There are, to be sure, moments of high drama in the
work of holy obedience:
marches to be made,
confrontations to be staged,
dangers to be endured,
corruption to be exposed,
trips made to distant and unfamiliar places,
maybe even jail cells to be filled.
On rare occasions, the whole world is watching.
Much more often, the storyline of faith is lived without
notoriety, is forged without fanfare:
in familiar places,
in small acts of courage against petty tyrants,
with commonplace forbearance in the midst
of garden-variety stress.
Much more often:
with family and friends and neighbors,
in traffic lanes and grocery store lines,
with tired children and anxious partners.
Even—Can you believe this!—even in church.
Even more often:
with yourself.
To be sure, dragons need to be slain. Much more often,
though,
gardens need to be groomed.
©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Inspired by Galatians 5:19-26.