It's Supposed to be Hard

Have you ever seen the movie "A League of Their Own"? Ok, it's not a nice, Christian movie, but it has some great movie lines in it. It's the story of the Women's Baseball League, that took over the game during World War 2. The best player on the team is about to go home, because her husband has returned from the war, and when Jimmy (the coach), asks her why, she said, "It just got too hard". And this is his answer. You have to hear Tom Hanks say it to really get the impact, but I love this line.

Jimmy Dugan: It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great.

You know, our lives as Christians are supposed to be hard. If we can live with the hard for just a while, we can spend eternity in the “great”. One of the biggest things that bug me is when the choir complains about how much work it is to do Christmas musicals and Easter musicals. (whining) “I’m just too busy. I don’t have time to memorize and come to extra rehearsals.” Or, "I can't teach", or "Serve" or...well...you fill in the blank.

But in view of everything God did for us, in view of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, how can we complain about anything being hard? We have it easy when you think of things that way. It’s the hard that makes the Christian life worth living, that separates us from the rest of the world. And not to take pride in that separateness for the sake of being separate, but to strive for holiness in response to what God has done for us, in response to the cross. It’s the hard that makes it great.

Why would God whisper to me?

Well, I don't know the answer to that question, other than I think God whispers to all of us. It's that "still, small voice" that is there during our quiet times. Sometimes, it is a shout, but most of the time, it is just a whisper.

The trick is in knowing how to listen for it. God whispers to me most often on my drive to work. That's when most of my God Whispers are born. I promised myself, when I first started, that I would never try to force them. That I would never send an email just because I needed to send one, or I thought there was a specific message someone needed to hear, or because it had been a long time since I had sent one out, but that it would truly be a whisper from God.

When I hit that send button, I always hold my breath, and say a quick prayer. I never know who will be affected by that whisper. I only know that I must be faithful to send it.

When I saw Stephanie Cherry's blog, and saw that another friend also had one, I decided to give God's Whispers a new venue. Thus...the purpose of this blog. Well, that's the main purpose anyway. Who knows what else this will birth.

I hope you enjoy my humble ramblings.