Character

The house is quiet to the whir of the dishwasher. How lovely to have a few minutes to write down my thoughts about that which dwells within me! I've recently returned to my daily reading of My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. Last year, I read it faithfully every morning; due to creativity and newness, I set it aside a few months ago, but God tugged at my heart one day to pick it up. I'm so glad that I did. His writing is beyond time and certainly challenges me on a daily basis to live my faith instead of just talk it.

The past few entries that he has written have really spoken deeply to me, a housewife and mom. Most days I feel extremely blessed to stay home with the kids, instilling in them a desire to know Truth and to know the One who created Truth. And then there are those days when the yellow school bus looks awfully enticing and nap time cannot come soon enough. On such a day last week, I read this from Chambers:

"We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life - those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength.... We are inclined to think that everything that happens is to be turned into useful teaching. In actual, fact, it is to be turned into something even better than teaching, namely, character."

Hmmm... those valleys seem rather deep at times. And yet when I think of the mountain-top experiences that I've had in my life, I seem to recall just a handful. Yet, they sustain me. During this season of my life when so much is demanded of me just by the sheer nature of having small children, I know that I need to push through the urge to FEEL refreshed. I need to dive into God's Word and BE refreshed with His strength whether my emotions follow or not. And how do I do that?

"We have seen what we are not, and what God wants us to be, but are we willing to be battered into the shape of the vision to be used by God? The beatings will always come in the most common, everyday ways and through common, everyday people. We have to learn to live in reliance upon what we saw in the vision, not simply live in ecstatic delight and conscious reflection upon God."

1 Corinthians 10: 12-13 comes to mind about temptations and God providing me a way out when tempted to give in to my want to wallow in my busy day. The vision that God has for my life is quite simply that I conform to the image of Christ. It's not a hard concept to understand, but it is an impossible reality on this side of heaven... were it not for Jesus' death and God's promise to give us strength for each day. As long as I keep putting my feet on the ground and focus my gaze on Jesus, I work through each day. In that working, God is shaping my character to be more like Jesus. The ecstatic moments only serve to provide a little booster power to my feet, but they don't propel me to the end of the walk. I praise the Lord that He walks with us in the valley and refreshes us on the mountains and calls us to Himself... for each new day!

Blessings!