{"id":539,"date":"2012-12-07T12:49:08","date_gmt":"2012-12-07T16:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetdavis\/?p=539"},"modified":"2012-12-07T12:49:08","modified_gmt":"2012-12-07T16:49:08","slug":"focusing-curiosity-on-ruts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetdavis\/2012\/12\/focusing-curiosity-on-ruts\/","title":{"rendered":"Focusing curiosity on ruts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u201cSo many factors work against our visionary initiative.It is a human tendency to become stuck and to build ruts.\u201d<\/h4>\n

Isn\u2019t it funny how we tend to sit in the same place every time within a classroom or at church or sometimes even in our own dining room?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I am just finishing up my first semester of teaching as an adjunct professor at the Seminary of the Southwest<\/a> .\u00a0 I\u2019ve had a great time with a small group of nine amazingly brilliant, exceptionally open, motivated learners.\u00a0 Interestingly, for the most part, each student has sat in the same seat or close to it each time we have met.<\/p>\n

I do the same thing.\u00a0 Ever since I began to attend the Episcopal Church almost 15 years ago now, I tend to sit on the far right side about three quaters of the way back.\u00a0 At St. Stephen\u2019s, I sat there because it allowed me a good view of the garden space out the clear paned windows.\u00a0 Now in a very different worship space at St. David\u2019s, I am still in the same place but no longer for the same reason.\u00a0 I realize now that I like to sit there because I can see the backs of the heads of people whose stories I know. Though we are in a larger parish, over time I have had the privilege of hearing many stories of God\u2019s grace at work in the hearts and lives of the people who sit in front of me\u2026 and that \u201chard evidence\u201d of the love of God enhances my worship. I am also in a rut.<\/p>\n

I am always a little leery of ruts.\u00a0 Perhaps it is my inclination toward prophetic gifting.\u00a0 As my friend Mary calls it: \u201cthe gift of sanctified criticism.\u201d<\/p>\n

18\u201cForget the former things;<\/a><\/p>\n

do not dwell on the past.<\/a><\/p>\n

19See, I am doing a new thing!<\/a><\/p>\n

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?<\/a><\/p>\n

I am making a way in the desert<\/a><\/p>\n

and streams in the wasteland.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Though God is always doing a new thing, it seems that the same forces that make me want to sit in the same seat in church, are always at work in the church moving the fresh work of God toward institutionalization (read ruts). In response, God is always sending prophets to remind His people of His ways and to look once more for that fresh work of God. If you want to read an amazing (albeit academic and very dense<\/strong>) book on this pattern, I recommend Walter Brueggemann\u2019s classic Prophetic Imagination<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n

Another reason I am leery of ruts is the story of Lot\u2019s wife.<\/a> This is what I wrote in My Own Worst Enemy<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u00a0Remember Lot\u2019s wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. (Luke 17:32\u201333)<\/em><\/p>\n

Many scholars say that the best commentary we find on Scripture is another portion of Scripture. This New Testament reference to the story of Lot\u2019s wife is a small illustration sandwiched in the middle of a section speaking of the time when the kingdom of God comes suddenly to earth. The message of this illustration is clear: If you try to plant yourself in the past\u2014save your life as you define it now\u2014you will lose it. But if you take this leap, if you let go of your life as it is, as you know it, you will be saved. This is not presented as a nice option but rather an essential element of our faith journey.<\/p>\n

The Christian life is one that we are called to live in forward motion. Sometimes, though, we get stuck in a rut without realizing it. One common way we avoid the transformative, shining life we have been called to live is to become caught in what I call the unimagined life. As wonderfully gifted nurturers, we can get lost in fulfilling the dreams and agendas of others and never even think about what God might have in mind for our particular lives\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. beyond taking care of those we love. We choose to live passively, responsively, without personal vision, investment, or creativity. Or for those who may dare to sense God\u2019s unique calling, it can become a call we never get around to answering. We struggle to find time for our own hopes and dreams, never thinking to take or make the time. As the saying goes, \u201cA woman\u2019s work is never done.\u201d Let\u2019s face it: It\u2019s less risky to operate from someone else\u2019s vision, passion, and plan.<\/p>\n

So many factors work against our visionary initiative. It is a human tendency to become stuck and to build ruts. Understandably, the better the life, the greater the temptation to preserve it as is. Remember the rich young ruler? (Matthew 19:16\u201330). When the flow of our life is good, we want to institutionalize whatever has brought that goodness. We want to turn our living God into a fixed idol.<\/p>\n

\u00a0So, this Advent, I am focusing my gentle curiosity in the direction of the ruts in my own life:<\/p>\n