Pastor Rick's Chair
I just completed my fifth Howdy Day, which is a time for incoming 6th graders to have a blast being introduced to the Student Ministry. This event has improved every year as I have learned and gained experience.
I have learned that it is the simple things that make Howdy Week a success, like having 49-cent popsicles after we swim. It is giving everyone extra tokens after they have spent all the others on the crane game. It is letting them sit in Pastor Rick’s chair rather than just showing them his office.
Surprisingly, those are the things they remember to tell their families. It’s nothing special, but it makes a world of difference.
I wonder if my spiritual life is weak so often because I do not appreciate the simple things. I want a miracle or a prophetic word. I want a complete overnight reversal of my sin nature and perfection out of other Christians. I want big things. Focusing solely on the big things has more often than not led to discouragement rather than a strong faith.
What if the simple things would actually provide and sustain my faith? What if, while making coffee in the morning, I breathed in the strong smells of life and gave God thanks for another day.
What if, when I am wronged by another person, I forgave him a lot quicker than my usual routine of squeezing every drop from the situation before it became un-Christian?
What if before going to bed I told those I cared about that I loved them and was praying for them, and then actually did it.
What if when I looked in the mirror, I saw my most recent memory verse before the thoughts of pride or inadequacies crept in?
What if I read my Bible? What if sermons and worship services were a supplement to my own time spent with the Lord.
What if I gave the simple things my focus?
I cannot create a miracle, change someone’s heart, or enact a movement of the Spirit on my own accord. I can, however, read my Bible, pray for others, give thanks to God, memorize Scripture and worship alone.
I know what focusing on the simple things has done for Howdy Day. I wonder what focusing on the simple things can do for our faith?