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weary, Overwhelmed, Anxiety, Spiritual Growth, Christian walk, Waiting Dana Rongione weary, Overwhelmed, Anxiety, Spiritual Growth, Christian walk, Waiting Dana Rongione

Choked by the Yoke

All my life, I've been a tortoise.

I'm slow. When I do something, I do it carefully, methodically, and with extreme attention to detail. I'm not fast at anything, and I never have been. In middle school, I earned the nickname "Dead Stop." A teacher gave me that one. (Nothing says "bless your heart" like a faculty-approved nickname.)

But a strange thing happens when my schedule fills up and the demands start stacking like dirty dishes. Suddenly, I think I'm a hare. My body is still a tortoise, and my mindset is still slow and steady. Yet I feel I must zip around like the Road Runner, because surely that's the only way everything will get done. Beep beep!

On those mornings, my prayer goes something like this:

"Lord, I have so much to do today, but I know I don't have to do it alone. You are my strength. My times are in Your hands.

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Life's Journey, Weary, Spiritual Warfare, Overwhelmed, Encouragement, Hope Dana Rongione Life's Journey, Weary, Spiritual Warfare, Overwhelmed, Encouragement, Hope Dana Rongione

Is the Christian Life Supposed To Be This Hard?

I'll admit something. For years, I pictured the Christian race as a Sunday-afternoon jog. I saw myself in cute sneakers with a gentle breeze in my hair, waving at the neighbors and admiring the scenery. "It's a marathon, not a sprint," I'd say, as if a marathon were just a sprint with better snacks.

Then I looked up the Greek word for "race" in Hebrews 12:1, and my smoothie hit the pavement.

The word is agōn, and yes, it's where we get "agony." It was the word for the contests held in the great stadiums, where athletes strained, gasped, and gave everything they had. The word carries the idea of struggle and conflict. Nobody in that arena was admiring the scenery.

We love the race verse. We put it on mugs and bookmarks. But we rarely talk about what it's like to run it on mile nineteen, with a blister, a headache, and a to-do list that's grown legs.

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Weary, Encouragement, Comfort, Discouragement, Anxiety, Animals of the Bible Dana Rongione Weary, Encouragement, Comfort, Discouragement, Anxiety, Animals of the Bible Dana Rongione

When the Ground Disappears

I want to tell you something about greyhounds that sounds completely impossible until you see it for yourself.

When a greyhound runs at full speed, it uses what scientists call a double suspension gallop. What that means in plain English is this: twice during every stride, all four of the greyhound's feet leave the ground at the same time. Not once. Twice. In fact, when a greyhound is running full out, it spends roughly 75% of its time completely airborne. That elegant, flying creature is, at any given moment, more likely to be in the air than on the ground.

Think about that for a second.

For a greyhound, losing contact with the ground is not a crisis. It is not a catastrophe. It is not even a stumble. It is simply how the greyhound moves forward.

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Weary, Encouragement, Spiritual Warfare, Spiritual Growth Dana Rongione Weary, Encouragement, Spiritual Warfare, Spiritual Growth Dana Rongione

A Different Kind of Weight Loss Plan

It's that time of year again. The clock struck midnight, the calendar flipped to January, and suddenly everyone's talking about their resolutions. Weight loss usually tops the charts. Gym memberships skyrocket, salad sales increase dramatically, and social media feeds fill with "new year, new me" declarations.

While physical health goals are certainly commendable (and something this poor body of mine could benefit from), statistics show that by February, about 80% of these well-intentioned resolutions will have been abandoned. The treadmills will empty, the salad containers will be pushed to the back of the fridge, and life will resume its comfortable, familiar patterns.

But what if I told you there's another kind of weight loss that might be more worth pursuing this year?

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waiting, Life's Journey Dana Rongione waiting, Life's Journey Dana Rongione

Walking the Line of Faith

Have you ever watched a tightrope walker? It's fascinating how they maintain their balance, shifting their weight ever so slightly from one side to the other. One wrong move could spell disaster. I often feel like that tightrope walker in my spiritual life, especially when it comes to finding the balance between doing and waiting.

Just yesterday, I sat at my desk, staring at a blank document on my computer screen. I had a Bible study to prepare, several blog posts due, and ministry correspondence waiting for responses. The weight of responsibility pressed heavily on my shoulders. Should I forge ahead with my plans, or was God trying to tell me to wait? Was my drive to complete these tasks stemming from my perfectionist nature, or was it truly God's leading?

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