Before we get into the rest of this post, I should probably finish the title. Just because something doesn’t come naturally, doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth doing or that we should do it. Think about kids learning to ride a bike. They start off with training wheels and get the motion down of how to get the bike moving. Then eventually they don’t want the training wheels anymore. They want to ride like the big kids, so you take them off (maybe one at a time or both at the same time). No matter what anyone says that next step is big and doesn’t really come naturally for anyone. You now have to balance. Everyone falls. The child may fall so many times that they are ready to give up, but we encourage them to keep going. Keep trying. Persevere. We remind them that they can do this and then one day it clicks and they are able to ride without training wheels and without help. We could apply this to any number of things we teach our kids (math, piano, sports, etc.). We don’t want them to quit anytime something doesn’t come naturally, because we learn a lot about ourselves when we push through those difficult things.
You may be agreeing with what I am saying but also wondering where I am going with this. I wonder why we don’t apply these same tactics to our spiritual lives and spiritual disciplines. I think we are too quick to give up on a spiritual discipline because it doesn’t come naturally. I will explain how this plays out in my life. I have always said I want to be a good journaler (I don’t even know if that is a word, but I am using it anyway), but I am just not good at it. It is not part of my routine and quite honestly I like to be on the go. I don’t always like to stop and write things down or think about my thoughts and process my feelings. If I keep moving and doing things then life goes on and I don’t have to think too much about my feelings. Fast forward to a recent coaching session (Shout out to David Peppler with Peptalk Ministries. Give him a call for all of your coaching needs!). At the end of last year, I led a couple of small groups through Pep’s book “Discerning God’s Puzzling Call” and each chapter ended with coaching questions. As I began to slow down and process the book and really answer the questions, I saw the way God was shifting my feelings around my own calling and growing things in me that I may not have noticed if I hadn’t slowed down. I shared that with Pep and he encouraged me to try journaling and using that to process my thoughts more often. I committed to once a week and made it for about two weeks…. then I got back into my old routine of go, go, go.
That was about 5 months ago. Then it came up again in a recent coaching call that I really needed to take some time, slow down, and process my thoughts so we revisited the idea of journaling. I am a couple of weeks into that routine again and hoping to continue this time. I don’t journal daily (probably because I won’t slow down long enough) but I do journal once a week. Each time I do God reveals something new to me. Sometimes it is something minor and other times it is a pretty big shift that is either in the process or needs to be worked through. These are things I wouldn’t realize if I didn’t slow down and take the time. Just because it doesn’t come naturally doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing.
So, now I ask you. What is it in your life that doesn’t come naturally but may need to be revisited? For you, it may not be journaling. It may be daily Bible reading, fasting, meditation, prayer, or any number of other things. What is one small “bite size” thing that you can do that will help make that a little easier? Will you commit to doing it? Who will come alongside of you and help keep you accountable? Let’s journey and grow together.
