My wise (and goofy) husband, who clearly missed his calling as a pirate.
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Nearly all vices are rooted in the future.
-Uncle Screwtape, The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
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I got to drive, talk, eat, snowboard, hot tub, and just BE with my husband for almost 12 consecutive hours on Friday. Sweetness. The rare luxury of uninterrupted time together gave us the opportunity for some great conversation, as we could finally move beyond the routine daily dialogue of preschool drop-offs, project deadlines, potty training and the like.
I need to stop here and brag for a minute. My husband is so wise. He knows me better than anyone else and he has the best insights into my crazy life and my (perhaps even crazier) mind. He has this way of speaking the truth to me with grace and love and patience. Oh boy, does this man need patience. Just listening to the sheer quantity of words that his wife disgorges on a daily basis should win him some sort of shiny trophy.
Anyway, at one point on Friday I was ruminating about all the stuff I dream of doing someday, about the different callings that I have sensed for my life at one time or another. And in his gentle and unassuming way, my husband shot an arrow right to the heart of the issue:
Maybe Satan distracts us from God's primary calling on our lives by getting us tied up in our secondary callings.
Isn't it just like the enemy to take something good that God has given us - a hope or dream or promise for our future - and pervert it into being an obsession of the present? There are things for which I know God has gifted me, even things to which I know God has called me... but they are not my primary calling at this time in my life. Focusing on them now, wondering why they are not happening, or even just giving them more time and attention than they merit -- these are all schemes of the enemy to take me away from the freedom and joy that comes with living fully into the present calling of God.
Lord, you have made your present call on my life clear and sure, bringing peace. God, you have given me dreams and gifts for the future, bringing hope. Thank you. Please forgive me when I confuse the future with the present, the secondary with the primary. May I live today and each tomorrow in joyful engagement with your faithful and ever-present calling.
Amen.
6 comments:
Wow...what a great great point. I just love your blog. One of my besties is a 77 year old country girl...she has a bunch of funny sayings, one of which applies to you pretty often. "She done quit preachin' and went to meddlin'." Ha ha
By the way, I think it's interesting that your last post caused my last post which caused Rachel Ann's last post. That's fun.
Ooh that is super fun!
I love that saying... Seattle has a distinct lack of 77 year-old country girls with funny sayings. :(
You know,
when you sit down in the early afternoon to do a little bit of blogging you don't necessarily see God's frying pan coming toward your face at ungodly speeds.
Thanks.
I have the same frying pan-shaped mark on my forehead too... you're in good company. :)
You Go GIRL@!!!!!!
And your description of Jon is so accurate. I feel that way about Kevin a lot- but you put most of it into words for me! What a beautiful example of Gods love in the relationship he has built for you and Jon. And what a blessing that your lives reflect that beauty, all the while encouraging those of us who are not yet there :-) Thank you for being so open and loving and kind with your words and thoughts and family members :-) Your message spoke directly to me and all my secondary callings.
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