Exciting (01/15/2024)

I enjoy being the chief cook. I find it fulfilling to watch others eat the food I have prepared. But once a week, my husband cooks. It is almost always pizza (a couple times a year he makes burritos). It is always good. Last night, as we watched the Packers wallop the Cowboys, he made pizza for us. We enjoyed it during the 4th quarter. It was a mini vacation for me. And according to our rule, “the cook never does the dishes,” I cleaned up the kitchen. I guess you could say we’re in a rut; but how we love the rut we’re in.

Ruts are predictable, like pizza night. One knows what is coming. It is not “exciting.” Ruts are okay for parts of our lives, but we must be open to “exciting” – to being called out or called forth to do something. Our lives as believers in Christ are all about “exciting.” If we find our faith life not “exciting,” well, frankly, our faith has a leak, or we’ve managed to break Christ’s grip on our hearts. Either way, we need to do something about it.

Our journeys in Christ should never be mediocre. Every day that we follow in Christ’s footsteps is a day when we are invited to see with new eyes, to hear not just the words of another but their hearts, to encounter others not just pass by. Every day that we follow in Christ’s footsteps is a day that we come to know not only the LORD better but ourselves, we come to discover who we can be if we open ourselves to the love of the one who created us, called us, saved us, and loves us no matter what. Every day of faith lived is a day of discovery, an exciting day.

And our journeys in Christ, those exciting moments, create joy that sustains us even during surprisingly sad and tumultuous times. The sadness gets to us, we cry for the suffering of another, but our joy allows us the resiliency that comes from knowing that our LORD is with us even in those moments. We feel, we hurt, we ache, we cry, but we also bring hope and love into those moments.

When we open ourselves to Christ and to following Christ so as to encounter Christ in others, we are rewarded as we enter the lives of others, checking on their well-being, offering our help when needed, listening to another's suffering and sharing the weight of it as a companion on the journey. Life in Christ opens us to new possibilities every day and at every turn. Now that is "exciting."

Today, as we each pick up our crosses and commit to following Christ this day, let us do so with open minds, hearts and souls, ready to encounter the LORD in the moments, the places, the people, ourselves. Let us be attentive to what the LORD is calling us to do and to be. Let us open ourselves totally and be prepared for “exciting.”  

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.