This might just be a love affair. I've had many others, you know. They start off as innocent interests and quickly become obsessive. Some people call them hobbies or activities, and if kept in their proper place, that's what they remain. But I think it was in John and Stasi Eldredge's book Captivating that they were coined "little affairs of the heart." That phrase has stuck with me because it rings true.
I enjoy creating things. My hobby used to be ceramics. There is something satisfying about taking gray clay, glazing and firing it, and having something beautiful to use or show for your time and effort. I moved on to making cards. Then came jewelry-making -- sparkly beads and pretty stones. I've also done a short stint with floral arranging and had a little fling with cooking. Some "affairs" lasted longer than others and not all had the same intensity, but they had something in common at times: a tendency to replace my time with God.
Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with a hobby. There's nothing wrong with shopping, surfing the Net, eating, gabbing with friends, sewing, running . . . whatever the interest is. I'm thankful for a way to let the creative juices flow, or for times to just enjoy the life God has given me. But for me when the interest trumps the relationship, I have a problem. When my hobby becomes to me the most important thing, it's no longer a hobby. As a mom, I find it easy to turn to the things that show results, because so much of my work either never stays finished (The Laundry) or is intangible . . . tying heartstrings with my children. But it's these words from Revelation 2:4-5 that cause me to stop, drop and reconsider, "You have forsaken your first love. . . Repent and do the things you did at first."
I enjoy creating things. My hobby used to be ceramics. There is something satisfying about taking gray clay, glazing and firing it, and having something beautiful to use or show for your time and effort. I moved on to making cards. Then came jewelry-making -- sparkly beads and pretty stones. I've also done a short stint with floral arranging and had a little fling with cooking. Some "affairs" lasted longer than others and not all had the same intensity, but they had something in common at times: a tendency to replace my time with God.
Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with a hobby. There's nothing wrong with shopping, surfing the Net, eating, gabbing with friends, sewing, running . . . whatever the interest is. I'm thankful for a way to let the creative juices flow, or for times to just enjoy the life God has given me. But for me when the interest trumps the relationship, I have a problem. When my hobby becomes to me the most important thing, it's no longer a hobby. As a mom, I find it easy to turn to the things that show results, because so much of my work either never stays finished (The Laundry) or is intangible . . . tying heartstrings with my children. But it's these words from Revelation 2:4-5 that cause me to stop, drop and reconsider, "You have forsaken your first love. . . Repent and do the things you did at first."
The lyrics of an Amy Grant song say it this way:
Do you remember the time your heart was moved to tears?
Can you look back on the moment after all these years?
On the moment Love broke through, and Heaven seemed so near . . .
Do you remember the time your heart was moved to tears?
Can you look back on the moment after all these years?
On the moment Love broke through, and Heaven seemed so near . . .
I remember, and when I stop remembering is when the innocence stops and the "little affairs of the heart" begin. How about you?
1 comment:
So true, its the little things that creep in, i keep going back to the drawing board and its like a constant reminder, keep your eyes fixed on him....
my husband were just discussing this, how to juggle work, family, study, God all in one day...and how to order these things we have to do, let alone hobbies and down time enjoyment!
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