Comfort Zone

“A comfort zone is a beautiful place but nothing ever grows there.” Sometimes we can become so comfortable with our live and relationships that we become complacent and we stop feeling challenged. We sink into a feeling of familiarity with the people around us and the things we already have and our accomplishments and we settle. We tell ourselves that life is good enough, that we are good enough, that everything is enough and if nothing ever changes we are satisfied.

There is nothing wrong with not wanting more stuff; please don’t get me wrong. In fact, I would love to get rid of some stuff and become more minimalist in my way of life. I have several friends who are missionaries and they give away things every time they come to the States because they know they will acquire more things to take back to Africa when they return. They are much more content with less entanglements and physical hindrances and I envy them the simplistic lifestyle they have truly adopted in their hearts and minds.

What I am talking about in this post, however, is about becoming too comfortable in our mindsets and not feeling that we have been called to do more with the number of days on this earth that we have graciously been given as ambassadors by Our Father to serve others and represent Him. Somehow, we have made it all about us and about acquisitions and we get and do and sit back and say to ourselves, “Yeah, I’m good. I can retire now, get that gold watch, travel and life is alright.” That. Is. Not. All. There. Is.

I salute those of you who have made it out of your career worlds early and can now make your own schedules. My hat is sincerely off to you. However, if you’re not being challenged, something is wrong. Look around you. There is much to be done in your own communities and you are a soldier in the army of the Lord and your number is being called. You can visit seniors in a nursing home or lead a class at an active retirement center. Teach a child to read at one of our very needy local school programs or nonprofits. Teach English as a second language to an adult. Volunteer at a food pantry or shelter. Pack backpacks with food for children to have meals on weekends and during summer months. There is much to do! Challenge yourself and grow in the process. After all, the sin that began in the Garden of Eden resulted in the bloody tears in the Garden of Gethsemane, and here we grow.