Friday, January 9, 2009

Lessons from the Wii


Our family got a Wii this Christmas. It is a lot of fun and we have thoroughly enjoyed the added element of fun and healthy competition it has brought into our lives. The first time my husband and I had a chance to play (after midnight one night!) He wanted to do the boxing. Co-workers had told him that it was a good work out and one of their favorites. So, we boxed!

Knowing it was late and our time was limited, we decided to skip over some of the instructional parts and get right to the action! We are both competitive by nature and we were boxing our hearts out trying to win. (For the record, I knocked him out three times in a row that first night!) We were using our whole bodies and punching the air with the force that we anticipated it would take to actually box in real life. (I was SO SORE the following morning that it hurt to use my right shoulder...)

My husband, determined NOT to be knocked out by a woman, went back and did the instructional and practice boxing areas. What did we find out as he did? You barely have to move at all! It is all in how you move your wrists and the remotes. Here we were, full on giving it all that we had physically, and to truly do well you only had to know how to hold the remotes and strategically move them and your body. (Yes, he has knocked me out every time since...) Granted, it is still a good work out for your arms and core muscles-just not every muscle in your body!

I got to thinking about how often I do that in life. How I feel God is leading me to do something and I go full force boxing with all that I have trying to bring about the increase myself. Allowing my own logic to dictate my actions. When, in fact, had I taken the time to seek His face more specifically or read the instructions (the Bible) a bit more carefully that I would know that I don't have to strive-that I simply need to walk in obedience and rest in His grace.

It is like that story of the man who God asked to push a wheelbarrow up the mountain. Along the way he ran into several others who had loads that they were struggling with and he had each person put part of their load in his barrel. Surely God wouldn't have given him a wheelbarrow if he wasn't supposed to use it! As he neared the top of the mountain he was exhausted, weary, and overwhelmed. He cried out to God asking Him why God would give him such a heavy burden and task. God's reply, "I only asked you to move the wheelbarrow up the mountain. You chose to put everything in it..."

How is your load today? Sometimes God does give us big tasks or difficult times, but if we will seek His face and His strength, His power will rest upon us.

"My yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:30

"My grace is sufficient for you, and 'my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness that Christ's power may rest on me." II Corinthians 12:9

"Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face always." II Chronicles 16:11

May you rest in His grace and power today!

Shanda

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

So true. There's a verse I love that says, "Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you." Psalms 116:7. I believe it ties in exactly with what you are saying here. We think we have to strive and fight, and all the while God is saying, Rest in me!

Thanks for this lesson from your Wii. =)

Lelia Chealey said...

Wow! This is SO good! I do this so often I bet the angels just get exhausted watching me! :)
I was cleaning out my email box and I don't think I ever got back to you. I'm glad I didn't as I was blessed to read this post of yours, but I apologize as I try to respond in a timely manner. You might not remember but you left the sweetest comment regarding the pregnancy of my teen daugther "When Grace Meets Innocencce". Thank you so much for your kind words. It has been such a tough road, but God knows. That's what I keep reminding myself...He knows and there is much victory choosing His way over mine that's for sure!
Have a blessed weekend!
Lelia

Daveda said...

Great post Shanda. So true, when we enter into His rest and allow Him to guide and lead in every way, the wheelbarrow will never be too heavy!
Have fun with the Wii, we love to play on ours. I still play tennis as though I were really swinging :) It's so much more fun that way!

RosyRose said...

Hey there...my first time dropping by! I really liked what you had to say. You have a sweet spirit! Even when punching your hubs daylights out:)I am Rose and I'll be back!

Kathryn said...

What a wonderful illustration, Shanda! I had to smile at the thought of you boxing away with all your might! :-)

By the way, Katy STILL hasn't been able to find a Wii yet! The stores are all still out of stock. I tell her that patience is a virtue! :-)

Anonymous said...

Oh Shanda....again...blogging for ME weren't you?? How funny that in the years past, I worked and worked and worked myself CRAZY, doing everything I could THINK of to increase our family's income and fill EVERY need, losing sleep, losing my sanity, losing my temper...only to discover that all I had to lose was my GRIP on life. I turned it over to God, and all our needs are met. Funny how God does that huh?

Rachel said...

I had to laugh... I totally know what you mean since my hubby all of the sudden became Mr. Competitive once we splurged on a Wii (to get fit, of course *haha*) Turns out we don't play very often because either Itty Bit gets bonked in the head by a wayward swing, or one of us injures themselves. I had to finally confess to my coworkers that I couldn't join the bowling tournament, because I even sucked at the Wii version :)

I love how you tied it in with how hard we work sometimes when we go further than what God intended and we get somewhere else entirely... exhausted and unsatisfied.

Thanks for the Wii lesson :)

(and we'd love to have you over... if you can risk Itty Bit's little "oopsies!"

Rachel said...

Oh yeah... love the picture of you two! You look too sweet to be knocking eachother out!

Stacy said...

Men are truly competitive! I'm sure my hubby would have done the same thing to make sure he wasn't beat by a female again LOL! What a sweet tie into to the Bible story. So true. :)

Mr. Daddy said...

I got a WII little laugh out of this story....LOL I enjoyed the way you tied it all together..