Also . . . add to your faith . . . —2 Peter 1:5
One of the “gems” I picked up this weekend was this. There is no growth on the mountain top. Growth and life is in the valleys. It’s a hard truth. Think of the mountain tops, they have exciting views and the exhilaration of being “above it all” but there is little plant or animal life or fertile soil. All that’s down in the valley.
The days after a Kairos weekend are filled with prayer for the residents and the team as the valley of every day life becomes real. We must take the spiritual high and turn it into a new day-by-day life. This is not automatic. We have God’s help, of course, but something from us is required.
What we are really trying to grow in the valley is our character. No one is born either naturally or supernaturally with character; it must be developed. Nor are we born with habits— we have to form godly habits on the basis of the new life God has placed within us. This consists of doing the things we should and ceasing to do the things we shouldn’t. It is said that if an act is repeated, or abandoned, for thirty days, then a new habit is formed. If we change our diet, or turn away from cigarettes, or give up gossip for thirty days, we should have formed a new habit. Not to say that temptations to return to the old way will disappear, but we should be operating in a “new normal.”
The retreat experience is great. It is incredible to have four days devoted to God, his service and observation of his work. It’s a great spiritual fix. We all have those times when there are no flashes of light and no apparent thrill to life, where we experience nothing but the daily routine with its common everyday tasks. The routine of life is actually God’s way of saving us between our times of great inspiration which come from Him. Don’t always expect God to give you His thrilling moments, but learn to live in those common times of the drudgery of life by the power of God.
Press on and Be blessed.
Nick
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