Sacred and Secular....Compartments in your life will steal your joy

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De-compartmentalizing.  It is something I have been pursuing for some time.  In my experience, it's  an invitation to drenching-ly satisfying moments.  I put my toe in this water as often as I can, but I would love to submerge myself and not come out.

Experiencing the Divine through the Ordinary.

Pulling out the dividers and experiencing God's presence and favor in as big a dose while I wash dishes or do homework with my kids as I do  in worship,  Quiet, and his Word. To bring that awareness and that "manna" with me in every moment.

Seeing through normal moments and every day things  "like glass" and finding Resource and Meaning .  (One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, Chapter 7: “Seeing Through the Glass”)

When I slip back into compartmentalizing my normal life from my spirit--(and I live this way far too often) I often think, "What happened to that beautiful dose of Truth I read this morning?  Why am I operating totally opposite, with the Kingdom furthest from my mind?"  -or- I feel a dim, routine, empty feeling wash over me and I feel like I do not have to give what the day requires of me.  

Gary Moon calls it "Home Sick for Eden".  That raw discomfort felt when we get the sense that "I was not created for this...this world is broken and I feel broken".  When we feel stuck in our small, frustrating tasks and routines. 

Dr Moon (1996) invites us to understand that the "Kingdom" as one of the central pieces of our salvation - and our ability to experience eternal life NOW, not just in the sweet-by-and-by. 

We have an invitation to make living in the Kingdom a practice, to operate in God's economy, and feel constant in  the abundant resource within.

In order to do so, we have to reconcile the "Secular" (the regular, the frustrating, the humdrum, the hurt)...with the Sacred.And here is what tuned me back into this ambition today:  In this publication Conversations.  I  pull a must-have nugget out of each issue.  This week it is an article by Trevor Hudson. 

Here are the words:  " Overcoming this split between the sacred and secular has perhaps turned out to be my deepest avenue of joy.  I do not have to pepper my conversation all day long with religious expressions of praise and thanksgiving.  What I can do is enter the present moment fully, live it as deeply as I can, and know God's presence in it."

There is this perspective, this way to live such that the sacred absorbs the secular.  Let that sink in...

The sacred has absorbed the secular

Here's how Charles Spurgeon put it in his sermon “All For Jesus”:

"To a man who lives unto God nothing is secular, everything is sacred. He puts on his workday
garment and it is a vestment (clergy robe) to him. He sits down to his meal and it is a sacrament. He goes forth to his labor, and therein exercises the office of the priesthood.
His breath is incense and his life a sacrifice. He sleeps on the bosom of God, and lives and moves in the divine presence.
The Lord has cleansed your houses, he has cleansed your bed chambers, your tables, your shops, he has made the bells upon your horses holiness to the Lord, he has made the common pots and pans of your kitchens to be as the bowls before the altar, if you know what you are and live according to your high calling. You housemaids, you cooks, you nurses, you ploughmen, you housewives, you traders, you sailors, your labor is holy if you serve the Lord Christ in it, by living unto him as you ought to live. The sacred has absorbed the secular."

I am constantly working on the "how to" of this soul stirring invitation. I want to fill your pocket with some ideas to equip you with this pursuit too.  I have more thoughts, more fuel to share.  I don't want to overwhelm you with a too-long-blog (I probably already have!). So, if you permit it, I will continue this theme in my next blog.  If you need a sneak peek, reach out to me.  We can work on this together as soon as you are ready. I want the fullest, richest, most meaning-filled life for you.  Moment by moment.

I am your fellow pilgrim in this pursuit, what a blessing!

Hudson, T. (2014). Journey into Joy.  Conversations, 12.1, 20-23.
Moon, G. (1996). Homesick for Eden. LifeSpring Resources, Franklin, GA.
Voskamp, A. (2010)  One Thousand Gifts.  Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan


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