Hi Everyone,
First off, we have a book going out to our first responder, so congrats to her! We hope she comes back often, and we appreciate the willingness to "jump on in."
Secondly, today I have been thinking about the dual roles some of us (including me!) play in life. How easy it is to believe, and to sense our closeness to God, when we are in church. The music swells, the pastor or priest strikes all the right chords, your children or grandchildren are sitting next to you, quiet and beautiful. "This is the truth," you think to yourself. It has the unmistakeable gut feeling of authenticity; of wonderous reality.
Then, the harsh light of the next day comes, and the overwhelming things begin. The cell phone rings as you are trying to get off to work, CNN blares bad news from the living room, and you realize at least a few bills are overdue. You may get laid off soon, along with the rest of the world, and some of your relationships are strained. Inside, you feel a hollow drop. Where did the peace from yesterday go? Is it only in church? How do you get it to follow you out the church door?
I don't know the answer; one of the great things about a blog is the exchange of ideas. Is it more prayertime, or less self-focus? How do we live like Christians every day, not just in our actions, but in the level of peace in our lives? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, out there in the wilderness. Being Christian seems to be not only in the knowing, but in the searching.
Sincerely,
Deirdre
PS: the first to respond to this post gets a copy of "Exhausted Rapunzel" from Opine Books!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi Deirdre, these are not easy things, although I trust that G-d is with me whether I feel Him or not. Faith is so valuable to the Lord, and our time on earth is the only time we get to demonstrate it; it takes a willful seeking for Him in the midst of storms. I don't always do it well, but two things that help are 1) reduce anxiety-producing stimuli if possible (for example, turn off the TV, avoid negative friends), and 2) read the Word, meditate on it, and pray. It is not about emotions, it's about obedience despite emotions.
ReplyDeleteNow I just have to practice this!
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteI so appreciate your comment today. It reminds me that C.S. Lewis (whom I love to read) said that the most meaninful prayers for him were sometimes the ones that were not full of emotion and feeling, but instead were those he had to struggle down to his knees to pray by sheer force of his will, which makes sense. That is faithfulness whn you're not feeling it, right?? You are our first comment on this post, so send your address to me, and I'll be sending you a free book. God bless, and thanks for the thoughts. -Deirdre
Hi Deirdre, I find that I have to make a conscious choice every day to make time for prayer before I leave for work in the morning. That doesn't mean I don't get frazzled or distracted during the day, but it helps me be aware that there's a God who cares about me and whose peace and love I'm supposed to reflect to others. I probably fail more often than I succeed, but I'm trying so I hope that counts for something.
ReplyDeleteHi Tony,
ReplyDeleteOf course it counts for something - maybe, too, it's being aware of your personal "triggers" - for eaxmple, I love watching the news, and will sometimes leave it on in the background all day. Is that pulling me into the world more, and away from faith? Probably. I sshould think about my spiritual "landscape" - where I am operating from each day. Peace, or friction? Thanks again, Tony; I hope you come back.
Hi, Deirdre, It is one of the biggest challenges to aim to build the practice or habit of "looking up" whatever is going on. It may be even many years before we see the accumulated help of that practice toward God. Then something we did not expect happens, and we must deal with it, but we want to overcome it too in some way. At least, that's how I'm finding it so far. I wonder if anyone else has seen this? It's like an accumulation of trust.
ReplyDelete