Against the Grain

One of the things I love (and not so great at) is ice skating. Love the sound of the blades cutting into the ice on a brilliant winter day. My nose runneth over with fresh air– hallelujah sinuses.

The number of times I skate per year can be counted on a three-toed sloth. And it’s always been with Rick, my pro-skating coach. The first time out, I was covered head to toe with elbow and knee pads and a helmet. God bless his heart.

I’ve gotten braver in my old age and skate less encumbered, but before you say: “Nancy, how dumb is that,” I do have some cushion with snowpants and lined winter coat – no little sweatshirt for me.

I decided to go out alone to our local Victoria Park oval (which is so big that even when busy, it doesn’t feel crowded.) I tied my skates with my little rabbit paws and hit the counterclockwise flow.

Got my skating legs after four laps practicing the “Skate, skate, skate – chair!” drill I learned watching my granddaughters’ hockey skill building lessons.

I was totally in the groove but there was one guy who kept skating fast in the opposite direction on the inside ice. I was getting increasingly annoyed as he zoomed by like heavy traffic in my face.

What’s wrong with him?

Eventually he did change directions and duh- I realized that you need to balance out and work both sides in both directions.

Note to self.

Changing directions or changing habits really goes against our grain. We humans naturally gravitate to homeostasis. But how boring is that. Kind of like skating in the same direction over and over.

Developing focus may require a change of direction and cultivating a new habit. It’s not an all-at-once, but a small step process. I could think about all the possible obstacles to skating at Victoria Oval, but in that time, I could have: gotten my self dressed, skates and socks bagged, get in the car and go.

We tend to subconsciously throw distractions and roadblocks to taking action.

I’ve heard a ton about James Clear’s “Atomic Habits” from multiple sources and thought maybe I should read it. Apparently there are many others who want to change direction. To reserve from our library, I would be 364 in line.

An example I had read from Clear impacted my attitude: I “get” to: get up every morning, I “get” to skate, I “get” to create, bless and be a blessing and ‘get’ my daily assignment, should I choose to accept it. I “get” to do hard stuff beyond my capability that only God can see through.

But as always, here’s the good news. We don’t have to do this on our own. The Bible is the eternal reference that truly gives us “Atomic Habits.” When we accept Jesus into our lives, we have our Coach by the Holy Spirit giving us direction and our assignment, having all the resources in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:3, 3:16-20) to fulfill our God-gifted purpose and a peace and promise of His Presence that passes understanding to weather the storm.

And —there’s no waiting list.