Just got back from Walmart, where I needed to pick up some paper and supplies for church. I decided to get my tires rotated while I was there. It's one of those car maintenance chores that I don't always take care of in a timely manner. There's rarely a "tire rotation emergency" and there is never a convenient time to go be trapped in Walmart for who-knows-how-long. But if you don't do it the car begins to pull to one side, at first gently and then insistently. So, for the sake of the longer journey, you have to make time to take care of it.
On our faith journey, too, I think we need to pay attention to our maintenance schedules. It's too easy to wear down unevenly and start to veer off the road if we've been riding on the same routine for a long time. Maybe worship, prayer, giving and serving have been stuck in the same position for too long. And we may not even notice how our faith is "pulling" off to one side or the other. We need to mix up the "tires" so the wear can be better distributed.
Lent can serve as the rotation we need to get our spiritual life back in good condition for the road ahead. The morning prayer time in the sanctuary, the Lenten scripture readings, adding the targeted giving of One Great Hour of Sharing and new set of parish concerns has gotten me out of my usual routine. I'm not really comfortable doing things differently. But the discomfort does prompt me to turn to Jesus.
How's it going for you?
On our faith journey, too, I think we need to pay attention to our maintenance schedules. It's too easy to wear down unevenly and start to veer off the road if we've been riding on the same routine for a long time. Maybe worship, prayer, giving and serving have been stuck in the same position for too long. And we may not even notice how our faith is "pulling" off to one side or the other. We need to mix up the "tires" so the wear can be better distributed.
Lent can serve as the rotation we need to get our spiritual life back in good condition for the road ahead. The morning prayer time in the sanctuary, the Lenten scripture readings, adding the targeted giving of One Great Hour of Sharing and new set of parish concerns has gotten me out of my usual routine. I'm not really comfortable doing things differently. But the discomfort does prompt me to turn to Jesus.
How's it going for you?
1 comment:
Thank you for your gift of finding spiritual inspiration in the mundane. Never would have thought about rotating tires that way.
I was just excited to find another part of that Isaiah scripture today's lesson in the "These Days" book! Amazing!
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