Newsletter - August 2005

Dear Friends:

How is your summer going? If you are like me, you are looking at August 1 on the calendar and standing amazed that June and July flitted by so quickly. As philosophers have pointed out through the ages, one of the evidences that we are not in our true home when we are in the world of time is our constant amazement at the passing of it.

Presently, though, we have to deal with the fact that time is a limited resource in the lives that we experience. So, maybe it is appropriate that we take a look at how we are using it. Specifically, I am thinking of all the things that I am going to get around to doing Someday. You and I both know that Someday never comes. The only time we have to work with is today.

What’s on your Someday list?

• Getting your garage or kitchen organized?
• Writing letters to friends with whom you have lost contact?
• Learning to play the piano (or the guitar)?
• Keeping a prayer journal?
• Reading through the entire Bible?
• Working in a soup kitchen?
• Studying a foreign language?
• Reading some of the great classics of literature?
• Skateboarding (or skydiving or mountain climbing)?
• Becoming more physically fit?
• Spending more one-on-one time with your children?
• Figuring out a budget?

Now, my real question is this: What is keeping us from beginning some (or at least one!) of these things today instead of waiting until Someday? There is an ancient proverb that says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a step.” We will never learn to play the piano until we find out where Middle C is and begin to master the basic scales. We will never read The Brothers Karamazov until we open up to the first page of the first chapter. We have to begin before we can end.

Long-lasting changes in our lives come about in small steps. For example, if we want to get into shape, we know that the least effective way is to go on a stringent diet. We will stick to it for a time and then we will revert to our old eating habits and the weight comes back. We lose weight most effectively by giving up a dessert occasionally, then by cutting back on seconds, and maybe later by adding exercise. Baby steps. Little changes in our lives that become habits and then, over time, become part of the very fiber of our beings. The small steps we take eventually add up to making genuine, long-term changes in our lives. Step-by-step over the long haul, we will find that we are accomplishing things we never thought we could.

Our relationship with God is the most important focus our lives will ever have. When we are in communion with our Creator, we begin to live purer lives, we become our true selves, and we experience a power in becoming and in serving that is way beyond our own ability. Yet, cultivating a relationship with God that is deep and satisfying is often on our Someday list.

We know we are God’s children, we know Jesus as our Savior, and we really do want to please Him. But there are so many things that get in the way of developing a growing relationship with God. And sometimes I think we use those distractions as an excuse when the real problem is that we think the task is too big. It’s way beyond what we can do. We know true commitment to God will require focus, time, energy, and emotional connection. Maybe we are really not ready for that whole package.

That’s where faith comes in. If God is who He says He is (and, by faith, we believe that He is), then we know that He knows our weakness and our fear. He knows we are a little bit afraid of getting too close to Him. He knows that we are worried about what He may ask us to do or what He will want us to change in our lives. He realizes that we are concerned that we will reach out toward Him and He won’t respond. And He is ready to fix all that.

• He invites us to come to Him (Matthew 11:28)
• He reassures us that He will treat us with compassion and mercy (James 5:11)
• He says we don’t have to be smart, we just have to come as little children (Matthew 18:3)
• He wants us to approach Him boldly and with confidence (Hebrews 4:16)
• He says that if we do come to Him, we will find help in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16)

God is waiting for us to make a move in His direction and He will respond with love. All we have to do is start. Start praying. Start getting into reading and studying the Bible. Start getting together with others who want to know Him, too. Start thinking about Him more and more throughout our days. Just start. A little start will do. Before we know it, we will find that we are on a path that is leading us straight to the heart of God – and we will like it there!

Here’s to joyful beginnings! It’s never too late to start doing something eternal.

Blessings!

Bev

P.S. If you haven’t noticed yet, I have added a series of ten Bible studies to my website. These studies relate directly to The GodSense Devotional and are designed to allow a group to use the devotional personally and then meet together for study and discussion. I wanted you to be aware of the availability of these lessons (including teacher notes) just in case you are interested in using them or know of someone else who might be.

“Let us be content to begin where we are even though
we shall not want to stay there forever.”
- Mary McDermott Shideler in In Search of the Spirit

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