It's not a chore...

Spending time with my husband is not a chore. One of the things we've learned over the past two years is to seize the day and enjoy each other's company.

Paul and Mary Burleson were my pastors growing up back in the late 1970's. I enjoy reading Mary's blog. Today she wrote:

Both of us left a long time ago the thought that you meet God at church or you meet God in your closet. You might actually "meet" Him there. But you don't necessarily "enjoy" him there. We have learned that we meet God and enjoy Him every minute of every day in every activity we are involved in. There's no such thing to us as being disciplined to meet God. That's almost a foreign language to us any more. Our struggle is just forgetting to enjoy Him, always and forever...

As I exit talks, sermons, and teachings on being with Christ our Saviour, I want to do the excitement dance and leap for joy. I don't want to go away shamed, sad, and sure I will never be able to perform or DO what's required. That's the gospel I've embraced and am enjoying living.

I'm not sure I ever thought of this like Mary just phrased it.

So much of my early religious experience focused on outlining the standard of what I should be. It was a heavy weight. There was also an unreality to the conversion stories I was told which mostly went: "I lived a terrible life, met Jesus and now everthing is perfect."

Meeting Jesus has opened up a beautiful world for me, but it hasn't been perfect. It is more like something started back then that continues. As if you leave the path you were on to go somewhere else completely. And it is confusing and challenging and joyful and adventurous... I could go on, and never really hit quite the words I'm looking for.

Until I read Mary's post, I'm not sure I would have quantified it enjoying the ordinary moments--much like John and I cooking or doing dishes together--but I think that's exactly what it is. That warmth of knowing that the God who is love and who is light knows who you are and that there is nothing to earn--it's all been given.

That is a powerful freedom and a powerful joy.