Don't Miss God in the Ordinary
John Eldredge, Spiritual Retreats, and Elevation Church
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There may be spelling / grammar mistakes in my articles that make it through my editing, and that’s on purpose. I’m a recovering perfectionist (who was once VERY hard on himself) and one of the ways I’m learning to be compassionate on myself is by allowing mistakes to just … be.
Friends.
I used to search for Spiritual Experiences.
What do I mean by that?
Well.
When I was in seminary, for instance, I remember going on a “Spiritual Formation Retreat” and having the expectation that THIS would be an absolute MOUNTAINTOP experience that would change my life.
Me.
My class.
Our professor.
… getting away from it all to spend time in silence, prayer, study - learning about God and the Bible and ourselves.
We were like modern day monks!
I remember driving to the retreat center full of hope that THIS would be a moment that would change my life forever and maybe even redefine or solidify my “calling”.
Another time I got on a plane and went to Colorado for a “Wild At Heart” retreat with John Eldredge. Do you remember his books?
… so many; and all of them were a tremendous help to me. I was an avid student of his work as it helped me work through some of my father wounds and introduced me to “inner child work”. And so for my birthday one year my mom and dad surprised me with a ticket to the retreat - they got me the ticket, airfare, the whole 9 yards.
And, man - it was a great experience. I got to meet John, made some new friends (some that I even keep in occasional contact with today!), and came home feeling … different.
Another time when we were getting ready to plant our church I flew down to Charlotte, NC (2 times, actually) and spent time at Elevation Church and with Steven Furtick’s team. I remember feeling like THIS would be a moment that would change the trajectory of my life, my vision, my heart … my everything.
“Surely I’m gonna meet God in THIS place”, I thought.
And.
Honestly?
I did. Elevation Church is a megachurch and (for that) they often get some criticism from people. And, yeah, I get it - it’s a million dollar machine, their pastor lives in a mansion, all justifiable critiques.
BUT.
I also know some things about the behind the scenes world of Elevation and if I had to pick a megachurch to go to, that would be the one - some things on the outside might look questionable, for sure, but they do a lot of things really well and a lot of things right.
Anyways …
I got a tour of all the campuses.
I met all the campus pastors.
I got to ask questions.
They gifted me with stuff that would help me with our church plant.
I got phone numbers.
Email addresses.
AND.
I still keep in contact with some of those pastors, even today - all these years later.
… I came back from those trips feeling like I had clearer vision, more confidence, and a deeper faith in God.
Yeah. As I said at the outset, I used to chase after Spiritual Experiences and mountaintop experiences, always having this idea that I had to step out of the ordinary in order to experience the EXTRAordinary.
But.
These days?
Maybe it’s old age (HA! I’m 44, and that feels old to me!) or maybe it’s being a parent or maybe it’s a mix of those things and a whole lot of other things … but these days I’m realizing that more often than not, God or the Divine or Jesus or whatever isn’t only found in the mountain top experiences, but in the day to day grind of everyday life.
God is found in the middle of the night when Jordan calls for me because she had a bad dream.
God is found in packing her lunch everyday.
God is found in the school drop off and pick up lines.
God is found in the next blank canvas that will soon be filled with color.
God is found in the next podcast conversation.
God is found in the smelly parent room at gymnastics practice where parents are crammed in a small room like sardines watching their kids do cartwheels.
God is found in the quietness of sitting with Dana on the couch at the end of a long day watching whatever show we’re currently obsessing over.
God is found in the “good morning” call from my mom.
God is found in the tears I shed when I think about my dad and how much I miss him.
God is found in the meow of my cat as she follows me around the house begging for treats.
God is found in Billie Joe Armstrong’s guitar solo that gives me goosebumps in “American Idiot”.
God is found in the smell of the freshly cut lawn.
God is found in the sun that sets across the street from our front door every night.
God is found in the crack of the bat as I watch Aaron Judge send another ball over the wall.
God is found in the feeling of wanting to give up.
God is found in the bliss of success.
Yes.
In other words, God is found in all the highs and lows of being human and when we insist that God must be found in mountaintop experiences, I think we’re in danger of missing the extraordinary love and power of God in our (seemingly) ordinary days.
In fact.
I think I’ve experienced God MORE over the last few years of truly aiming to be present in the moments of my seeminly ordinary days than I did in all of my years of church work, Bible College, seminary, and searching for mountaintop experiences.
My friends - if you’re looking for an extraordinary experience with God or the Divine, know that you don’t have to travel to the mountains or Colorado or a Spiritual Retreat Center in New York or a megachurch in Charlotte, NC or any other place for that matter.
Those things might be good.
Those places might be helpful.
BUT.
God is found just as much (maybe even more so) in the seemingly ordinary moments of your beautiful human life.
Much love.
Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO
Indeed, my friend! The simple (or not so) every day things. It has been very freeing to have started learning and seeing that a few years ago.