I admit it: every time I set a goal, I imagine that at the end of the time period, I will have mastered whatever I had set out to master. I guess that's a good thing because I am now a faithful prayer warrior! Ummm... whatever.
But I did decide that instead of kicking myself in the shins for failing to meet my own expectations, I would rejoice in the grace of improvement. My prayer life is more solid than it was a month ago, praise God! I expect that my future spiritual discipline challenges will be reason enough to keep praying.
I struggled to choose a specific discipline for the month of May. I feel compelled to practice reaching out to people -- my literal neighbors, the poor, my husband, just to name a few. I considered focusing on hospitality or generosity, but I decided to start with something more general because of the things I want to accomplish this month. If I need to develop a more specific discipline in a later month, I will.
I think the biggest challenge this month will be practicing genuine love. I have some specific ways I would like to reach out to others -- actions that I hope they will interpret as love -- but to know in my heart that I really love the people I am reaching out to is an entirely different thing. First Corinthians 13 keeps going through my head: "and though I give all my goods to feed the poor, but have not love, it profits me nothing."
1 comment:
I think, as you practice this discipline, it will be important to remember that love is as much a decision of the will as it is an emotion.
Practicing the stuff in Corinthians 13 IS love. As we strive to practice love, trust God to bless our efforts and change our heart as part of that.
I don't know if that made any sense.
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