Life is Swiss Cheese

HaHA... now you have to keep reading. :P

Everyone's spiritual walk is different, but we have a few things in common. One is that we experience a semi-regular series of ups, downs, and funny-shaped divits.
It's normal. But it's hard.

Especially since you never know where the dips are, when they'll come, how long they'll last, how deep, ect. If all the dips were the same, it would be like walking on a comb. But it's not; it's a block of Swiss cheese.

This analogy is already breaking down (as all analogies eventually do) so I'll drop it and get another one.

I'm a rather tall. People sometimes point this out to me, usually trying to give a compliment, but when I was younger (and really tall for my age) I didn't really like being tall. Particularly when a few well-meaning people would tell me to stand back-to-back with a friend or another girl my age and then observe going, "Wo-oah.... you are really tall."

My growing went in spurts. Grow, stop, grow a little more, stop again. But I never got any shorter.

Hold that thought a second, while I give you a Bible verse and then get to the point. ;)

"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

Anything else in all creation. That includes ourselves, you know. :)

Our walk with Christ takes us along a Swiss cheese road full of unpredictable pot-holes. Selfishness, temptation, impatience, pride, anger, depression, indifference, doubt, and frustration can and will jump you from behind, clobber you and leave you in a spiritual funk for who knows how long.

When that happens, the first thing to enter my head is, "How did I let this happen again? I thought I was better than this. I thought I'd grown."

Is it my fault that I neglect time with God, lose my temper, fill my head with wrong thoughts, doubt His Word, ect? Why, yes it is. But getting so down about it will only make it worse. So how do you go about having "joy" when your heart's in a "dip"?

Nothing in all creation can separate us from God's love. Nothing, no one, never.

Knowing that, is it possible to fall away from God? Yeah, I think the Bible makes that pretty clear.
But if we want to come back, is He suddenly going to slam the door and turn on the neon "CLOSED" sign?

His love is stable. Open always. He, Himself, remains forever unchanged, with a deep love for us that's so intense and insane, we could never wrap our heads around it.

That's why, in Philippians 4:6, He said not to be anxious about anything. Sheesh, anything? What about my relationship with Him? If I don't worry about anything else, I should at least worry about that, that's the most important thing!

First off, no. He said not to, so no. Don't you love how simple that is? :D

Second, we'll never get any shorter. God's forgiveness and mercy are so great that, even when we've fallen completely, He can pick us back up and (with time, prayer, and yeah, probably some pain) get us back to where we used to be, before the dip.

He didn't make it complicated. Seek Him first and He gives you your heart's desire (which, of course means that if you seek Him first, He is your heart's desire).

Neither Height nor Depth. No matter how high you were before you fell, no matter how deep the ditch you fell into, nothing will ever separate you from His love or take His Holy Spirit from your heart.

Can you fall away from Him completely? Yes. But that's a choice you make. So if what you truly desire is Him (which, if your miserable without Him, you probably do) you'll never, ever, ever, ever, EVER be separate from Him.

Isn't that just the most amazing promise ever? :)

Hmm... now I want cheese.
:P