I love my husband! As I am writing this he is on his hands and knees, painstakingly plucking out, one by one, each clump of crabgrass we have in our front lawn...
My husband: who to my knowledge hasn't picked up a broom in the last 23 years ( and counting)... Isn't it wonderful- the division of labor! I wouldn't know a clump of crabgrass from the normal, not so crabby, good natured grass if say, it were smack dab it the middle of my kitchen floor. The only thing I would know for absolute certain is that my husband wouldn't sweep it up!!;)
That would be my job. Yes, my broom and I have been faithful to one another over the course of my marriage, and we had a long courtship before that, at the urging of my mother who also believed in the whole division of labor thing. So the broom and I have been doing our dance for as long as I can remember!
Here she is! I keep her handy during the heavy shedding season....
Nevertheless, every now and then I like to shake things up a bit. I "forget" to do the dishes and go out and mow the lawn. Lately, we have been doing alot of these role reversals since my husband has retired and I am now the only one going out to work in the morning (fun, fun). He ends up making the bed and I take the car in for an oil change. It's kinda fun!
The whole reason I bring all of this up is to make a point:
That sometimes we get stuck in the notion of what it means to be something... like what it means to be a wife or a friend or a Catholic or a Christian. We limit our roles and get stuck in a routine.
As followers of Christ, we can get comfortable with our worship style and barely even notice when the people or scenery change around us or most tragically of all...that we are truly in the presence and consuming the very Body and Blood of our Precious Lord.
The sad truth is that we end up taking every beautiful piece of our faith for granted, every gift that God gives us with a sense of expectation or apathy. God gave us our divisions of labor and our gifts for a reason... to build up His Kingdom, each other and ourselves. Sometimes, in order to make the best use of our gifts and HIs gift of HImself to us...we have to SHAKE IT UP, change the order, trade places, and let the Holy Spirit throw us a "change up" once in a while.
This happened for me this week when I traveled to Philadelphia for the Catholic Writer's Conference
Suffice it to say that getting away was a very good thing and I learned once again that Jesus NEVER FAILS TO MEET US JUST WHERE WE ARE.
Just like Peter, I had to step out of the boat ( and the daily roles of my life). I hadn't realized how close I was to sinking and drowning in the abyss of my apathy. Yet, there was Jesus to renew me again. To pick me up and urge me on with his faithful words : do not be afraid!
He'll do the same for you. Just ask.