Day 17 :: The key to being a blesser

I barely made it onto the girls' basketball team my senior year in high school.  I'm pretty sure the only reason I got on the team was because I was a senior.  I had switched schools that year, so I was the new girl, and what they didn't know was that I had been point guard on the team at my previous (very small) school.  So, there I was a former MVP, sitting the bench and panting my way through every practice.  I couldn't keep up with the suicide drills, I missed most of my lay-ups (which meant 10 push ups for every miss) and I could hardly walk by the end of each practice.

My coach was great, though.  Every time I slowed down or wanted to give up, she pushed me harder.  I remember one day she took me out of the gym and made me run the halls of the school.  She ran beside me the whole time, screaming in my ear "Keep going!  Breathe!  If you can control your breathing you'll be fine!"  Somehow I made it through those practices and at our end of season sports banquet, not only was I in the best shape I've ever been in, I was awarded "Most Improved".

While I was humbled in many ways during that basketball season, what still impacts me to this day when I run is what the coach said about my breathing.  Steadily breathing in and breathing out--that was the key to running.

And so it is with living a life of blessing, this pouring out of myself to God and to others.

It's life in the Spirit--the indwelling, filling and empowering Spirit of God (Romans 8).

As I walk in the Spirit, alive in Him--breathing in--, the greater ability I have to pour--breathing out-- and so bless others.

Do you know what I have found, though?  Sometimes I hold my breath.  I might be reading my Bible, praying, growing in my walk with the Lord--all wonderful things.  But I can get so caught up with myself, my family, and what's happening in our lives that I forget the other element of breathing: letting out air.

I long to be so driven by the Spirit at work in me that holding my breath isn't an option anymore.  Whether it's pouring out on those closest to me or to strangers, I want to live my life in such a way that others are impacted for Christ.

Last weekend I shared a definition that I made up to fit in with this series, here it is again:

What does this look like?   Practically, being a 'blesser' can take on a lot of different forms.  And I'm going to touch on some of those in the next few weeks.

But being a blesser doesn't begin with doing stuff.  It starts in my heart.

It's the fruit of the Spirit at work in my life, displaying itself in every encounter with the people around me.

Breathing in the Spirit and breathing out that which the Spirit has done in my heart.  This is the key to being a blesser.


This is Day 17 of a series:  Made to Pour, Living a life of Blessing