“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” John 15:4
Do you struggle with this teaching?
I really do, even though I believe these three tiny words—”Abide in me”—say all I really need to know about connecting with God. Spirit’s still small voice has been impressing this teaching on me lately in various ways, but when I try to be intentional about getting quiet and thinking about what it means to abide in Christ in the midst of my crazy, busy life, I feel like a puppy or a child squirming in a parent’s lap…all she wants to do is scramble away somewhere and get into some kind of mischief.
If you struggle with this too, I want you to know you’re not alone. It’s challenging to nourish a vibrant spiritual life in the midst of competing attention-grabbers, and I’d love to know how you’ve achieved balance in your life.
The image of the vine is powerful
Years ago, I read a beautiful little book called Secrets Of The Vine by Bruce Wilkerson. In it, the author explored John 15 and its metaphor of Christ as the vine. Grape vines would have been a powerful image for the early followers of Jesus. They would have instantly understood the importance of the vine providing the source of nourishment for the fruit. Without it, there would be no fruit. The grapes would shrivel up and drop off. Wilkerson made the case for how important it is to keep ourselves attached to Christ so we too can be nourished and fruitful.
Yet how does one simply abide in a world of noise and distraction?
If you’ve ever tried to meditate or pray, you know the feeling. All I have to do is tell myself I’m going to quiet my mind for ten minutes to have every crazy distraction flood into my brain and make it seem impossible. The term “monkey brain” is perfect.
“I’ve got to call Mama.”
“I need to write Sarah.”
“If I don’t get the clothes out of the dryer, they’ll be wrinkled.”
“I have to get milk today or we won’t have any for breakfast in the morning.”
“I’ve got to buy a wedding present.”
The phone rings; the dryer end-of-cycle buzzer goes off; I hear a sound outside that needs investigating.
I see you smiling. Admit it…
Abiding does not come easily for me. I just hope God smiles and shakes his head instead of being angry or frustrated with me. If I know He would take such pleasure in my just slowing down and enjoying His presence for awhile, why is it so hard to do?
The scourge of multi-tasking
While I’m on a roll, here’s another true confession: I have a hard time doing just one thing at a time, even though I know better. Far too often it means I don’t do any of the tasks as well as if I’d focus on one at a time.
- When I take a walk, I’m tempted to listen to an audio book while I’m walking instead of using the time to calm my mind and observe the natural world around me.
- When I’m on the phone with someone, it’s hard to stop fiddling with whatever I was doing before the phone rang instead of focusing on the person at the other end of the line.
- When I’m talking to my husband, I find myself glancing at my cell phone or perusing the headlines of the newspaper instead of giving him my full attention.
- Even when I’m reading scripture or my daily devotional, I’m looking for blog content I want to share with you instead of just paying attention and letting the words of scripture seep into my soul.
I refuse to waste energy on self-condemnation
“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1
Okay, I’m not perfect. I get distracted easily. I start new things before I’ve finished old ones. I overcommit. I don’t abide in Christ as firmly or as often as I’d like.
But hear me well: I know who I am and whose I am.
I will ask every day for guidance. I will mentally pick myself up and place myself into God’s lap over and over again, even if I start squirming right away to get out.
And I’m comforted to remember how precious that puppy and baby are when they’re sleeping instead of squirming. I know that God loves me anyway. Thanks be to God!
I had to laugh at “…I see you smiling, admit it” cuz I was indeed smiling in commiseration. It is soooo hard to slow down enough to abide.
It’s nice to know I’m not alone in this struggle, and nicer yet to know He loves me despite my feeble attempts to slow down and be in the moment.
Thanks for another great post, Elizabeth~
[Grinning] Thanks for admitting it! 🙂 And thank you for reading and sharing, Denise. I was telling a friend about your blog this weekend.
I have tried to just be quiet…I can’t do it either. Okay, maybe for a minute – concentrate of my breathing, relaxing…But it doesn’t last long. It helps a bit if I close my eyes. But then noises get to me…the neighbor’s lawn mower starting up, passing traffic, even the birds. About so many projects – you know me too well, Elizabeth, I can’t say I don’t do this. I lack focus so often. There is just so much to do! I hope He forgives me too, and keeps working with me.
Oh, Karen, you do understand! What’s so ironic is the clear guilt we all feel about this even though we’re trying not to. I have no doubt God forgives us for this and many other things. Now what we need to work on is forgiving ourselves!
From the moment I read the title of this post I knew it was one I needed to read pronto. And oh-my-gracious, but you have so perfectly hit all the tangled cords of everyday craziness that keep me from doing this very thing–abiding in what is first and foremost, top of the list, closest to the heart–yet most elusive in the midst of so many things of far lesser importance.
And for Pete’s sake, why is that?! Why so difficult to turn off all these other things for even a few moments in the quest of peace and connection with our creator? Because we’re overachievers? OCD Anal Annie’s? Or is it simply our conviction and deeply held trust that He’ll always be there waiting around should we manage to check in between emails and dryer loads–for just an instant or two until the cell phone rings?
I’ve been long annoyed with myself by the way I too often back-burner Christ for what amounts to nonsense. Leaving Him on hold because I “really need to get “fill in the blank” done first.
While I attend an amazing bible study, teach CCD to 3rd graders on Monday afternoons, am active in my parish–all of these things involve “doing” and not so much “abiding.” And so, my plan–I’m literally training myself to stop, shut-up, and tune-in. Not easy, but doable if we try 5 min, then 10–once or twice a day. We can all spare a handful of quiet space without fear of the house exploding or risk the world ceasing to turn on it’s axis in our momentary absence. With time and patience (both God’s and mine, lol!) I’m thinking this will actually become a painless habit 😀
Love this post, Elizabeth. Beautiful!
Barbara, I adore your wonderful passion and honesty! I knew others shared my experience, but I am touched by the responses to this post. You made me smile in recognition and laugh in sympathetic frustration! But I love your determination to tackle it a tiny bit at a time.
Thank you for this honest and comforting reflection on how clear the message but difficult the doing! Love this!
Thank you, Carol. It has clearly hit a chord with others, and I so appreciate your comment. It will help other readers realize they’re not alone.
Thank you, Elizabeth. Amazing how closely I can relate to this post.
I don’t know whether it’s our generation or if it’s really a sign of the times, but I know many folks I know have shared similar experiences. Thank you for confirming that!