotional heat of unexpected crises arise. It’s how much I drink from the ‘fountain of Life’ through out the day that dictates how well I respond to the scorching externals.
I’ve been inspired massively by Eric Metaxes’ book “Dietrich Bonhoeffer,” who modeled how to live with a STRONG internal thermostat amidst horrific external conditions. As a German theologian committed to stopping the moral atrocities of Nazi Germany, Bonhoeffer never got so caught up in martyrdom to loose sight of the beauty and grace of God with in and all around him…even in the final hour. He could hear the birds, celebrate the flowers, and gaze into the endless array of sky color and laugh with a heart bubbling up with the life he so loved. He inspired me to maintain that inner equilibrium by relying on the God that is more powerful then any fear or foe. Bonhoeffer’s God was the same God that had no problem BEING the heat to warm the thousands of Israelite refugees crowded under the cold dessert night skies. He was the SAME God that blanketed them with shade to protect them from the fiery sun as they wandering through the parched dessert lands. *
Bonhoeffer’s life and death imparted to me what I aim to share with you; the power to trust the God of our thermostat to hold us steady. We can rely on His inner sustenance to warm us when the cold of heartache threatens to rob us of sleep, or the heat of fierce words beat down on our ears.
Bonhoeffer turned the dial of his internal thermostat to God by praying the psalms and meditating on the scriptures. He turned to him who speaks to us of His faithful care, “The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is the shade on your right hand. The sun will not strike you by day nor the moon by night. The Lord will guard you from evil; He will preserve your soul…”*
As my feet traverse the trails through all climates, my spirit soars as I ponder what God is teaching me with in. Cheers to being your all seasons coach and friend!
* Read more in Exodus 13
*Psalm 121
