Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Hear (07/08/10)
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TITLE: Ordinary Living | Previous Challenge Entry
By Marie Fink
07/15/10 -
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Speeding now to make up for lost time from the morning, she whips crookedly into a parking space and a friend notices immediately. Giggling, the friend says, “That’s too much car for you to handle there, eh?” Amy shrugs and smirks and shuffles off into the stark building. She has just enough time to greet a couple of people, slip into the powder room to check her color, find a seat and plop into it.
Amy considers her familiar surroundings and her mind sighs, ‘It’s always the same, nearly anywhere I’ve lived: modest building, plain décor, an instrument or two.’ She thinks about it more beyond the aesthetics now, ‘Cordial enough people, true friends who would do anything for me, lots of opportunity to help others, and good teaching.’ ‘What could be better?’ her mind chastises her.
Obediently going through the motions she sits, stands, sings, listens, confesses, responds, and prays. Her mind wonders at times, ‘Do others have this lack of emotion too?’ ‘What’s wrong with me?’ she would agonize. Amy’s inner voice would speak, ‘Why do I even show up?’
Groaning inwardly she thought, ‘Oh, I’ve heard this so many times before.’ Silently almost mocking, ‘Yes, we are heirs with Christ. Yes, we need to persevere. Yes, we need to hear the word of God over and over again.’ ‘Wait a minute,’ her mind perked. Amy sat up a little straighter and leaned a bit forward. She thought, ‘Did I just hear him say that it’s in the perseverance that we build our character and that in turn produces hope?’ Amy knew she had heard and read that many times before, but there was new light dawning in her.
As the pastor expounded Amy listened more intently. She heard him lovingly and truthfully say, “It is through the everyday mundane struggles we are to persevere; perform our tasks, anything from changing the eighth diaper to tending to the never ending pile of laundry, to the daily grind at work, day in and day out, and all of this to the glory of God.”
‘To the glory of God,’ Amy kept repeating in her mind.
The pastor went on: “Even in a home where young ones are being raised in the church their salvation and discipleship can come through the plain ordinary means of hearing the Word preached week in and week out, month after month, and year after year.”
‘Such purpose, such important work!’ Amy was shouting voicelessly.
Her mind began to race as she thought of things she had read and even studied before, ‘The fact that every pursuit in life from good and honorable to bad and horrible are all nothing and vanity apart from Christ.’ ‘Ah yes’, she understood, ‘All to the glory of God.’
Amy was thrilled to hear that it’s often through ordinary day to day living with its highs and lows, the slogging along, slow and steady, hearing the Word of God, even the same Word of God over and over, responding to it, and allowing it to penetrate that would make a difference in everything she would do.
As she left the bright and beautiful building she felt lighter and more purposeful. She knew that she had just been in some sort of malaise common to everyone occasionally, but she also knew that if she could remind herself to do all that she does to the glory of God it would be very helpful. Amy said a prayer to that effect and pulled out of the parking lot ready to take on the weak ahead with new vitality and hope.
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