There’s a good reason why we call the rhythms that form our days “practices.
Place these words on your hearts. Get them deep inside you. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder. Teach them to your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning until you fall into bed at night. Inscribe them on the doorposts and gates of your cities so that you’ll live a long time, and your children with you, on the soil that God promised to give your ancestors for as long as there is a sky over the Earth. Deut. 11:18-21
These words aren’t to be taken lightly. God was (and still is) in the business of making things new. For the Israelites, their approaching residence in a new place would bear witness to a God who is living, active, and Holy. The only way for future generations to connect to that truth is through parents inscribing God’s word not just on their doorposts but on their children’s hearts.
Pointing to God’s character comes through the daily practices of our lives. Everything we do, should be sharing how our stories fit into God’s story. But it’s not all about the intentional “feel good” moments of interaction. There’s a good reason why we call the rhythms that form our days “practices.”
Teaching still happens in our mess ups. Sometimes those are the most profound lessons we can share.
How do we respond when someone says something that hurts us?
Where do we turn when life encounters an unexpected turn?
Do they see us cry?
How do we show our need for help?
Do they see us acknowledge when we made sinful choices and seek forgiveness?
Your Mother’s Day gathering may or may not have met your expectations. Perhaps tempers flared, arguments erupted, and words of regret were uttered.
Take heed: God is still speaking through your life. All of it. There is a reason we call our rhythms practices.
This post was written for the Five Minute Friday Writing Community: Come join us! https://fiveminutefriday.com/
There is surely grace in failure,
perhaps more so than in success,
because this is the way we measure
the deficiencies we must address.
If I fail I can do better
and make the next try better still
to try to match God’s word and letter
with my awkward rebel-will.
The great is found in imperfection;
repeated hammering makes us strong.
In being lost, we find direction
and learn of what is right, from wrong.
God made us fallible clumsy things,
yet we soar above the angels’ wings.
One of my fave Scriptures!