Between yesterday and today I have decided to do something different! I mean routines are so amazing but they can also be dangerous. A danger to our creativity, responding to the Spirit of God, or even a crisis.
We are creatures of habit (good and bad). We do what we have learned and too often only what we like. Every once in awhile we experience the discomfort of doing something out of the ordinary.
I spent the last 11 days (7/12 - 7/23) with family and friends in our home state of Connecticut. CT is not where Ché or I were born or raised but we spent a considerable amount of adulting there and our children were all born in CT. It's the place we got married and took our leap of faith to go back to school. CT is where our parents live and for me wherever family is - that's home.
Home is also where I learned to cope with the destruction after being sexually assaulted. It was the place where I invited food to be what I thought was a friend. Food became a toxic friend. It was only good when it made me feel good. It was exciting and entertaining. When watching a movie I needed to eat. When I was afraid I eventually wanted to eat. If I started eating a particularly clean diet I would reward myself ever so often with food that was not beneficial to my health goals.
During this trip to CT I had the opportunity to do something completely different. I went to the beach in the afternoon and stayed until sunset. For some people that's the norm; you can beat the crowds and find solace on near empty beaches. I had never engaged God's vast, beautiful, wild and ragingly gorgeous ocean so late in the day. It wasn't on my bucket lists I had been compiling, it was not a dare I needed to fulfill. Simply put I spent a couple days with my dear sisterfriend and we decided to head for the beach after 12pm.
My family likes the beach. I grew up going to the beach. But our trips to the beach because of the distance usually started out on or before 10am. We packed lunches, towels, snacks, hats, and extra changes of clothing. But this time it was different my sisterfriend and I left the house with no packed lunch or changes of clothes. Just us, a blanket, 2 towels, our thoughts, and prayers and laughter.
That afternoon and evening I got to see a different side of God and me. I got to see that doing things differently does not always mean it's wrong. This makes me think about relationships and living in community with others. We are so used to doing things, seeing things, and thinking about things our way that anything different we generally believe is wrong!
Today and everyday for the rest of our lives I encourage and challenge us to do something different. Do something that surprises you but doesn't deviate away from God's instruction, plan and vision. The key is knowing what God's plan is for you and trusting that if you go out on the wild side with an approach, concept or practice that you yield yourself to hearing God's voice first. What does God think about this wild idea? What is God saying about this different approach?
God is doing something different with us who obey His instruction and live to please Him all the time. He said we are to be different and to live different.
Check out Romans 12:2 & 1 Peter 2:9 for reference.
Take the risk and do something different! Below are a few ideas.
take a walk at sunrise
drink more water than you do coffee
abstain from eating bread for a week
listen quicker - take your time before speaking
join a group of people for a photoshoot to promote a specific concept or inspiring idea
do your devotion in the evening instead of the morning
go back to school
write a poem
sing out loud
dance in the rain
wear sneakers insted of heels
roll up your sleeves
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