All or nothing

I love yoga. Not for the creepy, Eastern-type religion, your-body-is-a-tree-rooted-to-Mother-Earth kind of stuff that Christians often fearfully associate with it. I love it because it’s great exercise and it helps me to relax and calm my body and mind (and that is something I desperately need).  I love how my body feels when I finish.

This past year, I encountered some ear problems. It felt like there was water in my ear that just simply wouldn’t come out. Or my ear needed desperately to pop and it couldn’t. I went to my doctor and an ear nose throat doctor to ensure that it was nothing serious. I was told it was probably just fluid stuck in my eustachian tube. Nothing serious, and it should clear up on it’s own, but way annoying.

During this time, I found that some yoga poses seemed to aggravate my ear. Poses like downward facing dog (one of my favorites) sometimes made my head feel like it would explode. So I decided to ease off those poses in an effort to let my ear heal.

Unfortunately, I am an all or nothing kind of person.

Since I couldn’t do some of my favorite poses, I essentially gave up on my yoga practice. Which is ridiculous, because there are plenty of other yoga poses and stretches that don’t involve my head being upside down. I could have easily altered my routine and made it work for my current situation.

But I didn’t. I just gave up.

Sometimes my worship is like that.

Since worship music is not connecting with me anymore, I’ve almost given up on worship altogether. Which is stupid. I know that worship is not just limited to music. And yet, I can’t seem to make the effort to alter my life to connect with other types of worship. I shrug my shoulders and just go about my life, simply going through the motions. I don’t open my life to the gloriousness that it could be if I would only let myself worship in other ways.

I need to remind myself of the ways that I can worship. Just because music isn’t “doing it for me” anymore does not mean that I walk away, saying, “Sorry God. I tried.”

Here are some other ways that I can worship.

  • Long walks and soaking in God’s creation.
  • Journaling.
  • Serving others. I have countless opportunities to do this, and if I see it as an act of worship, I will (hopefully) do it joyfully and not begrudgingly.
  • Turning off my TV and soaking in some quiet.
  • Loving my husband and being a good wife.
  • Taking time to be thankful for my life rather than focusing on the things I’m not so happy with.

My goal is to make an effort to focus on all the ways I could be worshipping.

Question: What are some non-musical ways you worship?

4 Replies to “All or nothing”

  1. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.” Romans 12:1 Yes, serving others — worship. Serving and loving your family — worship. Living a life of worship is what we are supposed to be doing — I think you may be more on the right track than ever! My running is one of the ways I think of that I worship — and, honestly, sometimes Lady Gaga is screaming in my ear. Or, maybe it’s Casting Crowns. The point is — it isn’t about the music that’s playing. I spend that time appreciating what God has given me, starting with a healthy body that can move, and continuing to the amazing creation that I’m running among, and the family that is at home tucked in their beds. That’s MY favorite way to worship, but I think God likes it best when I learn to do something that I don’t particularly like to do and turn it into praise to Him.

    1. “It isn’t about the music that’s playing.” Love that.
      I had a friend who used to be really into frisbee golf. For her, being out on that field and playing was her way to worship. Sometimes long car rides are more worshipful to me than church services.

  2. Using the gifts God has given us is another way to worship. Giving back to Him a tithe and offerings from what He has blessed us with is also worship. Anytime we are acknowledging Him as God and giving Him His rightful place in our lives is worship. When we praise and trust Him even through heartache and tears we are worshiping Him as well…

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