"Man, did I get my butt chewed out!"
We had an excellent service Sunday at church. It was one of those services where God seemed to show up and tell everyone, "Things are changing and I am the Architect. New things are coming, and you need to be ready. Seek Me first and the things with which I have to do and you will see My power and impact in everything around you."
I love services like that. And, although I am biased more toward the intellectual side of life than the emotional side, I believe it. All of it.
I left church motivated, ready, hungry, excited, etc. Then I thought about how many of these services I been in before. The service last Sunday could have happened (and probably did) in 1979 at another little church less than two miles away where I attended with my Grandma and Great Grandma.
I mentioned this observation to God on my way to my car, and became just a little frustrated that we keep having services like this and nothing really changes. "God," says I, "I've been hearing this for years. What do I need to do to be more ready, more prepared? What do you wamt me to do? Where do you want me to jump in? Why wind me all up and then just go back to life as usual? Whazzup?"
About the time I closed the car door, the Universe stood still long enough for me to immediately hear the following dialogue, all at once:
"You've got to be kidding me!
"Why don't we start by doing some of the things we've been talking about for years. Get your butt back to the gym and lose 20 lbs. Take a little pride in what I have done in and around your life, and show it by being strong and healthy! And eat better and quit smoking.
"While you're at it, how about showing some respect for where you work. Quit going in at 10:30 and sleeping half of the afternoon away. If you don't have enough work to do, clean the place up and help others do their jobs better. Your job deserves more respect, attention and effort than you're putting into it presently.
"You've got less to complain about and more to rejoice about than 98% of the people on the planet. And you're frustrated about what exactly?
"There are things in life that I have to do. And I am both faithful and competent to do them whenever and however I choose. But there are things you can do too. Get off of your ass and get them done, then talk to Me about being frustrated about what I don't do fast enough to suit you."
"Um..." says me again. "You're right, of course. Can we forget about this conversation altogother?
"Sure. And we can have it all over again next week, which explains why you've been hearing it since 1979."
I was discussing all of this with a friend who had a similar experience last weekend. He said there was a lot of low hanging fruit and many slow, fat rabbits that are within reach.
We need to take advantage of those before we get frustrated about the rest.