We must be awake

I heard a phrase once (ironically it was probably in a movie) that said " you don't want to just be in love, you want to be in love in a movie." Now the person who said this was telling another person who was in love, but didn't realize it, that they were expecting fireworks and chase scenes and love to be big and dramatic, instead of what it actually is, service, patience, kindness, endurance, more patience and some fun adventures up canyons on picnics, and more service. Because love looked so mundane to this person, they didn't realize they could stop looking for someone new and instead build something amazing with the person they already had in their life.

I totally support this scenario and often see it play out in my own life. Love isn't just canyon adventures or going to the ends of the earth for someone, it's rubbing their feet after you've both had a long day at work, it's cleaning the kitchen so you both have a clean work space the next morning, it's showering so you smell nice for the person you sleep next to and any number of other things you do in the day, not because you have to, but because you want to make things better for another person. It is being willing to hold your tongue in the moment because you know your perspective is skewed and you don't want to hurt the other person, it is being willing to bake things just so your house smells nice and homey for the person you love. It is being willing to overlook the crumbs on the counter and strewn across the floor even though they drive you crazy (because you know you do things that drive them crazy). The entertainment industry seems to glamorize sexual love, when there is a whole world of other types of love that are also necessary to make your relationship a complete one.

These are all true and I know I definitely struggle with them at different times. Yet for me most, my problem is that I want to be in love in an action, end of the world (sort of) thriller. I want the stakes to be high, the spouses to be faithful to one another, even through the terror and mayhem, vanquish the foe, then come back to each other knowing they have made the world a better place for their children and future generations and having the option to receive accolades, but saying no because they know the glory of the world fades. So often my life as a whole feels so mundane, with daily tasks that are done over and over again, with no guts required and no glory imminent. This then tends to make me feel purposeless and a bit pointless. I feel like a life full of exhausted foot rubs is overwhelming in its own way. And waking up every morning to fight the same battle of patience, service and holding ones tongue is just too prosaic to keep going.

Then the Spirit taught me something this week...this is high stakes living, with higher stakes than I could imagine. Waking up every morning to be a responsible human being, to being the best you can be even in the small and simple tasks, of taking a moment to breath before opening your mouth, to sweeping the floor for the fortieth time that day without letting a sigh escape your mouth, to being frugal with your living so that you can give generously to those in need, and to defending yourself against the attacks of the adversary when that mean spirited voice in your head suggests you should be angry or feel self-pity or you should procrastinate or that you deserve something. The thing we don't realize is that fighting this good fight is creating our spiritual character. It is what helps us to become the person that Heavenly Father can rely on to do His work and help His children. As we fight this good fight and reject those nasty voices in our heads (that at times feels so reasonable and fair) we are rejecting the adversary's power in our life and in the world. We are binding his minions and fighting for the light.

The fact of the matter is that we are living in the end times of this earth and we are warriors of the side of light. It is true that often living a life of duty and love does feel mundane, it seems unimportant and sometimes even frustrating, but it is important. The more we show love, patience and kindness the more our nature is changed, the more we feel the presence of the Spirit in our lives and the more light we have to offer others. When we "hold the line", when we hold to the mark of virtue, patience and kindness we allow Christ's love to bloom in this world and prepare the earth for future generations, we literally make a better world for them. Who knew that when we choose perseverance over frustration, when we dispel the nasty voices in our heads, when we embrace the mundane and invite the Spirit to expand us, then we are on a path to an eternal reward that will boggle our minds. We are partakers of the work of the Lord and we are helping to bring to pass His work and glory.

So if as you contemplate this coming week and feel like it will be a repeat of last week and what's really the point, remember the battle is real, that Satan tries to hide Godly character in the mundane and that he doesn't want you to wake up ready to do battle. So take some time to work with the Spirit, discover where your battle is for this week, where you can be a light in darkness, where you can make the life of another better and you go forth and you rock it. This is the time when we can't sleep walk through life, we must be awake and we must be ready to fight for truth and right, no matter what package that truth and right comes in.