“I’m so uncomfortable, why won’t these people cooperate with
me and make my life a little easier.”
My priority is and mine, making sure my children are taken care of and my home
runs smoothly. I have enough on my plate and don’t have the time to be inconvenienced
by someone else’s problems.
Sound familiar? I know it does to me.
Self-sacrifice and hospitality are an ancient art. Instead
of opening our homes and taking the time to listen to others, we are looking at
our watches or the screens of our phones. We accomplish so much, yet have
nothing to show for it.
We multi-task our family, friends, and lives, for what?
To have a little more time to squeeze in one more thing, to
accomplish one more task, and perhaps to take some time for ourselves, as we
search for our comfort zone.
Is that all there really is- a perpetual search for our
comfort zone?
No one grows in their comfort zone. Although cozy,
the lack of challenge causes us to stagnate. Yet whenever we are taken out of
our comfort zone we become irritated and frustrated. Assuming that when we face
discomfort or inconvenience we have either misread God’s will or have made a
mistake.
I was recently reading the story of our Lord’s birth. The
road Joseph and Mary took to Jerusalem was a bumpy one. There were no conveniences
afforded to them. They carried the greatest treasure in all humanity and still
were reduced to homelessness and birth in a dirty stable.
When we do God’s will
we are not guaranteed comfort or convenience. Most growth occurs in times of
transition when our world is upside down, when we are stretched beyond our
capacity.
The Christian life is not for weak or faint of heart. It is
for those who are brave enough to live life out of the comfort zone. Those who
are willing to tread where others fear and do the seemingly impossible, knowing
we serve a God who can do far beyond our wildest dreams.
Let us boldly jump into the uncomfortable, take risks, and dare
to dream.
