We're in HOT Water

So, one of our big gripes about our house was our hot water heater and how we didn't have enough hot water.  We had to strategically plan our Sunday mornings so we could all get showered and out of the house on time. I couldn't run the dishwasher and shower at the same time for fear of no hot water,etc...you feel my pain? Right?!!  So, we went on like this for 6 months.  It wasn't awful, it was just a little inconvenient.  Well, after Christmas, the breaker was getting flipped by the hot water heater and we were sure we were going to have to replace the whole thing because, let's face it, it was not working at full potential....or so we thought.  Thankfully, my husband is frugal enough to do some research before replacing the whole heater.  He found out that we could by a new heating element for $30 and if that solved it great, if not, then a new hot water heater was in the future. Thankfully, with the long distance help of Don, Levi installed the new heating element and it worked.  We had hot water and I mean HOT water.  So hot that it's almost too hot and I love hot showers and baths.  We forgot how nice it was to have unlimited (almost) hot water.  We had gotten okay with the way it was.

So, that got me thinking....how often do we as Christians or even just as people, go along with things being just okay?  How often do we just coast along because things aren't awful?  How long do we fail to cultivate an active spiritual life with Christ because we're doing pretty good on our own and there's no present crisis?  How long do we avoid difficult, confrontational conversations with our spouse because we know that if we go there, there could be a major fallout even though the end product could be a much healthier relationship?   How long do we turn a blind eye to a negative behavior of our child because if we actually acknowledge it, we actually have to parent and deal with it?

I wonder if we actually:

• got in the Word of God on a daily basis and made that and our prayer time just as important as other time sucking behaviors (I'll let you fill in your time suck of choice- mine was Facebook),  if we would find that our minds, hearts, and souls were refreshed and renewed.  I think we would yearn for that time and we would see our lives change in such a positive way.
• talked about the "elephants" in the closet with our spouse/significant other before they turned into the huge issues that we create them to be, if we wouldn't find the intimacy that our hearts long for with our spouse and a more joyful home.
• tuned into our kids and got to the heart of their behaviors and dealt with them consistently and compassionately if we wouldn't see them develop into the responsible, kind, and caring people we know they were created to be.  I think we would also have a lot more fun!

I don't know but I think it's worth a shot.  I know that for me, it's easy to get into a rut...even if it's a good, well meaning rut, it's still a rut.  I get focused on doing all the right things and following all the right rules and I lose sight of the meaning and purpose of what I'm really hear for.   I've got to get back to being intentional about my time in devotions, my time with my husband, my time with my kids.  It goes by so fast.  I don't want to just coast...I want to soar.  I want to make a difference and I want to be effective in all I do, not just complacent about it.