On Sunday, Sten said these words:  “The way of Jesus isn’t always the easy way, but we follow it anyway.” 
I thought maybe if we could keep reminding ourselves how very ordinary the way of Jesus is, we could make things less hard for our worn out selves.  (Here’s hoping.)

In December last year, I got tired (again) of how I wasn’t doing things well.  Heck, 2020 had us tired anyway.  I hadn’t derailed myself, sure, but Joy wasn’t my finest feature, either.  I wanted more.  Knew I could have more if I’d pare back down to basic Jesus things.

So I tracked down a different version of the Bible at the Goodwill in Hudson.  Maybe a  different flavor would spur me on to consistency.  I found one easily (of course).   It had maybe been owned by a grandma-sort: it was Lutheran hymnal green & had Bible verse references scrawled on the inside cover in spidery cursive.  It cost 99 cents.

I started reading.  No fireworks exploded over my head.  It was a One Year Bible, so I tried to read every day.  I forgot over New Year’s & had to catch up a whole week.  I didn’t know if I’d be able to.  (I am not kidding about this.)

As I read I thought, wouldn’t it be cool if each year I used a different color?  That would be super cool for my kids to pick up & page through after I am dead.  (Is that a regular thought?  Idk.).

Blue for the end of 2020, green for 2021, maybe purple for 2022.  Pinteresting.

Yah, no.  I am not that girl.  (But Jesus bless you if you are.  I would really like to see your pins).

Exactly nothing is fancy about my Bible reading plan.  In fact, nothing is fancy about spiritual practices of any kind, at all, ever.  Jesus kept things pretty simple for us.  Humans are simple folks.  After remote controls & the internet, we can only handle so much. 

This morning Mari saw me with my Bible, took my extra thin sharpie out of my hand & drew a chick on the page beside John 7.  She really wants to get chicks.  She sees me writing things in the margin, drawing a star sometimes, so she does, too. 
Extremely ordinary.  Pen, paper, small child, tiny scrawl. Paper, pen, Jesus, me.  Back to small things.

Nothing is hard about Jesus, even if following Him sometimes is.  It’s still a dirt path through the wilderness. 

We will walk, follow, trip, veer sometimes.  But what’s important is that we start reading again on January 2nd.  Get back up, brush off the dirt, lift your chin. 

It’s okay; there is no behind.  Just keep walking. Walk the very ordinary path of life with Jesus in only this day, that’s all.

Just, with the Love of God, keep walking.