I read what you wrote.
So many things are easier left undone.
If you could only see my kitchen sink right now and the mountain of dirty dishes piled high in it, you would know that I know what you mean.
Undone, unsaid, unchanged.
We like to be comfortable.
We like a bag full of potato chips close at hand, our jeans still the smallest decent size possible, and the annoyance of baggage (ours or someone else’s) stuffed into the old suitcase in the hall closet.
We like “gentle Jesus meek and mild” and would prefer if he didn’t clamber off the pages of our kids’ story books and into our real lives. I mean, that’d just be so awkward and scary and flat-out weird.
But then something awkward or scary or flat-out weird happens.
Your kid tells you something about the babysitter you would rather not have heard. Your husband goes on the road for weeks at a time. Your friends have an entire alternate universe of plans going on that don’t include you. Your doctor has bad news. Pick your ending – there’s an entire library to choose from.
And suddenly there is no “easier” any more.
The only option left is the hard one.
Easier now lies on the other side of an epic battle with yourself, your fears, your doubts or your relationships.
These are the moments that convince me God is not particularly interested in our happiness. It is our holiness that’s at stake.
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 (NIV).
Holiness – to be set apart, to be like God, or – as loosely translated by me –
to get off the couch, roll up our sleeves, stand in the door frames of our houses and yell at the darkness, “You will not get me or my kids because I am going to open every uncomfortable nook and cranny of my soul to the One who made me so that he can flood me with his power and peace and perseverance so that I can step right over the easy choices and tackle the hard ones on such a regular basis that I bulk up like Xena Warrior Princess and get in the habit of beheading my lazy inclinations every day before dinner.”
Or something along those lines.
Because easier is ultimately “more difficult” in disguise.
Just ask the woman who has to go and scrape all that dried crud off her leftover dirty dishes!
Oh, there are way too many cruddy dishes in my past to not know exactly what you mean. And you’re right about holiness coming way before happiness in God’s eyes. The pursuit of holiness can be painful, but in the long run it involves a much deeper contentment than a bag of potato chips ever can.
Could not have put it better.
oh my. so much conviction coming my way lately.
i just finished typing a post on our family considering fostering/adopting but being afraid of the changes & challenges it would bring. as soon as i was done i saw this post in my reader. ouch. but true.
truth isn’t always nice and comfortable is it?
If you are even on the road toward adoption or fostering then friend, I could learn a lot from YOU. That is beautiful courage. A path my parents have walked and our family has grown and been blessed in the most remarkable ways since. This post is not pressure for you; it is pressure for me. It is a reminder I needed to hear and I am always stunned when remarkable women doing remarkable things hear any echo of anything in these words for themselves.
I wish you peace as you weigh your decisions. I admire them.
ouch.
Yea. Me too
Amen, Sista! Yea, I’m talking to myself again. :) Good one. Now I need to get off my lazy duff and cook dinner. Thanks for the kick in the pants. With much love! T
“These are the moments that convince me God is not particularly interested in our happiness. It is our holiness that’s at stake.”
–That one hit home…now just to make it stick.
Could you call me every day and give me a pep talk like that? Whew!!
Ha! I have myself on speed dial b’c I need the reminding more than anyone – writing is a big part of that. What I write is always more for me to learn out loud than it’s intended for anyone else.
I. LOVED. EVERY. WORD.
Thank you for making me think :)
So very true. Holiness, not happiness, is His aim for us. Character, not comfort. I imagine there will be plenty of time for perfect happiness, for being comfortable at His feet, when we get to heaven. For now, we plod away on the long and narrow path, the hard way….
Oooo…I wanna be a Xenia warrior at home, too! Love this! You remind me of the importance of being intentional at home…not just letting “the chips fall where they may.” So to speak! :)
Have a great weekend, Lisa-Jo!
I don’t think I’m brave enough to feel encouraged by this yet….but thanks for nudging me closer.
“These are the moments that convince me God is not particularly interested in our happiness. It is our holiness that’s at stake.”
Oh how we wish sometimes this wasn’t true. But. True. It. Is.
God is more concerned in sculpted us into the image of His Son than in our moment to moment happiness.
Take heart though, for when we surrender and KNOW that we are walking in His will, there is JOY that is so much deeper and profound than the mere happiness we were seeking.
I LOVE this post, thank you!
very convicting post! jumpin’ over the easy to meet the hard straight on – scary as h#@*! but i’m tryin and your posts always help me correct my course. thank you my friend for your transparency and for letting me know i’m not the only one with a sink full of dirty dishes! (and there’s a LOT of crud to scrub off)