Once, in my teenage years, I questioned the validity of a certain leader in our church whose actions did not align with his words. I voiced my concerns to my dad who (wisely) replied, "Well... God used a donkey, so He can certainly use whoever or whatever He wants to get His point across." I'm sure He said this with a certain degree of tongue - in - cheek, but that nugget of truth has never left me. God is God. He uses the weak to defeat the strong. He uses the simple to confound the wise. He used a donkey to speak to a stubborn man and open his spiritual eyes.
I say all this to point out that this one book, based on one woman's effort to strip away the excess from her life, is starting to rock my own life. When I try to explain it to others, my words and explanations always fall short. I only sound like a Christian stuck on the most recent trend, doing crazy things like eating seven foods and wearing seven pieces of clothing. On the surface it doesn't sound like anything that would be groundbreaking, or spirit-lifting, or life-changing. As I describe it to others, it sounds more like a diet or organizing fad than a real spiritual journey.
But that's just it - it IS a spiritual journey. I have studied and reflected more deeply on the Word these past two weeks than I have in the last year (which I partially blame on the bewilderment of new motherhood... but that's really no excuse).
My spirit is raw right now. I can feel myself, my faith being stretched. This simple study is reaching beyond conventional wisdom and my own understanding, and bringing me to my knees. It is not what I am doing, but who I am trying to do it for that is changing my heart. Slowly, but assuredly, He is chipping away the pride and selfishness that I have allowed to encase my heart. It is a painful process; but it is freeing.
-Heather
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