Experience

I recently asked the question about discipline, and I've been thinking about it ever since. In the thinking and  praying, this new train of thought has emerged.  It comes in the form of analogy, and I want you to know that I speak candidly and from a deeply personal perspective as I share this with you.

The thought is centered around this truth: God is always at work around you.  If you do not STOP and think about that, it can easily pass right by without any deeper impact.

 -- God is ALWAYS at work around you. --

If that is true, then where was God at work around you TODAY?

When there is a day that you DON'T see God at work, the only way to interpret that day is, "I must have not seen what God was doing today."  - Never, "God must not have worked today."  And this brings me to the analogy...

All my life my dad has worked on one project after another.  He is always working on something.  One day it is the motorcycle in the garage; the next day it is the gutters.  One week he tackles a project of refinishing the floor in his kitchen, and the next week he is replacing the CV-joint in his 278,000 mile van.  He might be woodworking, or he might be landscaping, but he is always doing something.  On certain occasions, I have joined him on his projects, and EVERY TIME I have walked away with a deeper knowledge base and a new skill-set.

Other times, I have chosen not to work alongside my father.  On those occasions, I look back and realize that I missed out on valuable lessons.  I am not a proficient motorcycle mechanic, I cannot disassemble a clutch assembly, I have never installed gutters, and the list goes on.  My choice to NOT join my dad on his projects did not mean the work didn't get done, but simply that I was not a part of it.

I have missed out on so many valuable lessons and experiences because I never joined in on the work.  I transition back to God's work, and I realize that He is at work around me EVERY DAY, whether I choose to join him or not.