Scripture
We don’t just put up with our limitations; we celebrate them, and then go on to celebrate every strength, every triumph of the truth in you. We pray hard that it will all come together in our lives. \
2 Corinthians 13:9 The Message
Spiritual Focus “Initially, when I first became a Christian and got into ministry, my thought was that God existed to make my life better and to take me to Heaven. Now I realize that it is not about me at all. It is all about God and . . . [God’s] plan to restore the Earth to the Garden of Eden.” Max Lucado
Devotion
Returning to our mats or to any situation we haven’t visited for a while can bring us face-to-face with our limitations. Stepping back onto our mats, we find new muscles and perhaps changes in our joints or mobility. Coming back to a situation from which we’ve been away promises to bring changes: some welcome, while others may be disappointing. Yoga and faith practices teach us that when we hit places of limitation—physically, emotional or spiritually—we can find new strength in God’s promise to restore us to wholeness, to heal us in body, mind, and spirit. The word restore has its root in a medical term that means literally to put back in joint, to come together. We find strength when we are put back together in a new way that remembers our original state of being. In yoga we practice restoration by adapting an asana to accommodate something that doesn’t feel right in our bodies. In faith restoration we might reexamine some long held belief that has changed or developed based upon new information and life experiences.
In today’s reading the apostle Paul goes a step further, urging us to celebrate our limitations because the restoration is God’s work—and God’s work is always a cause for celebration. Whether or not we are at that place of celebrating our areas of weakness—and most of us are not—we’re promised that our limitations do not have the ultimate authority. When we celebrate our humanness we see our situation through a different lens. We see a new path, a path that moves us beyond our perceived limits. God put us back together, restored—for our sake and for the sake of our life together. This is both our reality and our prayer!
Breath Prayer
Inhale Restore Me
Exhale Oh Lord
Focus Pose: Choose a restorative pose to revisit—perhaps one such as supta baddha konasana—supine butterfly—that brings your limitations to the fore. Pause for a moment before beginning the pose to ask yourself What do I feel? Could I relax more if my knees were supported with blankets? Does my lower back feel pinched? Perhaps this pose would be more effective if done sitting. Acknowledge your limitations, make adjustments, come into your breath, and find comfort and ease in the pose. Restore.
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