A NASA Project

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.”   2 Thessalonians 3:16 NIV

 

We bought our house fourteen years ago.  It was a fixer upper.  And we’ve been doing nothing but, ever since!

 

On the day we moved in, I looked around at the extra property and dreamed of a grand vegetable garden and a small grove of fruit trees.  I wanted to provide our family with good, quality, and fresh produce right from our own land.

 

Flash to fourteen years later—not a stick of a fruit tree or root of a vegetable can be found anywhere on our property.  Oh, I tried. Each and every year when Spring would hit, I would steady myself and announce to the family that it would be the year of the garden.  Nothing.

 

But this year…this year it has happened!  This year, my husband begrudgingly agreed to help.  My plan was put into motion.  My mental diagram of the layout was leaving my brain and now coming into reality.

 

Sort of.

 

–Somewhere in the month of March, we started.  We positioned the railroad ties and charged a new line for our water source.

–Somewhere in the month of April, we started tilling the hard packed dirt, acquired chicken wire and topsoil.

–And here in the month of May—I just got home from the grocery store with fruits and vegetables most likely picked a month ago in some other country.  Ugh!

 

I can’t begin to tell you how many hodgepodge weekends we have spent putting that darn thing together. We have spent way too much money and way too much time on it all.  My husband aptly gave his opinion, “this has turned into a NASA project!”

 

He is sooooo right.

nasa_edited-2

garden prep

And I thought of how I do the same with God.  Maybe you’ve done it, too?

 

We have made God a NASA project!

 

Let’s be honest…haven’t we?

 

What I mean is we set all these things into place to be faith walkers and believers.  We stress ourselves out with the need to read devotionals, write in journals, do service projects, listen to recordings, or… (fill in the blank). And when we don’t, the guilt inevitably sets in, and in turn we pile more on to make up for the first.

 

And we forget God was God before all of that stuff.  God was God before paper.  He was God before ink and pens, and electricity, and radios, and so on and so on.  Yet we have made following Him, into a NASA project.

 

If our choice to be a follower of Jesus stresses us out to the point of avoiding the decision altogether, than we have something backwards.  We have put the efforts before the belief. We have put the labor, higher than the Creator.  I have done this too many times in my life and I am wondering if you have too?

 

God calls us to just be with Him. He doesn’t tell us to fill up our mornings with devotionals.  He doesn’t tell us to follow the latest pastor on the radio.  And He certainly doesn’t tell us to work so hard at it all, that we forget the reason. Those are all great in their place and time, but it is not what God has told us should be our priority.

 

What He has said, is:

 

“Take my yoke upon you…you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:29-30 NIV (added emphasis)

 

Sure gives us a clear picture of what God’s intention of our faith should be—Easy.

 

If you have tendencies like me, let’s avoid making God a project. Let’s stop being modern day Christians of busyness in our faith, and let’s get back to our roots by remembering it is the relationship He wants with His children—not the routine.

 

If today is one of those days you find yourself staying away from Jesus because of all the routines you can’t do, put that aside. Simply seek Him with your heart and tell Him you know you are His.  That will be sweeter to God than any devotional you will ever read.

 

 

 

 

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