That slogan was on a tee-shirt I bought in the summer of 1996 shortly after graduating high school. (Just like the one in the pictures.) Believing I was limitless was part of my delusional 18 year old thinking. (As I believe 99% of recent HS graduates hold to that belief as well) Only a matter of weeks after purchasing that shirt I cut off my finger with a table saw and then, only seven short months later, I had my first successful open heart surgery to replace my aortic valve.
My limits quickly met me head on and although I owned and wore that shirt for a number of years to follow, I knew that my limits needed to be heeded.
Jump forward nearly 20 years. My limits have stayed similar, yet my body gets a little more testy when they are pushed.
Last week and this week are “organic food appreciation and gathering weeks.” Also known as the two weeks of deer season here in Pennsylvania. Our family has been blessed to get two small “organic meat providers” and another one was given to us. I look forward to each year to this celebration of wholesome, free-range, 100% organic provision.
But these last two weeks something has happened regarding my limits . . . they seem to be shrinking. I’ve been in the woods more this season than I have in previous years and my body is informing me of these limits. I’ve been up early and in the woods before daylight on a number of days only to find myself after lunch having to take an hour nap in order to just function through the rest of the day.
While eating lunch with Amanda today I told her about what I was going to write for my blog and how I’ve been reaching some of my physical limits. These limits of mine aren’t new to her and with a smirk on her face she agreed that when I push my limits, my body reacts in a way that only a nap can solve.
When the limits are pushed too hard I find myself twitching a little. I also start to shake my legs back and forth. I know when I reach my limits and, unlike my thinking when I was 18, I don’t ignore them. I want to take care of myself in order to take care of the one’s God has entrusted to me. My wife and children.
But not just my family, but also the church family that I love so deeply and am privileged to pastor. If my limits are pushed too much what good am I too them?
I’m not saying that we have to limit ourselves in every detail of life or be afraid of stretching ourselves. I love to be challenged and stretched, yet limits need to be set in some areas of our lives in order for us to even survive.
I don’t know what your limits are, but I want to encourage you not to always ignore them. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life regardless of the limits that make up your life. Do I sometimes wish that I could participate in some activities or push my body to exhaustion? Yes, I do, but the limits that Marfan syndrome hold are one’s that I accept and will work my hardest to still live life to its fullest regardless.
So with all that said, I am off with the boys to try to secure some more organic food for our freezer. I’ll sit in a hunting stand that is easy to access and if we are blessed with more GMO free food, I’ve got my boys to help me drag it out of the woods.
Remember if you allow Jesus to have control of your life, He will guide you and will always enable you to reach the vastest limits that He has planned for your life. He knows your limits and His plans will always be for the betterment of your soul within any limits you may have.
My limits quickly met me head on and although I owned and wore that shirt for a number of years to follow, I knew that my limits needed to be heeded.
Jump forward nearly 20 years. My limits have stayed similar, yet my body gets a little more testy when they are pushed.
Last week and this week are “organic food appreciation and gathering weeks.” Also known as the two weeks of deer season here in Pennsylvania. Our family has been blessed to get two small “organic meat providers” and another one was given to us. I look forward to each year to this celebration of wholesome, free-range, 100% organic provision.
But these last two weeks something has happened regarding my limits . . . they seem to be shrinking. I’ve been in the woods more this season than I have in previous years and my body is informing me of these limits. I’ve been up early and in the woods before daylight on a number of days only to find myself after lunch having to take an hour nap in order to just function through the rest of the day.
While eating lunch with Amanda today I told her about what I was going to write for my blog and how I’ve been reaching some of my physical limits. These limits of mine aren’t new to her and with a smirk on her face she agreed that when I push my limits, my body reacts in a way that only a nap can solve.
When the limits are pushed too hard I find myself twitching a little. I also start to shake my legs back and forth. I know when I reach my limits and, unlike my thinking when I was 18, I don’t ignore them. I want to take care of myself in order to take care of the one’s God has entrusted to me. My wife and children.
But not just my family, but also the church family that I love so deeply and am privileged to pastor. If my limits are pushed too much what good am I too them?
I’m not saying that we have to limit ourselves in every detail of life or be afraid of stretching ourselves. I love to be challenged and stretched, yet limits need to be set in some areas of our lives in order for us to even survive.
I don’t know what your limits are, but I want to encourage you not to always ignore them. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life regardless of the limits that make up your life. Do I sometimes wish that I could participate in some activities or push my body to exhaustion? Yes, I do, but the limits that Marfan syndrome hold are one’s that I accept and will work my hardest to still live life to its fullest regardless.
So with all that said, I am off with the boys to try to secure some more organic food for our freezer. I’ll sit in a hunting stand that is easy to access and if we are blessed with more GMO free food, I’ve got my boys to help me drag it out of the woods.
Remember if you allow Jesus to have control of your life, He will guide you and will always enable you to reach the vastest limits that He has planned for your life. He knows your limits and His plans will always be for the betterment of your soul within any limits you may have.
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