Day 26 - Simple and straightforward? I think not!
Scripture focus: My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6-7 (The Message)
Our friend in the UK is feeling confessional today - and he has a great story that illustrates a point I'm eager to make. Although Paul's counsel to us in Colossians may seem simple and straightforward to him, rarely do we humans actually acquire a simple and straightforward life. So, let's listen in as our friend commentates on our tendency to try to live a self-sufficient (which makes for a very complicated) life - and the people around us who want to believe that this kind of life is possible.
"If I get the impression that people think of me as doing 'OK' then I kind of try to live up to that which sets me up for a fall since I don't want to disappoint them and that makes me feel like I'm living a lie and that brings shame etc. I've been living this pattern for years and this is what I have just started to break in going to church so I am careful to make sure that people know I have absolutely not got my stuff together. Despite me trying to be honest, the elder who welcomed me at church that first week was so uneasy with me wanting to attend their 12 step group and was desperately trying to get me into their more middle class "tea and biscuits" home groups and cozy courses for new Christians. It was actually funny because he was filtering out everything I said to him about my issues - when he asked me what I did for a living and I explained that I ran my own business because I was unable to work for anybody else he took that to mean I was too independent and despite a few polite attempts to correct him (we Brits are so socially uptight we'd drown rather than cry for help so as to 'not cause a fuss') he wasn't getting my drift. It was actually hard work to dissuade people."
How funny. It seems that we are so set in our minds on thinking that it is both normal and healthy to be "fine" that we forget that most of us don't really have much personal experience with actually living a "fine" life. Who has acted as that elder in your life - hoping against hope that you're fine, encouraging you to take the tea and biscuit cure while you're more in need of a dramatic, difficult but ultimately miraculous heart transplant?
Our UK friend closes with - "Anyway, got my 12 step group tonight so I have some worrying and stressing I need to be getting on with."
Please, I beg you. It's okay to confess the need to worry and stress AND let your living spill over into thanksgiving. These are not mutually exclusive concepts, simply the evidence of a normal, messy, definitely non-linear kind of life.
Whether in calm or storm - may you find God in all the crevices of your experience today.
Recommended reading: Psalms 11-16
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