Being Present in One’s Body While with the Lord
by Jason Kell, Door of Hope Therapist
Jason Kell, LPCC
Recently, I was fortunate to engage in a Boundary Waters Canoe Area adventure with four other men, friends from college, who have stayed close throughout the years. The closeness in our relationship has been akin to that of brotherhood, a genuine familial connection. On trips like these, I’m always excited and encouraged by how the Spirit of Christ is moving and speaking, even amid little moments of laughter and playfulness. Oftentimes (as was the case this trip), wisdom and insights are shared and meditated on together as friends, husbands, fathers, leaders, and workers.
Here are a couple of bits of wisdom that stuck out to me during our excursions:
Hold a heavenly perspective. With this, two scriptures stick out: the Lord’s Prayer and Jesus’ time fasting in the wilderness. Both point to bringing heaven to earth and to the things God cares about. To truly know God and be known by God, without noise or frills, just knowing Him and being known by Him, is what it means to truly live!
‘Haraka haraka haina baraka’ (a Swahili saying) which roughly translates as: ‘Don’t move too fast, otherwise you will miss the blessing!’
It’s my personal goal to emphasize ‘flipping the script’ on ‘hurry,’ to stay with the moment and find God and His kingdom perspective in all things. For me, it is often nature (like the wild outdoors) that will elicit this for the body! I personally and professionally hold strongly to knowing that God gave us our amazingly complex bodies to be present in them through creativity and curiosity.
When working with trauma (or anything not going the way it was intended), it’s imperative that we each find those ways that help us (even for just a moment) to be present in our body while we connect to the joy, peace, and love of Jesus. Furthermore, when we discuss trauma, it’s important to know that trauma is the opposite of embodiment. When our bodies don’t feel safe, or our nervous systems are not organized, we are unable to be present and often either find ourselves in moments frozen in time (past) or running too far forward, anticipating the worst (in a state of hyper-vigilance). The ultimate goal, then, is to be present in each moment in the body while keeping our eyes fixed on heaven. This is where the healing happens: in the space of both the body and the cross of Christ, both the body and the bond of the Holy Spirit, both the body and God’s love. With all the chaos, confusion, pain, fear, and trauma that we are seeing, hearing, and experiencing around us, it is important to hold the reality that is held deeply within our God-given body. Namely, that if we can only slow down and pause for just a moment, we may be able to listen to that still small voice inside that wants to create order out of chaos, love out of fear, reconciliation out of relational hurt, joy out of sorrow, and peace out of trauma.
My hope and prayer is for you to dwell in the goodness that surrounds you, to embrace the presence of God while savoring the fragrant whispers of nature and the joy of shared meals. May you absorb the beauty of colors, textures, and landscapes, and cherish the smiles of loved ones. Let the harmonious melodies and soothing rhythms of sound fill your senses, connecting you to the growing goodness within. Together, let's fix our gaze on our Abba God, slowing down to receive His blessings and align our earthly actions with His Heavenly will.
To learn how to hear that still small voice inside and start your healing journey, schedule an appointment with one of our professional counselors or a trauma recovery prayer appointment.