Are you willing to get messy?
In the bottomless pit
Photo By: Flickr/Loozrboy
At times, we all fall into a rut with our faith. We go to Mass and know we are just going through the motions. We go to Confession and partake in the Church’s offerings, but we know we are just going through the motions with that, too. We start making excuses for why it’s okay to come to Mass late. We start making excuses for everything we do. During these times, the most difficult thing to do is pray. Trying to take those extra five minutes after Mass to pray is unbearable, if not just torture.
When we’re the ones falling into a rut with our faith, we think we are the only person feeling stuck. The truth is, people in the religious life fall into ruts with their faith, too. I remember hearing a priest give a homily about the first question he was asked as a priest: How was his prayer life? He explained that when you are not praying or just find yourself going through the motions, this is when you are most likely to fall in a rut. The priest also said that even Jesus could have fallen into the rut of just going through the motions with His faith and mission.
For example, how many times did Jesus tell the high priests and tax collectors to stop treating His house disrespectfully before He overturned their tables in the Temple? In John 2:17-18, He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”
These circumstances could have caused Jesus to feel stuck in a rut and not want to follow through with God’s greater plan. I am sure Jesus did not just walk into the Temple once and overturn all the tables. His anger had to be building up over time. Then, after walking into the Temple one too many times, He took action. Instead of allowing Himself to fall into a rut, He did something about it.
We all have those times when we fall into a rut. However, we need to figure out a way to get our zeal back every time we lose our zeal for our faith. We need to find things to bring us back to our love of Christ. It may be something small, like going to Mass at a different church. It may be just praying at different times. Find ways to turn your rut into an opportunity to love Christ with even more of the zeal that originally made you love your faith.
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About the Author
Tess Shore has dedicated her life and career to serving the underprivileged community with Shore Life Coaching. As a motivational speaker and educator, Tess specializes in coaching young adults in building better self-confidence and overcoming body issues. She is a guest speaker for Pathways to Success at her alma mater, helping juniors and seniors find their missions in life. Tess has a courageous commitment to passionately advocate for young adults dealing with issues like bullying and suicidal thoughts. Her work allows her to bring awareness to other young adult issues as well, especially those that come with transitioning into the corporate world. Tess guides her clients in building strong values and leads with zeal, inspiration, and passion. She also volunteers and serves in many capacities in other endeavors.
She can be found at http://shorelifecoaching.wordpress.com where she blogs on various issues on how to live more Christ-like. In her spare time, Tess can be found running and having a zest for life.
