my aha moment

I love when things are connected; when you learn about one thing then you find another thing that may seem opposite but really relates perfectly. It's that "aha" moment when everything sort of falls into place and makes perfect sense. This is one of those stories.

I went to church for the first time in way too long last Sunday. I'm sitting there, already overwhelmed by the worship we just had, listening to a sermon about legalism versus freedom; following the rules because you have to versus following the rules because you truly want to. Following the rules (e.g., going to church every Sunday, joining a small group, doing community service) are great things but feeling a true passion for them is necessary; a passion that comes from being fulfilled with Christ. We need to experience freedom from the grace of God, knowing that no matter what we do, He will always accept us. Only then will those other "rules" fall into a place where they can be fruitful, not just for yourself but others.

This hit me hard. I have a deep, unwavering love for Christ but I don't always follow those rules as much as I know I should. (I know I should - there's the legalism coming out.) I felt relieved, but also worried that I wasn't giving back to God what He was giving me.

That next Monday I went to a yoga class. As we were beginning our practice, our instructor was leading a meditation. She was talking about intentions for our practice and how yoga is about learning to "combine effort with ease."

Effort with ease.

That's when it clicked; it was so simple. You work hard at something but, because you are so in love with it, it becomes easy. It won't always be simple and painless but you can stick through those times because the ends justify the means. If you love something, all the effort becomes worth it.

All I need to do is combine effort with ease. Slow down and truly enjoy what I'm doing. Take time to figure out why I'm doing it. I need to learn how to be passionate about Christ again and how to show that passion through my actions. I don't need to be guilty about not following the rules; I need to find a way to make the rules fit my relationship with Christ.

I feel renewed. I feel passionate about so many new things now. I feel ready to move forward. Don't you just love aha moments?