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Devotional Journey--Day 13

It's not often that I laugh out loud in the opener of a devotional. But Angie had me laughing. I mean, isn't her image of the "ideal" Christian woman dead on? The coffee. The nook. The light streaming in. It's the way I imagine it should be too.

But like Angie, it's not at all the way my life looks. Frankly, I've found much of my spiritual formation has come out of the crazy and the chaotic - and not quite the peace and tranquil. Which is not to say my spirit has been formed a better way because of it. It's just the way my life is right now.

Perhaps one day my life will permit that that coffee in the nook with the light and the book. Sounds good, actually. Though I'll probably never be convinced that it is any kind of formula for a good Christian "walk," as we like to say. And I believe this because of what Jesus says in John 15: 1-8 (the suggested Scripture reading for today). Specifically, I love verse 4, where he says, "Remain in me, and I will remain in you."

I love it because remaining doesn't imply a 20-minute sit-down. It's a constant thing - and yet encouraging and comforting. While clearly taking time to read Scriptures is essential (verse 7 talks about his "words" remaining in us too!), to remain in Jesus means that we're with him in the peace and in the crazy of our lives. That we turn to him and talk to him and listen to him throughout our days. That we're with him alone in breakfast nooks or when we're packed together on the subway or - say - feeling cold-bound and cabin-feverish with a house full of small crabby children as I am now.

What about you? What does remaining in Jesus mean to you?

January17, 2009 at 8:00 AM

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