What's the Matter with What Matters

Wake up, take a shower, get dressed, go to school, eat lunch, more school, come home, watch TV, think about doing homework, check facebook, actually do homework, check facebook again, go to bed... wake up, take a shower, get dressed...

Life seems to be getting pretty predictable. I was watching 'Castle' last night on my DVR. The episode was about a man who was shooting people because God had been blessing them (aka: they were successful in their jobs) and he felt he had been cursed. He would figure out these people's routine or schedule and then wait for them in a distant building to walk into his cross-hairs.

Now I'm not suggesting that living predictably is going to get you killed - at least not literally.

When you think about the story of your life, do you think about the times that you did the same thing that you did the day before? Do you think about the fifth time that you beat Halo 3? Or, do you think about the times that something was different... meaningful? The time that you got pushed into a situation that was outside of your control? The time that you chose to do something that mattered for other people?

A year ago I found myself living the same routine over and over, and it was killing me. I needed change! I needed meaning! I needed to examine my life and start focusing on the things that mattered because my life-story had gotten pretty boring.

The outcome... I now have dozens of new mini-stories that are forever in the larger story God is writing for me: snorkeling with sea turtles in Hawaii, playing with a puppy on an airplane, teaching a few guys how to read their Bible, dancing and celebrating with friends at weddings.

I now look for opportunities every day to step outside of the mundane routines of my life and step into the things that matter most to God. My eyes are open to the story God is setting before me and I am learning how to serve better, love better, be a better friend, a better husband... but more than those, I am learning to be a better man of God.

"Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil" - Ephesians 5:14-16

Wake up from your sleep, from that boring and dull life, and open your eyes to the story God is placing before you.