Stairs

This morning as is habit, when I walked into the office building, I went straight for the stairs. I have made an intentional decision all the years I have worked here to take the stairs instead of the elevator. I work on the second floor for crying out loud! Now that I’m carrying this heavy load a.k.a baby #2, the stairs have become quite the challenge. I’m out of breath every single time I get to the top! I notice that many of my co-workers always take the elevator and they were wondering why I’m insisting on taking the stairs, especially now. 

To be honest, I’m not sure that taking stairs contributes much to my “exercise” or lack thereof. However this morning, I was thinking about how tempting it is to take the easy way out in many aspects of our lives.  How many times do we compromise things in our life, we forgo a bit of patience, a few seconds or minutes that could “exercise” our being. How many times do we turn on the TV for hours when tired or frustrated or bored, yet we can’t get 10 minutes to read the Bible, how many times do we eat way too many cookies at work for every occasion which seems like way too many, how many friends did we not call because we are too busy? We could have numerous excuses for why we did not take the time to do  small things that could increasingly have a big impact. 

See, when you are used to taking the stairs up a couple floors, when it comes to taking them up let’s say six floors, it doesn’t seem that daunting of a task. Sometimes over lunch hour I will take stairs to the ninth floor just because I want to challenge myself, see how in shape I am. LOL. I am secretly hoping that it’s toning my legs. I have surprised myself that I have been able to keep taking stairs in my late pregnancy but if I hadn’t started before the baby, there is no way this would be possible.

I’m not beating on people who take elevators but this morning as I was finishing that last weary stair this analogy came to me. It has taken deliberate thought just like many good things in our life need to. Sometimes we are floating through life, just doing what others are doing, or taking the easier path. Maybe our life with God is like that, we don’t pay attention to how we are not obeying his word and soon enough we become comfortable in taking the elevator. We don’t do quiet time or prayer time, our time with him is elevator type of life-short and hurried. We need to build spiritual muscles when it comes to our relationship with God. Take deliberate steps to read his word, while it would appear that we are too busy to do this, making time will have a lasting impact on our day, our life and the life of those around us.

Let us take some spiritual stairs today, take the time to contemplate God’s word. I believe God wants us to walk this journey one stair at a time, while he guides us and molds us to reach to the height that he has prepared for us. We can’t press buttons into growing with God, but we can take the time to learn and listen and grow. 

I’m so challenged to be more deliberate in my life because I’m guilty of this many times. I want things to happen by pressing a few buttons:  awesome marriage, awesome friends, awesome kids, done…but I know more than anything God wants to grow me, so I’m surrendering to his will and asking him to help me choose wisely what I do with my time and talents, to be deliberate in seeking his will and serving him and others.