SNACKS AND STACKS

Even though being a diabetic precludes me from indulging in many different types of the usual snacks, I do at times enjoy a little variety in my diet. It is limited, but just having a change is enough at times.

Another element of life I enjoy seeing a change in at times is the area of chores. When the get too stacked up and are hopelessly monotonous then just having that burden can be very stressful. Just getting away from the routine truly helps at times. If for no other reason than not having to think about the problem.

To me both of this subjects have a similar connection. They involve the issue of fatigue. I’m speaking of the kind that we may even ignore or not even appreciate when our mind goes on autopilot.

However it still can creep into our lives so easily. We end up continuing to do all the same things such as work, but in our heart we are weary. There is just a lack of joy in the doing. That emotional fatigue just lays on our chest and we keep plotting away with weary eyes and tired hearts.

This can happen with the spiritual side of life just as much as with any others. Week after week we can serve and pray and turn to the Lord, but the flame of joy grows faint. Inside though we just can’t stop or shake the sense of feeling that somehow God will be upset with us if we pause to take a breath or reflect.

Passion is the fuel that gives real light to the soul. When our fire is burning the brightest we see the best.

I am reminded of the warning in the Book of Revelations by out Lord to the Ephesus church of how they had left their first love. That first love being Christ. It was simply that the real passion of their spiritual life had gone under the weight of too much routine without remembering the reason for the doing.

That has a simple application in terms of keeping Christ center in one’s life despite the distractions. But I feel it has a much broader implication. It is a basic truth that life without that passion, without that pure flame of desire burning bright simply isn’t real life.

Some call it doing your best. To enter into each task, each chore or duty and to do so with all of one’s heart. I see a lot of the opposite type so behavior each day. It is said because you do see the absence of any joy in the process.

Ultimately I think it is a matter of asking in each part of life did we do our best. Were we faithful with our hearts and soul to doing what would be God’s will for that situation in terms of faithfulness.

That can be hard to remember with some activities. They can seem so mundane and routine that it just doesn’t seem important if they get done. However I have come to appreciate that when we loose the passion in general it often becomes like a cancer that infects all the aspects of our life. Only the Lord can truly heal with the power of his holy spirit that type of slow death by icy indifference.