God Vision

I find myself awake again at the wee hours of the night. The quiet snoring of my roommate echoes in the background as my fingers type considerately and carefully, my brain being over-picky about the words I use. I was about to go to bed five minutes ago, and then I realized I hadn't e-mailed my fellow editor the actual article -- only the e-mail that explained about that article. So I jumped out of bed and did that. I was about to curl up in my blankets again when I thought, "Hey, I should write a blog. I'm still awake enough and I have something worth talking about that my readers would find thought-provoking I think." So here's what's on my mind.

Today was Day One of Emily's and my challenge. We're on a week-long challenge that focuses on becoming closer with God. This was today's challenge:

Monday: Make an effort to find God in everything that you do. How can you use your actions for His glory?

Goal: Become more aware of His presence in everyday life.

Trust me, this challenge was a real challenge. Every moment throughout the day, whether it was eating Reeses' Puffs with my legs Indian-crossed on my chair staring at my dirty laptop screen, listening to my professor ramble on and on about a mass communication theory I could care less about, or walking through the chilly dim-lit skyway from the CLC building to Carlson with my roommate, my mind always tuned back to the challenge of the day. How was I finding God in everything I did? Was saying "hello" and holding a simple conversation with every person I interacted with today a reflection of Jesus? Was sitting in the library for two hours researching my communication project giving God glory? Was recruiting potential future leaders for next year honorable in God's eyes? I don't know the answers to these questions. I don't know if I was portraying the right model of Christ. It's not like I was programmed to perform every action and speak every word for His glory; I'm a human and of course I'm going to make mistakes. I'm not a robot. There were several times where my mind wandered off into other topics besides finding God in everything I did. But was I aware of it more than usual? Yes. Did I make an effort to live for God in everything I did? Yes, when it was on my mind. I know I slipped, and there were times when I caught myself saying Why did I just do that? inside my head. Maybe I judged a person, or made a sarcastic remark with no meaningful intention whatsoever; or maybe I ignored someone in the halls who was having a bad day and needed a little encouragement. I don't know. Whether I was aware of it or not, I know I made mistakes. So I think what I learned from the challenge today is that we need to try to have a constant awareness of God's presence. We need to wear the eyes of the Lord, and look through His lenses. Even though we may take them off at times and not even realize it, we need to be reminded, moment by moment, who we are living for and what our purpose is for everything we do. Because it's only worth it if it glorifies the Father.