The bicycle in my living room August 16, 2010

How many of you have a bicycle in your living room?  Yeah, that’s what I thought!  I am one of few who will read this post who has a bicycle in their living room.  “Big deal,” you say.  I know, it’s not that big of a deal but for me it is a reminder of something I once wanted….something I forgot about, or just lost interest in.  I am sure many of you can identify with that at least.  How many times do we set out after an idea or a goal and veer off or stop all together before we even reach the halfway point?  I am guilty of this concerning many thing in my life.  This summer, in fact, might be the record setter for failed attempts to try at something I wanted to accomplish…just ask the dead zinnia plant or the parched tomato plant sitting on my porch.  Garden fail.  Oh, and if you can find the ghosts of my 2 dead goldfish, Herbal and Essence, you could ask them about my desire to keep goldfish.  Pet Owner Fail.  There is a basket full of yarn in my bedroom and 3 half-finished scarfs that I started over a year ago.  Knitting Fail.  And that bicycle?  Well, it’s been in the same spot for at least 3 weeks…Super Cool Dentony Hardcore Biker Fail.  Then there is the guitar and the bookshelf overloaded with books and all of those empty canvases….

Ok, so I am done with the complaining and the negativity, but honestly, take a look around at how many things that are left undone just because you got distracted or bored?  You might be different from me, but I know I need to open my eyes to all that is at my finger tips!!!  I should never have to speak the words, “I am bored.”  Why?  I have all of these things to accomplish and better yet, I actually enjoy doing them!  So why do I push them aside so easily and dream of a more exciting life?  I am living the unique artsy life that I always dreamed of and yet I am not satisfied.  Have you ever wondered why?

Well, maybe it’s not wrong to want more….but you see, it’s not really more or excitement that I desire it’s depth and meaning and purpose.  Diving into more hobbies is not going to extinguish this lacking boredom that settles in my gut about this time of year, that I numb with a dose of  “well, things will pick up when school starts!”  No, I desire more.  I crave more and it’s not going to come from that bicycle in my living room. 

As physical and spiritual beings, we are created with a “hole” in us that can only be filled adequately by God.   Knowing God on an intimate level through a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ is the only way that void can be filled.  Once God has inhabited that void, He will not leave:

…neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 8:39

So, we cannot be separated from Him, but we can be distant.  It is my belief that this desire for more in our lives is in fact, our desire for God.  As a believer, that desire will not be satisfied unless I find my satisfaction in the Lord and in following after Him whole-heartedly again and again and again.  We continue to desire more because God keeps desiring more of us.  He wants a relationship with us built on now, not the prayer for forgiveness prayed five years ago.  To the unbeliever, that desire for more is your soul crying out to be filled by the Creator of the Universe and the Savior of the World.  The same is true for both groups; our yearning for depth and excitement and mystery will only be filled when we surrender and run after the Savior of our souls.  Paul of the Bible had this idea down:

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  -Philippians 3:13-14

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. -2 Timothy 4:6-8

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. -1 Corinthians 9:25

Living out the call of God in your life where ever you are at physically, spiritually and mentally is the only thing that will satisfy and bring you true  joy.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us… -Hebrews 12:1

Stay focused and run with endurance so that your life will be filled with meaning and depth and excitement.  In Christ is where all of that which we desire most deeply is found.  By no means am I telling you to scrap your bicycle or throw our your knitting and kick over your flower pots.  I am simply reminding you to not look to those things or any new hobby you can think up to fulfill your life.  Only Jesus can do that, and He does it quite perfectly without your help.

 

I can own a llama if I choose to! June 16, 2010

What do you mean?

Nobody can do everything, and though they say you can do whatever you put your mind to, it isn’t really true, is it?  I mean, I know I have a billion and one choices everywhere I go and options as numerous as the stars in the sky, but is this a good thing?  There are multiple options and paths I may choose concerning every area of my life.  Walking into almost any restaurant (except El Guapo’s where I always know that I am going to get combination fajitas) I am overwhelmed and will even go as far as to say I dread the ordering process.  There are so many different combinations of the same ingredients and they all taste just a little bit different.  The menu at McAlister’s is as long as my house is wide!  I would rather give the kind server the extremely small list of foods that I abhor and say, “You pick, just make sure the things on this list aren’t in it.”  I promise, I think I would get less stressed out if I could do this.  I mean, I am not a picky eater, so I would be content with whatever they chose, I am certain of it!

Wardrobe is a whole other story.  Then, there is the decision about how to spend my weekend and what to name my goldfish and which CD I should by on my random music hunts.  What is the best choice?  Which decision will make me the happiest?  These thoughts plague my mind!  After the minuet details of my life are all decided and set in stone (like fajitas at El Guapo’s), I have all the major decisions to make like what to do with the rest of my life and how do I pay for it and will I ever own a llama…

Except for the llama bit, I really am very perplexed at the moment about what the next step is.  The way I see it, life can be as complex as you make it, and the way I am thinking right now, life is very complex.  Having too many choices can be a problem because it encourages a lack of commitment.  I become afraid to commit because I might come across something that would be more satisfying and promising.  The “what if’s” begin to control my life and I am swayed by the slightest breeze.

Commitment is a highly desired thing, but it is also one of the scarcest.  A lack of commitment shows a lack of trust and a lack of faith.  To commit is to let go of your ability to jump ship when things get hard or boring or down right dreadful.  Commitment to a person, job, hobby or any other thing requires sacrifice, but oh how rewarding it can be!  It seems that most often times, commitment is seen as bondage and something that takes away our freedom.  On the contrary however, it is a freedom giver.

“The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating—in work, play, in love.  To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life.” –Anne Morris

Sometimes, we just need to stick to our guns—Commit!  God’s will for our lives is not a secret that He is trying to hide from us.  He is not the author of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33) but He gives us passions and desires for a reason.  The more we seek out what it is that He has designed us to do, the more we will be able to see what our next step should be and how those passions can spur us onto living a life more abundantly in Christ.  To continue to wait for what might be better or more exciting is to defer our trust in the Lord again and again.  Thankfully our Lord is faithful, even when we are faithless (2 Tim. 2:13). 

So my challenge to you is to commit with me to commit.  Free yourself and find joy in pursuing God’s passions and desires all for the cross of Christ; so that He may be glorified in our lives.

Final Thoughts:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.  –Prov. 3:5.6