Nothing to Prove Book Club started this week and our women are processing exactly what freedom from pretending and performing might look like. During the evening, we talked about living in the tension between the beauty and the mess of our lives. We agreed that we want to avoid separating our lives into silos, and instead allow the everyday and the mundane parts of life to become important in view of our place in God's story. Jennie cites the stories of Abraham, Noah, David, and Paul, among others, as examples of heroes who lived their lives in small moments, acquiring skills and learning about God until it was time to step up to their part of His plan. The point being that the everyday learning, the regular people type moments were part of a large plan and every bit as holy and noble. I think we could also look at Sarah, who fought her own battle with infertility (and jealousy, and at least one questionable decision along the way), yet became the mother of the promise. What about Elizabeth who sent her husband off to work at the Temple and he came home unable to speak? Guess who had all the explaining to do when it turned out she was pregnant with the one who announced the arrival of the Messiah? My thought is that when we study these people, we concentrate on their great battles or victories and we've often overlooked their everyday lives. I'm inspired to think how they made it all work. I've wondered about Sarah's thoughts while she was washing up dishes after some desert banquet. How did she still the taunt ringing in her ears that a baby was no longer a possibility as the long-ago promise of an heir became harder to recall. What desperation drove her to bring her handmaiden to Abraham and hand her over? And I can't even imagine what she said to her husband on the morning he saddled up the donkey and two of his servants and began the trek with Isaac to the land of Moriah. On the day Zechariah was struck dumb, Elizabeth began a season of ministry to her husband, to her visiting pregnant cousin, and to a newborn babe devoted to the Lord. Both of these women ran households, held countless conversations, lived within their culture, took care of husbands, and managed to keep their families afloat all while accomplishing their work in God's history. They were faithful in the everyday activities, the small tasks and that's what enabled them to walk out their faith. I'm inspired. To love God more, to love my people more. To look for ways to do my everyday chores with more joy. To find God in the dishes and the laundry and the conversations I have everyday. To not waste another minute. Because if God is in my everyday, I certainly want to find Him and figure out how to advance His story.
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AuthorLoving words written to increase hope. Archives
May 2020
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