These past two weeks I have been coming to a realization: life is like pie (go with me here). Our lives are like a pie pan full of different slices that make it up. We have our family slice, our work slice, our friend slice, so on and so forth. All of the things that we enjoy become pieces of this pie. For me, there was the slice for my love of reading, my organization, my nieces and nephews, so on and so forth. As I was reviewing my life, I came to another realization: I had relegated my Christianity to being just a slice of the pie. My walk with God was a part of my life, but that is not how it should be. My walk with God should be my WHOLE life. He isn't supposed to be a slice of the pie, He should be the pie pan, the thing that holds all of the pieces together.
Is this why my walk with Him had stalled? Prayer time had become something written down on my schedule to do every day. Bible study was a part of my routine. I listened to Christian music while I was doing these things, because this was my "bible time". Attending church services was something on my calendar. My prayer wall had become just decorations on my wall, not something I looked to when I was talking to God. God had become a part of my schedule, which is absolutely backwards and ridiculous. But then I also had the things in my life that were totally apart and separate from the "God slice" and I got to thinking...shouldn't all of the slices contain God, shouldn't He be a part of my every activity and relationship?
If I am walking in His will, then the other slices of my life will have to fit in my Christian life. In all of my ways I am supposed to acknowledge and consult Him. It is more than asking "what would Jesus do". It is also asking "what would Jesus say if He saw you doing that" and "would you watch this movie if Jesus was sitting right beside you" and "would Jesus laugh at that joke". When I realized I was answering "no" to most of those questions, I decided it was time to reevaluate my life again. As with most things in my life, I didn't come to this realization on my own; God had to get my attention. I won't go in to how He did that, but let's just say it has been a not-so-fun situation and I am still going through it. He is reminding me of where my focus should be and it has been painful (as loving correction by a parent sometimes has to be).
Since He has gotten my attention and turned my head back in the right direction (directly facing Him) my prayers have become heartfelt again, bible verses have touched my heart, church lessons have grabbed my attention, worship songs have made me cry, and bible study has become a "get-to" thing instead of a "have-to" thing. In all my ways I am trying to seek His advice and guidance. So I guess the thing is this: if I had to go through this fire to get me closer to Him, then it is worth it. Man, I can't believe I said that because this struggle is awful, but it is true. Better that I suffer here on earth and grow closer to Him and become more Christ-like until I go to Heaven, than for me to have an easy life here on earth and when I get to Heaven realize that I did not seek Him as I should while I was alive. Hard truth, but still a truth. Like the bible says, God can work all things for the good of those who love Him.
Thanks for reading, and have a great week!
