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Of Klutzes

             Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:1-2)

This is part of a passage I’m memorizing, and I can generally quote these two verses without difficulty. But today, two similar images come to mind.  One is my own experience, and the other gets talked about online a fair amount. I cannot tell you how many times I have tried to put something somewhere only to have it fall, flip, or otherwise end up somewhere I didn’t want it to be. I pick it back up and try again, and sometimes I must set it in place three or four times, usually chiding myself for being clumsy. The other image is that of a cat, which – if the memes are to be believed, cannot seem to tolerate anything on any surface if the cat can nudge it off.

To make it more challenging, the passage doesn’t refer to one thing that we’re to set, but two. And we’re to set them “on things above.” At the very least, this means “over our heads.” We can’t see all of what’s on that shelf. Sure, there’s a teapot visible, but is the section next to the teapot flat? Is there enough room? We may not have a chair or step stool, so setting anything on that shelf requires stretching. And what if there is some “feline” on that shelf, determined to knock them down?

The point is that we must be prepared to set both our minds and our hearts on things above- on the shelf that is God. Not one or the other, but both, and they may fall down – many times. They may be knocked down to earth repeatedly. And the third option we need to consider is that we may take them down. We may need to put our mind, or will, or both on things above many times per day. I know that as soon as I start to pray my mind wanders off. When I used to joh, I knew I could not focus my mind until I was half-way through my loop.

And when our minds or hearts do wander? It’s easy to swat at the cat or scold ourselves for being klutzes, but that’s another rabbit trail for our minds to wander down. In Practicing the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence suggests that we not make a big deal out of it. Just pick up our thoughts, feelings, or desires and return them to the shelf. Practice, it is said, makes perfect. I don’t think that’s true, but practice does make better and easier.

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