James 1:22: Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says.

Wow. I’m reading this passage and thinking about what it means. We cannot just listen to the Word. We must do what it says—not just hear it in church, but DO what we hear. We are to carry our Sunday words into our Monday life?

How do you do that? I’m trying, but it isn’t going so well. How do I retrain my brain to give thanks, be patient, love unconditionally when the recycling bin is overflowing unto the floor? When the bills out distance the paychecks? When the cat food can is sitting on the counter drawing flies while the kids dance right by it with their earphones on? It isn’t easy.

God didn’t promise it would be. But He did say He would help and that it would be worth the effort. James gives us the key to getting through it. “Come close to God, and God will come close to you,” (James 4:8). I am not alone in this. I have help. I just have to mosey up to Him and ask. And the more I talk to God, read His guidebook, trust Him, the easier will come thanksgiving, patience, and love.

That I can do. One breath at a time. One mess at a time. One day at a time. Then another, then a week, then a life.