Perfection. Comfort. Ease. Cheese!
I bet you're wondering where I'm going with this, ha! Bear with me a bit here.
Over the past year or so, the church staff & elders have been praying over, revising, and re-articulating our church values (you will be hearing a lot more about them in the coming weeks). Our values are what color everything we do, setting our intention and direction.
All that talk of values led me contemplate, "What are my values?"
If values are the things that are important to me—the characteristics and behaviors that motivate me and guide my decisions—then what would my personal values be, exactly?
I've never put them down on paper and hung them on my wall. But if I did, what would it look like?
When I first began rolling this around in my mind and heart, things like Jesus, God's will, family, excellence, simplicity, and a few more were first to come. It would have been easy to leave it there and pat myself on the back for valuing the right things.
But the Holy Spirit prodded me to dig deeper.
The question became, "Does my life actually reflect what I think or say I value? What do my choices and actions reveal about what I value?"
These questions were a little more uncomfortable to answer.
Yes, in some ways I could see that those good values were truly driving many of my decisions, behaviors, and responses. But more reflection led me to see that I also really value some not so good things. Enter those words from above: perfection, comfort, ease, cheese. Yes, cheese!
Though I may not have intentionally chosen these values or made some pretty word art with them and framed them on my wall, God showed me how these things are more important to me than I'd like to admit.
I've struggled with perfectionism since I was very young. My pursuit (or resistance) of perfection can take up a lot of time and emotional energy, as well affect my relationships negatively.
How I spend my time and approach daily responsibilities frequently reflects a desire for comfort and ease, trying to avoid difficulty or situations that feel uncomfortable.
And cheese… I turn to food (especially cheese in its many delicious forms) far too often for "self-care". Food can occupy way too much of my thinking space!
This wouldn't be the first time God has pointed out these weeds in the garden. It was hard to admit to myself (and now to you) that these things are still influencing my life. But it's a welcome opportunity to recalibrate my heart to what God values.
Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
My daily prayer must continue to be "more Him, less me" so that I can "lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and . . . run with endurance the race that is set before [me]." (Hebrew 12:1)
When was the last time you thought about your personal values? Do you have them written down? What do your actions and decisions say you value? Are they the same?
Join us over the next few Sundays as we explore Grace's values. We're also really excited for fall ministry to be starting back up after a long break! So join us this Sunday morning for the start of Sunday School (kids through adults). See you then!
Juli Dirks
Executive Director of Ministries