Sacred Ground Ministries

I brush my teeth twice a day and floss nearly every day.

I read several pages of a book almost every night before bed.

I take Hemingway for a walk almost every evening after dinner.

What do these unrelated things have in common? They’re habits. I will admit that they are of the trivial and basic variety but we would all agree they are essential and good. Of course, I also have plenty of bad habits like letting half of my cup of coffee go cold and leaving half empty mugs throughout the house. I also bite my nails. I watch too much TV.

I also have habits that have not been formed yet but remain wishful thinking. Perhaps this list is the longest. These are the things I daydream about accomplishing but never put it in the effort to establish as a habit. We’ve all heard that it takes 21 days to form a habit. I suspect it’s even longer for those things that are not daily activites but weekly or monthly. A few of things floating around in my heart and mind are:

A regular writing schedule

Going to an exercise class 3 days a week

Practicing piano more regularly

Getting into a regular rhythm of hospitality

Some of these things are hopefully forthcoming and things I am actively pursuing.  However, none of them alone hold the promise of life. They are good, yes, maybe even very good, but they are not the linchpin of my ultimate good. They are not the defining factor of a life well-lived. No matter how nice any of those things above may be, they alone or in combination will not at the end of my life have the power to declare me righteous.

In our Rachel Hollis, productivity calendar, goal sheet planner, hyper-achievement driven culture, meeting goals and creating helpful habits seem to be the key to fulfillment and wholeness. The problem I found in this mentality is that it literally wears me out. It’s exhausting. Granted, there is nothing inherently wrong with setting goals or challenging yourself. That would be absurd to say. Putting deposits in our future health and personal development is a worthy endeavor. I’m cheering you on as you take that next step in your education or in your mental health or in your finances and I hope you are for me too. I wonder though, if we have bought into this so fully that we really believe contentment is only one goal being met away.

“When I finally get to my goal weight then I’ll be happier.”

”When our debt is paid down then this anxiety will go away.”

”When I drink a gallon of water every day then my body will be healthy.”

”I just need to get on a routine then I’ll sleep better.”

I have said literally every single one of those things. And have tried pursuing them believing in their magical properties with my whole intellect and heart. Crushing these goals will help solve the root of my problem and all will be well if I can only just clench my fists, grit my teeth and go workout, make a budget, or drink water like my life depended on it. But it has never really worked for me. And I’ll tell you the reason. I can’t keep all the plates spinning. As soon as one area is going well, something else now needs my attention. There’s a lot in life that demands maintenance and placing my peace and joy in the shaky and unreliable hands of beauty, fitness, or relationships is a fickle place to be. What I have found is that building my life on the rock of God’s word and His character is the most solid place I can be. The words of Jesus our Lord and teacher offer guidance here. He says in Matthew 7:24-27:

²⁴ “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

What I have found is that reading God’s word daily has caused new grooves to develop in my soul. It has grounded me to God and to who I am, who I really am under all of the goals and turning tides of culture. Now, before you consider this entire post trite or even legalistic, I want you to know that this is what I’ve experienced. This is not something I’m thinking about trying that I’m hoping will really work for me but rather something I began months ago that has borne and sustained fruit in my life like no other quasi self-help regimen has or can.

I’m sure you remember your Sunday school teacher or youth group leader or that old saint in your church who would swear that reading the Bible is their source of wisdom and joy. And if you’re like me, I’m sure you also remember how you would try that for a few days or weeks at a time and not really follow through, chalking the abandoning of your mission up as the Bible’s fault for being too difficult to understand or not having enough time. I, too, reasoned away my halfhearted commitment to reading Scripture.

Until January. My dear pastor husband led our church to do a Bible through a year reading plan. And as his wife, am I really going to say no? So I began in January reading 4 passages of Scripture a day and let me tell you, it was a challenge. It seemed like the 15 minutes it would take me to read my passages and pray for all of 30 seconds lasted hours. The only reason I made it past the first few weeks was peer pressure (the good kind) and a decision to do so propelled by the hope that this would actually lead to something good. And what do you know, the saints of the church were right. There is power and beauty in the word of God.

It is the best thing that I do everyday, the best part of who I am. It is what has allowed me to say all things are well with my soul, that who I am is well with my soul because I am beloved. It drowns out the voice of the world, the voice of the accuser, and even my own stubborn voice insisting on my own way. What began as duty has become delight. It has served as “a lamp shining in a dark place” as Peter says in his second epistle (1:19). It shines in the dark places of my soul and the world I live in. After all, in the words of one of my favorite women,

“It is God to whom and with whom we travel, and while he is the end of our journey, he is also at every stopping place.” -Elisabeth Elliot

With encouragement to you,