Too Comfortable?

I am a blue jeans, t-shirt, and running shoes kind of girl. Even as a child, the prospect of dressing up did not appeal to me. It's just never made sense to me - why would someone deliberately choose to wear clothing and footwear that pulls and squishes and needs to be adjusted all day long? Why in the world would I want to go to all that effort, just to see those nice clothes get dirty before I walk out the door?

As a stay-at-home mother, my uniform consists of stretchy yoga pants, tank top, and hooded sweater - socks are optional. For Church, I go to the effort of putting on make-up, styling my hair, and wearing a "nice" pair of jeans. Back when I was a student, I elevated my wardrobe choices as far as corduroy overalls (they were black, therefore considered "dressy"). Even during my brief time in the workforce, I was lucky enough to be in positions where "office casual" was considered dressed-up.

Comfort is important to me.

Every now and then, though, I have cause to be uncomfortable. Christmas parties, special events and the like. For certain occasions, my regular uniform is simply unacceptable. So I primp and preen, iron my clothes, purchase a pair of nylons, and get myself all gussied up. On these occasions, my new look garners a reaction from every. single. person. who knows me.

The compliments of others, and maybe even the look itself, transform me. I stand taller. I hold my tummy in (well, I try to). My shoulders are back. There's a big smile on my face. I'm confident, friendly, social. My feet ache in the heels, I can barely eat for fear of popping the buttons at my waist, I feel the need to obsessively check my lipstick, I am secretly praying that the little hole in my nylons doesn't turn into a giant run for all to see. Yet all of my discomfort fades into the background in light of my "new persona."

Perhaps all my comfort has not been as wonderful as I thought it should be. I realize that, in my comfy sweats, I feel a bit shy...reserved...insecure...sloppy...ugly even. In my comfort it has been easy to let things go. The waistband of sweatpants doesn't tell a person nearly as much about their weight as the waistband of a skirt. Comfort has become so important, that I've forgotten to push myself.

Sometimes, it's good to be uncomfortable - it changes you in ways you would not have expected. It helps you to realize that you were, in fact, stuck.

The same is true of our walk with the Lord. Settling down into a comfortable routine feels good. It feels secure. It feels safe.

But God is far from safe! He's strong and bold and adventurous. (What greater sense of adventure than to lead the Israelites on an exodus from their slave masters, part the sea to allow for their escape, then dramatically allow the sea to close and swallow up the enemy?!)

If we get too "settled" in any relationship, we begin to lose that sense of adventure. Take marriage, for example - get comfortable, feel safe, little by little you forget to do those special things for your spouse, lose the sense of romance, feel "stuck."

If, like me, you are feeling a bit too comfortable in your relationship with the Lord, maybe it's time to change out of those sweat pants. Get dressed up, and try something different. See what God will do in you...in me. Let Him unsettle you from the rut you're stuck in, get a little uncomfortable, and be transformed.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. ~Romans 12:2