A Weekday God

It's been a long time since I made much time for God on a weekday.

It was the time our boys both had pneumonia. In midwinter we'd moved in with Sandy's folks, while I tried to rebuild the plumbing system I'd gutted in our home. Ben and Jared were both little and sick and we didn't know what was making them so ill and I was certain I had failed them. So while Sandy adn I waited with them in the hospital for an answer, I prayed. I didnt' need any help discerning spiritual practices. All there was left to do and all I knew how to do was pray - and God felt very near.

But the boys both recovered, we moved back into our home, life went back to normal and God seemed to slip away. Any good relationship takes work, requires an investment of time and attention, and without that investment even those we love most will slowly slip away. That's true with our family and with our friends and even with our God. And there is no doubt that makign time for a deeply personal relationship with God is a problem for many of us at Good Shepherd.

Our last Natural Church Development survey revealed that passionate spirituality is the lowest faith factor within the congregation. It's not that we don't know God or believe in Jesus - it's that many of us don't seem to know how to make our relationship with God very important. Jesus is in our lives somewhere, but way down on the list. We don't spend enough time with him during the week. We're letting him slowly slip away.

God felt very near again during the Capital Campaign - and that makes sense. I haven't prayed that often or that hard since our boys had pneumonia. I've been told by many who attended Tapestry's retreat for women, Pathways to Prayer, that they felt the same way during the retreat. The problem is that we finally come down to earth, move backhome, and life goes back to normal.

A distant God should not be normal. Here's what we're already planning to help you invest time with God:

• a Pre-Superbowl/Fat Sunday Brunch to kick off the old
• an Ash Wednesday service to kick off the new
• Sunday worship to renew your conversation with God
• a Lenten devotional written by your fellow pilgrims, to help you keep that conversation going during the week
• midweek meals and worship in Lent, led by women who attended Pathways to Prayer
• an NCD focus group for your feedback on what helps

Join us in Lent, my friends. Learn how to spend time with God during the week - and see how that weekday Godo transforms your life.

Pastor Jim

"Come to me, all..." Matthew 28:11

From the Shepherd's Song Newsletter -- February 2008
Copyright 2008 by Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

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E-mail your comments and questions to Pastor Jim in care of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church at gslc@sirus.com.