New things are on my agenda for this year, maybe they are for you, too. One of the new things I am diving into is an additional exercise class. I decided to challenge myself and attempt something I have never tried before…a barre class.
As a brand new member of this barre class, I am way behind the rest of my peers. Others around me know how to move, where to move, when to move, and when most importantly, when not to move! I, on the other hand, have ‘never been this way before’…and so the instructor calls my name…a lot.
‘Almost, Laura…you can do this, Laura…other hand on the barre, Laura…’ You get the picture!
About halfway through a very challenging class today, when I did not think my legs could pick me up off of the floor again, we were directed to the barre one more time. I made my way over and stood the way I thought I was supposed to stand for the next sequence. I was pleasantly surprised that this exercise was not that bad. I could actually complete the exercise with very little effort. I started feeling like I was becoming accomplished in barre…
Until I heard my name, again. The instructor was making her way over to me. I was not positioned correctly. I was positioned in a way I had created for myself, and it was easy. I kind of looked like everyone else who was doing it right, but the instructor’s eyes saw something different.
The goal that needed to be accomplished would never be accomplished until I was placed in the right position. The one that I couldn’t figure out on my own, the one that shows my weakness, the one that leaves me shaking, literally.
When I repositioned, my legs were shaking so badly, I did not think I could finish the workout. But the instructor said, ‘The shaking is why you are here. It is what you want. The shaking shows that you are positioned correctly.’ I looked up at her, she smiled at me and said, ‘Now breathe.’
The shaking shows us that we are positioned correctly.
Numerous people in the Bible found themselves repositioned by God, and the shaking began. Moses was asked to speak when he felt inadequate with words. Gideon was asked to lead an army into battle when he preferred his position in the winepress. Jonah was repositioned to become a prophet to Ninevah when he preferred his place as a prophet to Israel. Each one was shaking in their shoes when the Lord repositioned them.
God still repositions His people today. He still brings us to a place we could never have figured out on our own, a place that shows us our weaknesses, a place that leaves us shaking.
That place is also the place where we find Him as our strength as He shapes us more and more into the image of His Son. The place where we can trust Him and just breathe.
So I am all about the shaking! If it is a sign that He has done the positioning and not me, then that is what I want! It is exactly where I want to be!
Exodus 4:11-12 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”