Woah Woah Woah, DON'T Stick to the Status Quo

3/8/16

It is early March and I am currently sitting OUTSIDE of a coffee shop in the suburbs of Milwaukee, WI.  Anyone from the Midwest knows that this is not something that occurs normally.  As I sip on my iced coffee on this lazy, hazy and 65 degrees day I can't help but think one thing; in a couple months, a day like this might feel a little chilly.

We get used to something we have been saturated in for a while.  Weather is the perfect example of this.  A 40-degree day in October feels like I am going to die of frostbite, but on the same, or similar, temperate day in February or March, I'm ready to hit the beach.

The similarity in these two is that they both mess with the status quo.  I know this is the perfect time for a High School Musical reference, but I wasted my one for the month on the title.  When the status quo of our life is shaken it can either be really good or really bad.  65 degree when you’re used to 35 is awesome, but 65 when you are used 85 is a little different.

This happens a lot in our life.  Abnormality is pretty normal...we just don't always notice it.  We get texts sent all day every day, but getting a text from an old friend who you haven't talked to in a while is special.  Getting the "We need to talk" text from a significant other or parent is a little different story.  Both of these shake up the consistency of our inbox, but both send us in completely different realms of emotions.

The biggest problem with the two different status quo bumpers is that we dwell on the negative ones a lot more than the positive ones.  We are more worried about the negative text than we are thankful for the positive one.  We complain about it being cold more than thanking God when it is gorgeous.  We focus in on the negative instead of realizing that in both ways an inconsistency is being added to our life.  We think the good is a part of our normal life, but it is not.

Life is found in the inconsistencies.  If life was linear, it would be very boring.  It is about loving the highs and overcoming the lows.  We catch ourselves in linear motion because it is the easiest place to be.  Riding a bike uphill is much harder than riding a bike on a flat terrain.  Riding a bike downhill is easy and enticing, but what goes down must go up.

The problem with consistency is that we might not be going down, but we are also not going up.
Consistency is effortless. Christ calls us to a life of excellence and life of excellence requires exerting large amounts of effort.  It takes a crazy person to want the harder option than the easy one, but the harder option is the more fulfilling.  Times of consistency are needed for relief or we will be exhausted, but it is unrealistic for our life to stay that way forever.

The norms of life are a choice.  We can choose to live a life of ease and comfort, but the comfort will eventually run out.  When consistency in our life is shaken, we must look at it with perspective.  If we are shaken to a low, we must learn and grow to climb out, God helping of course.  If we are in a high moment, we must enjoy the view and thank the Lord for it, but realize it will not last forever.  All of what Christ gives us in life is for a reason: the good, the bad and the indifferent.