27 Emojis

Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

My eleven-year-old daughter is developing into quite the communicator. While I tend to favor oral communication, my daughter prefers the electronic variety, specifically text messages. A few weeks ago, she shot me a text. Mind you, she’s in her bedroom and I’m in the living room like fifteen feet away. She had a burning question she just couldn’t wait to ask – “Dad, can we get Whataburger?” For those of you reading this outside the state of Texas, Whataburger is a fast-food chain as well as a major food group for many Texans, my daughter included. As I carefully considered her question, pondering what I might like to have there myself, I replied – “Yes!” Not two seconds later, the screen on my iPhone was filled with smiley face emojis, 27 of them to be exact. And these weren’t just your garden variety smiley emojis, they were the ones with big eyes! Her response communicated what words simply could not and reminded me actions often speak louder than words.

That’s the power of the emoji. A little history for you, the emoji was first created in 1999. What started as a few icons from one cellular provider in Japan developed into a language all its own. It’s not enough to just have emojis anymore. Now you’ve got Animoji’s, and if you’re really cool, a Memoji. The emoji has opened the world of digital written communication to the addition of emotion. Only old guys like me use exclamation points and other punctuation to try and communicate emotion. The rest of the world knows emojis are where it’s at. Even our digital communication has emotion because emotion is powerful.

Think about the power of emotion in the gym. Have you ever been in the gym on a testing day? The athletes all gather around one another, and they channel their emotion through encouragement. Sometimes I think people are more excited for someone to get a new one rep max than the actual athlete herself. Emotion is powerful when channeled through encouragement. It’s also channeled through community. CrossFit gyms are the only gyms I’ve been to where once an athlete finishes the workout, they start supporting the rest of the community. This goes on until every athlete finishes the workout, at which time the whole gym erupts in praise and applause. There’s emotion in community and guess what? It impacts the outcome. So why not be a 27 emoji athlete? Instead of encouraging one athlete, encourage them all. Instead of putting your equipment away first, put away someone else’s. Emotion is powerful and it impacts the outcome.

Not just in our quest for physical fitness, but spiritual fitness as well. And the greatest channel for emotion in your spiritual life is love. I would argue there might not be a more powerful emotion on the earth than love. Love is patient, love is kind, it doesn’t envy or brag or boast. Love is a good gift given to us by a good God who loves us. And it impacts the outcome. Love reignites intimacy, it forgives offenses, it reflects the image of God to the world. So, here’s the challenge for you. Why not live a 27 emoji life of love? God’s love for us is not dependent on how we show up. What if we could learn to love like that? How much would it feel like shalom for you to keep your love on when you don’t have to. That’s a hallmark of a spiritually fit life.

27 emojis brought me so much joy. They made me laugh so hard. One emoji wouldn’t have done it. A short text of thanks even with exclamation points wouldn’t have done it. The emotional expression of the goodness and richness of life was sitting right there in those 27 little icons. Your actions can speak far louder than your words, so go show the world some 27 emoji love and encouragement!

Questions for Reflection:

Where do you excel in your expression of love and where could you use work?

If you had to describe God’s love in a few words, how would you describe it?

Small Cracks

Reading: 1 Kings 19:1-15

“Only a small crack…But cracks make caves collapse.” – Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Journey through life long enough and you’re bound to realize we all have small cracks. While most of us, especially as athletes, appear to the world as fit, fast, and fearless, deep down we are fragile. In other words, we all have breaking points. I see them in the gym. Whether it’s red lining in a WOD, mentally defeating yourself before a heavy lift, or emotionally giving up, the pursuit of fitness reveals small cracks. Why? Because under pressure, the weakest points become the biggest issues. And the higher your level of performance, the more likely you are to encounter and deal with breaking points. Let’s look at some strategies for breaking through the breaking points of life.

When I’m teaching an athlete a lift for the first time, I have a checklist of mechanical movements I run through. These are known as points of performance. Take the deadlift for example. I want an athlete to maintain their lumbar spine by activating their back and engaging their lats. I want them to take the slack out of the barbell and be 99% loaded just before the lift. And I want them to push the floor away from the barbell. Points of performance will help me see potential small cracks, but only when the athlete is under load. When I see their back arch or hear the sound of the barbell as they yank it off the ground, we’ll work together to lighten the load and dial in the points of performance. Think of them as lead indicators of identifying small cracks.

In pursuit of shalom in our spiritual lives, we have points of performance as well. The mechanics of a thriving relationship with God include an active prayer life, Scripture reading, growth in community, and high self-awareness, just to name a few. Mechanics are your connection points to God. And they also have the capacity to reveal small cracks when you face the heavy loads of life. When things like stress or anxiety or fear or major life events start to erode your connection to God, think of those as small cracks. Way before you reach a breaking point and end up lashing out, hiding out, or soothing yourself with a guilty pleasure, the change in your spiritual performance, or mechanics, is going to let you know something’s up. Life is beginning to disintegrate, and you need to do some self-examination to determine why. Spiritual mechanics keep you connected to God and also let you know when things are unraveling.

In today’s Scripture reading, you’ll find a very practical tip from God on how to shore up your small cracks – “Go back the way you came.” God’s wisdom to the prophet Elijah is just as applicable in becoming spiritually fit. When the train comes off the tracks, go back the way you came. Go back and recover intimacy with your spouse. Go back and apologize to your kids for yelling at them. Go back and restore the boundaries that keep you vibrant and flourishing. Let God have your burdens, your fears, your anxious thoughts and keep the small cracks from becoming breaking points.

Questions for Reflection:

Have you been able to observe how a change in the mechanics of your spiritual life indicates a small crack could become a breaking point? If so, share an example.

God told Elijah to go back the way he came. What is God calling you to go back to?

Biomechanics

Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

In 2013, I had my first encounter with the Supple Leopard. If you’ve been in CrossFit a minute, you know who that is. For those new to the sport, I’m talking about Kelly Starrett. Starrett is a Physical Therapist, CrossFit coach, and founder of MobilityWOD. I happened upon one of his videos in search of some relief for my shoulder. A few clicks later there was Starrett, a.k.a. the Supple Leopard, holding a lacrosse ball in his hand. Next thing I know, he’s lying on the ground with this ball smashed in his lat muscle talking about how tight lats can limit range of motion in the shoulders. Suffice it to say, I quickly made an investment in the lacrosse community and purchased one of these torture devices. After a few sessions and a few million tears, my shoulder opened up and returned to its full range of motion. I quickly pledged my allegiance to the Leopard and began my study of biomechanics.

Biomechanics is the science of movement of a living body. As a coach, it’s vital for me to know how humans move. As an athlete, it’s vital for me to know when my movement is off. Everyone benefits from the study of movement because it’s the foundation for learning exercise. Take the squat for example. Visualize the relationship between the hip, the knee, and the ankle. Notice how they are all connected and moving together? As the hip travels back and the knee and ankle respond through flexion, the athlete should find their body weight resting primarily in their heels while maintaining an upright chest. But do I see that every day in the gym? Hardly. Athletes end up on their toes with their heels off the ground. They end up looking at the mat at the bottom of their “squat,” but they’re actually just bending over. It’s ok, we’ve all been there before. But if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you’ll miss it. Biomechanics help diagnose the issue, which reveals the opportunity.

Let’s apply the same concept to our spiritual lives and look at spiritual biomechanics. We’re studying movement here as well, only now we’re looking at the soul. A healthy soul is connected to God, to others, and to the world. A healthy soul moves through life at a slower speed. Hurry and busy and over planned are the enemies of a healthy soul. Most people don’t realize their spiritual movement is even limited. Much like my shoulder issue, they’re walking around missing out on the opportunity to live the fullest richest life possible. In short, they need some mobility work on their soul.

I think we all do. There are things that happen to us which weaken these connections. Having to travel again for work, feeling ignored by your spouse, the loss of a loved one, life can leave your soul feeling disconnected. But you won’t feel this disconnection unless you know what connection really feels like. That’s why I’m so big on spiritual biomechanics. You’ve got to discover what “good” actually is. It’s not a four-letter word you use to hide your true feelings. It’s the result of a deep and meaningful connection to God. It’s shalom. When these connections need to be strengthened, use some spiritual mobility to do some stretching. Start by stretching your beliefs and ask yourself why. Why are you holding so tightly to certain views? Why does feeling insignificant cause you to act out or hide out? Or you might need to stretch some behaviors. If scrolling your social media feed leaves you feeling disconnected from the other humans in the room, stop scrolling. If your kids’ activities leave no room for down time each week, dial them back. If life has you couped up in your house all day, go for a walk. Prioritize the things that restore your most meaningful connections and become a master of your spiritual biomechanics.

Questions for Reflection:

What does being connected to God feel like to you?

Describe someone with a healthy soul. How does that description compare to you?