Life's flow

Over the next two months our church is going to be studying a book called Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero. His view is that "it's impossible to be spiritually mature, while remaining emotionally immature." There will be several small home groups working on it and the sermons will, indirectly, deal with it.

One of the things this book states is that we need to balance our life between contemplation (being with God) and activity. Most of us are high on activity but very low on contemplation.

As I meditated on this, I struggled, wondering how much time I spent doing frenetic activity, especially the writing about mental health issues and trying to spread the Living Room concept, sometimes forgetting why I was doing it. Sometimes I get so caught up in the busyness of it all and forget the people I'm doing it for.

I concluded that my life needs flow out of love - love for God, for people, and for myself as well. This kind of love was Christ's major commandment. If more of my activity was permeated with this, I would be fulfilling God's purposes. I would be doing it all for the right reason. I would be living in God's presence.

I've slowed down on my mental health work - needed to in order to make room for Christmas in my life. Besides, I was struggling with mild bouts of depression. Now I've been feeling guilty that I'm not following through on some of this work. But I feel I need some rest, I feel I need to be prompted by the right reasons. I will know when it's time to get busy on it again. I'll have that urge that tells me action needs to be taken - action that can't wait. Then I will obey the call.

In the meantime I will obey what I currently feel called to do: clean up a messy room in my house and make a studio out of it for myself - a place to play. I will also spend time being with the people I love. My life needs to flow out of love.