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Be the symbol of celebration you are made to be

BalloonsRuth Tong considers the deflating effects of getting older and finds inspiration in what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit’s ability to breathe life into our lives, making us fit for purpose.   

Do you think we deflate as we get older? I’m sure my cheeks are starting to slip off my jaw, my neck should be slapped with an ASBO and my hands… flip me! Who stole my hands and replaced them with old lady hands? Huh? Should I call the cops? I’m sure firm, springy, skin theft is a crime, no? 

I was pondering the current position of the ever deflating vessel Ruth the other day when God gave me a picture of a deflated balloon. I’m there thinking: “yeah, you know me so well Lord … that sums it up”.

But then you know when you overthink a thing and it’s really not helpful? So now I’m drowning in a bog of self-evaluation; I’m thinking of how forgetful I am and how difficult it is to hold the thread of a conversation at times. How many times did I walk into the kitchen only to forget why I was in there in the first place? Could this mean my brain is shrivelling to walnut sized proportions? Argh…! Lord I NEED a saviour!!!

I need someone who will remind me, help me and encourage me in the deflation of life. John 14:26 says: ‘But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and will REMIND you of all I have said to you’.

We all need to be filled like a balloon. We’re not fit for purpose when we are deflated.

I love what it says in Job 33:4: ‘The Spirit of God has fashioned me and the breath of the Almighty gives me life’.

When we allow the Holy Spirit to breathe into our lives we are lightened, hold power (try blowing up a balloon and letting it go to see what I mean) and our presence, our mass is expanded. Our dreams and vision grow; our doubt is enveloped in the rubber of God’s purpose, releasing us to be the symbol of celebration we were always meant to be.

If you want to inflate the sagginess of life go to your Father and allow him to inflate your world.

Love Ruth x



Photo: 99 Red Balloons by technicolor76 on Flickr.
 


Ruth Tong is the Coordinator of Women’s Ministries at Downham Market Christian Fellowship and the author of ‘Love Drops from Heaven’.  Ruth regularly blogs at http://lovedropsfromheaven.blogspot.co.uk.

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