Mountain Top Experiences in the Valleys

Sherann called me the other morning to talk.  She shared that she had just finished the second book in a week that she just couldn’t put down.  Both books were very moving and inspiring in their messages.  Yet, she was concerned that she would put these books on her shelf and that they would simply become dust collectors and never truly influence her life.  She also shared her concern with me for how often we allow this to happen even with the Word of God.  We read the Scriptures, they move us and inspire us to action, and then we close the book and go back to our day to day lives.  Of course, this is true to more or lesser degrees from person to person, but I don’t think that there is a single person out there that can say that they always follow through with what has inspired them from the Scriptures.  I know, unfortunately, that I can’t.

I think that the bigger question here is: why do we allow things to move us in the moment, and then allow them to fade away later?  We read our Bibles, we go to church and listen to the sermons, we go to retreats, we join Bible studies, and we love it all.  While these things are going on we feel the movement of the Holy Spirit.  We are inspired by the passion of the music and the speaker.  Our minds and hearts are lifted.  Then, we leave and go home and we go back to our daily lives as if nothing life changing has just happened.  Why do we allow this to happen?  Perhaps that is really the big question here. 

If we love the feeling, why do we allow it to fade?  If we are so moved, why don’t we move?  Why don’t we act?  I think that the pathetic truth of it in my own life can be summed up in one word: habit.  We all create habits, good and bad, in our lives.  We have a certain way of doing things, of dealing with things, and it is all habit.  Habits are hard to break, which is why it can be so difficult to change.  But it’s not impossible.  People can learn to stop biting their fingernails or chewing with their mouth open.  People can learn to stop dealing with problems by turning to drugs and alcohol.  We know that change is possible.  We can change and get rid of our bad habits.  So, while we’re working on getting rid of those bad habits, why not replace them with some good habits. 

We can learn to hold on to the positive in much the same way that we learn to let go of the negative.  We simply have to learn a new habit.  Just like with getting rid of a bad habit, we can turn to family and friends for support.  We can find and use tools to encourage the good in our lives.  We can pray and ask for God’s help.  We can expect the change to come slowly, and not beat ourselves up when it doesn’t happen overnight.