Familiarity

For the past week, I have been reminded of the ease with which we become accustomed to doing a particular thing. It happens slowly and repetition is the anchor by which it is secured. Repetitiveness gives birth to habits. We embrace these habits willingly and almost with a yielding of the understanding that they are just things that will be. Some habits are innocent and cause no harm but when performed with the same repetitiveness, one is no more able to let go of bad habits than they are able to let go of good ones.

The thing that has caused me to dwell upon this self described phenomenon is innocent on its face but has yielded a bounty of thoughts for me that relate to life, relationships, and personal reflection. Whenever I am stirring up something on the stove, I instinctively reach and turn on a light located on the hood above the stove. The light provides me a level of comfort because I can see how much salt I’m adding to food and see how something is boiling, frying or burning. For the past week, that light has not worked. It expired and I have not replaced it. Even though I know that, the automatic motion of turning on the light persists. It is starting to annoy me that every time I flip the switch on, there is no illumination. Yet, I have not taken the time to change the bulb. Why is it so hard to not turn on that light? Why even after several empty responses have I not stopped myself before flipping on that switch? Why do I keep expecting illumination when I’ve not done a single thing to change the darkened state?

The connection of this experience to life and the challenges we face daily is clear to me. We sometimes do the same fruitless task over and over again expecting a satisfying result. We make decisions and walk a path that is not ordained by God but we perpetually pray and ask God for direction and guidance. It is God’s desire to lead us but our connection to Him has to be in good working order. When we lean to our own understanding, as Proverbs 3:5 advises us NOT to do, we can’t expect the path that we walk to be well lit. We are essentially blind and in darkness when that connection is broken due to our disobedience but we address God in prayer as if we have yielded all to Him.

What lies at the heart of changing any habit is a change of mind. Accepting that change is even necessary is the first step. There may be many, many steps before absolute change is realized. We may even lose ground when striving toward a better way. Unless something is visibly and physically painful to us, we often will not take steps to change actions that may be causing the pain. And/or, as long as the pain is far removed or we perceive that the problem is some other person’s job to resolve, we are slow to understand the impact our non-action may be having.

This is not to say that some habits aren’t good to have. If you habitually fasten your seat belt or turn out a light before leaving the room or check the iron before leaving the house etc., continue to maintain those types of habits. The point that I make is that changing a poor habit such as being late, complaining, gossiping or telling lies is not easy to change without first accepting that change is needed. We should take inventory of our actions and then take steps to incorporate and replace wrong actions with that which we know is right.

Unless we want to continue to flip a switch that yields no fruit of light, change has to come.

24 hours

24 Hours

The heart of man is often referred to as the wellspring of life. From it flow feelings of love, thoughts that challenge us and emotions that can devastate us. Proverbs 4:23 says to 'Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.'

What if we could take 24 hours and peer into the depths of our heart. If we find anything that should not be there, we could remove it. Jealousy, gone. Malice, gone. Anger, gone. Dislike of others, gone. Sorrow, gone. Discouragement, gone. Doubt, gone. Depression, gone. What if it were just that simple? Well, in essence, it CAN be.

I started thinking about the heart because for a few weeks, I had been experiencing painful twinges in my chest. To be on the safe side because of past health issues and a family history of heart problems, I went to see my doctor. But, a stress test and cardiogram did not shed clear light on the problem. So, the doctor asked me to wear a heart monitor for 24 hours. Whenever I felt discomfort or anything out of the ordinary, I was to document on a form the time and what I was doing when I felt the discomfort.

Think about it. What if we acknowledged every time our heart was out of sync with God and His Will? Notice that I did not say ‘recognize’. We all recognize when we are feeling a way that is contrary to love or the way a Christian should feel. But we don't always acknowledge that feeling. We don't necessarily have to write those feelings down but we can lift our eyes right then and there and pray to God for forgiveness. Just like the things we say and do that are wrong, we are to pray and ask God to cleanse our hearts and minds of feelings that are wrong. I think we get so accustomed to feeling and thinking whatever comes to our heart and mind that we grow used to those feelings and thoughts.

Would it not be interesting and totally life changing to take 24 hours and inventory the feelings and emotions of our heart?

Well, the report from the heart monitor was good and very good. I am as fit as a fiddle. Thank God! It seems I have to watch spicy food and lay off the Texas Pete. Being a country girl, that is hard to do but I want to be pain free and good to my body so I will do as I should. In much the same way, I want to be good to my body spiritually. I am making an effort to reduce negative stress and put my faith to work more and more!

When negative thoughts and feelings arise, we have a choice to acknowledge them and repent or allow them to grow, rule and flow from our heart. For from our heart flows the issues of life.

The Tree

Trees have a presence in nature like no other. For some time now, they have captured my attention as I travel between work and home, home and church or am just out riding.

Along the driveway of a home that I pass going to work are a row of Bradford Pear trees. They were fairly young when a strong storm blew through town and damaged one of them a few years ago. It almost made me sad to think that the neatly positioned row of trees would now have a noticeable gap because I assumed that the only thing the homeowners could do was remove what was left of the damaged tree. Each day I’d look to see the status of the tree fully expecting there to be an empty space where it once stood. To my surprise, the homeowners decided to prop the tree with support and try to save it.

Each season the row of trees grew stronger. The damaged tree of course was shorter than the rest but nonetheless it was growing. The support around the tree remained until it was obvious that it was sturdy enough to take the strong winds and rain that occasionally blew through town. Today the tree continues to grow and has blossomed with the onset of spring just like its siblings. Despite being shorter, it is steadily growing and is as beautiful as the others.

I often wonder what made the homeowners decide to save the tree. The whole experience reminds me of how we grow in Christ. Sometimes a hardship, disappointment or negative situation comes along and tears us down, breaks our heart and weakens our spirit. It is then that we have a choice, we can look to God for strength to recover or we can give in to the situation. God promises in Hebrews 13:5 that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

There is no storm in our life, no situation so hard, and no disappointment so tragic that God is not willing to be our support and that He is not willing to allow us to lean upon Him to gain strength. Our part in gaining strength is to walk in His counsel, in other words, listen to His Word and not allow others who are not of the faith to direct us. How often have we sought advice from people who ended up telling us to do something that would have put us in a worse state? What if those homeowners had listened to those who probably assumed as I did that there was no hope for the tree. Godly counsel may not always be what we want to hear because it often requires us to be patient and wait. But, just like seasons passed before the tree was able to stand on its own, we have to be willing to wait and follow God’s guidance so that we can be strengthened properly. We have to be ready for there WILL come another trial for which we need to be prepared.

Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

April 7, 2010