A few months ago, we brought a new family member into our lives. This is Roxie–a now 4-month-old Great Dane pup. And while she looks pretty docile in this photo…looks can be decieving.

Puppies, like children, disrupt everything. When Roxie entered, routines were smashed in a frenzy of jumping, biting, snuggling, and potty breaks. I quickly discovered that her morning zoomies happened to coincide with my daily quiet time. Before Roxie, I meditated on God’s word sitting on a step stool in the kitchen–opening my soul and senses to the presence of the Holy as coffee brewed and the house slowly awakened. After she arrived, I stubbornly attempted to cling white-knuckled to my old routine. This is what I do each morning. This is how I worship God, and nothing is going to change that, no matter how many times a puppy comes crashing through the kitchen.

You can guess how that worked out. A typical beginning to my prayer time would go something like this: God, as I still my thoughts before you…”Roxie! Drop it!!”…As I enter prayer now…”Get off of that chair!”…God, would you open my heart to…”Ow! No bite!! Let go–I said let GO!”

Frustrated at my lack of progress, I decided to do what many people do when change is thrust upon them–I quit. If I couldn’t meet God on my terms, then I decided I just wouldn’t meet him at all.

While completely irrational and contrary to everything I know to be true, my stubborn spirit was unrelenting. It’s like the question the psalmist asks in Psalm 11:3. I justified it to myself by saying, It’s just a season. I’ll pick up where I left off when she’s older. God, however, felt otherwise.

Over the past few weeks, God has been whispering into my soul. His words are simple and logical. He says, “You can find new places and spaces in your life to be with me.”

Yet as a creature of habit, I resist these kinds of messages. While I think change is fine for other people, I really am not interested in practicing it myself. My stool is a venerated object–the kitchen my sacred space–the end. But here’s the thing God is teaching me: Anyplace is sacred once God enters in. Think about where you worship God. Is it really limited to one concrete place? When I’m being honest, I can recognize that I have worshiped God by campfires, in cars, on airplanes, in the shower, at huge events, and in the darkness of my bedroom at night. Experiencing God is not a function of place, but of purpose. And it’s not predicated on what worked in the past, but on where we find ourselves in the present.

While most of us resist it, life is change. Seasons come and go. We grow and evolve. Hopefully we mature. We experience new things that broaden our minds and enhance our understanding. But too often, as people of faith, we tie ourselves to the past and refuse to move forward. There’s comfort and familiarity in the way we’ve always done something–but it’s not realistic or sustainable. We don’t worship a God who lives in the past, but one who is moving and acting and saving in the present. He’s ready and eager to meet us wherever we are. As Psalm 11 continues…

The Lord is always in his holy temple, so we don’t need to get caught up in ideas of place or space. God will meet us wherever we are, in whatever season we’re in, to fill us up so that we can go forth and serve in his name. This week, give thanks for all of the things you loved in the past, including those special places where you encountered God. Then, take a deep breath, and walk with anticipation with God (and maybe a puppy) into the future.

Blessings and Peace

Sara