Monday, July 16, 2007
Get a Move On

Summer is terrible for blogging. I feel awful for the people who read my blog; they must think I've disappeared off the face of the earth! But honestly enough, in a way, I have: tomorrow is officially the third day I will have been home during the summer! And it's not even a complete day, because I think I'm leaving for Dallas Valley in the evening. But all in all, the summer has been enjoyable...and full of surprises.

All of July I have been struggling with feeling like everything is dull...like I'm just going through the motions day after day--you know the feeling: get up, eat breakfast, brush teeth, blah, blah, blah...

It is only now that I am realizing that for a while, this is okay; in fact, it is a good thing! All this drudgery has had some effect on my spiritual life...at least for the first two weeks of July. I just hadn't been as vibrant in my faith as I usually feel. It wasn't really a time of neglect from God...but I felt like the connection wasn't there as deeply as normally.

However, last night I was reading in My Utmost for His Highest (a book I suggest everyone should get, by the way) and I had this revelation of sorts.

In 2 Peter 1:5-9, it says, "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins".

I love how you can read a passage a million times, but always find something new in it! This time, the word that struck me was "add". I know I have inherited the Divine nature (verse 4), but now I must make every effort to focus my attention and form habits, give diligence, concentrate. No man is born either naturally or supernaturally with character or habits, he has to develop them! We must form new habits and expand our character on the basis of the new life God has put into us.

I am learning that all this drudgery the test of my character as a Christian. We are not always meant to be illuminated versions of life...but we are to take the common stuff of ordinary life and use it to exhibit the marvel of the grace of God. I am learning that the great hindrance in spiritual life is that we look for big things to do, when Jesus simply took a towel and began to wash his disciples' feet...

Slowly, I am becoming okay with the fact that there are times where there is no illumination and no thrill, but just the daily round, the common task. Routine is God's way of saving us between our times of inspiration. He will always provide the thrilling moments, but we need to learn to live in the domain of drudgery. I guess we need to learn to "collect the manna".

Labels: Erika's Life Updates, Spiritual Life