What's in Your Cup?

"You can tell a lot about a person by the way (s)he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights."

Isn't this so true? Of course, a rainy day in South Texas is usually met with celebration due to the drought we are experiencing, but Maya Angelou's point is still clear: frustrating and unforeseen circumstances reveal our true colors.

I was made very aware of this last week when a series of frustrating circumstances happened one morning. It would be a long and involved process to share them in detail, but they included being stuck behind an electric gate when I needed to get to work, having no clock in the room when I was giving a massage (every room is supposed to have one), and discovering, after stepping out to get a clock, that the one I retrieved had a dead battery. This put me behind schedule, causing me to need others to step in and help things go smoothly. But I was frazzled and anxious and stressed. In the process of getting ready for my next appointment I vented my frustration to my co-workers. I spoke rudely about another person. I felt entitled to special treatment because my morning had already gotten off to a rough start.

Later in the afternoon my emotions had finally calmed down and I was faced with the reality of my lack of inner grace. An analogy came to mind that I had heard years ago from a friend. "What happens when you shake a glass of orange juice--What comes out of it? Orange juice, right? Well, what happens when the circumstances of life shake you--what comes out of you? I challenge you to become like Jesus, so that when you are shaken, when you are jarred by unexpected circumstances, it will be the character of Jesus that comes out of you." To re-state the obvious: what comes out of something is what is already inside of it. Wow.

As I reflected on my morning I realized how far I still have to go for the character of Jesus to flow freely and naturally out of my life. Sure, it's easy to be kind when I'm prepared to be kind. It's easy to think I'm being thankful when life is going smoothly. But throw an unexpected event, especially one that seems and maybe really is unjust? Throw in a pan that's supposed to be "non-stick" that's really not? Throw in someone being late and not respecting my time? Ah, then we'll see the real stuff Avery is made of.

I so want it to be Jesus that spills out of me when my cup is shaken. But, I have seen that this doesn't happen automatically. There must be some process, some set of habits that ready me for the times when circumstances beyond my control will come and I am faced with the choice of how I will respond. And so I am reminded once again of the need for spiritual disciplines. Dallas Willard says this:

Often when we come to do the right thing we have already done the wrong thing, because that is what was sitting in our body "at the ready." Intention alone cannot suffice in most situations where we find ourselves. We must be "in shape." If not, "trying" will normally be too late, or totally absent. Instead, our intention and effort must be carried into effect by training which leaves our body poised to do what Christ would do well before the occasion arises. Such training is supplied by THE DISCIPLINES FOR LIFE IN THE SPIRIT.

 Now a discipline is an activity in our power, which we pursue in order to become able to do what we cannot do by direct effort. Disciplines are required in every area of life, including the spiritual. Therefore Jesus directed and led His disciples into disciplines for the spiritual life: fasting, prayer, solitude, silence, service, study, fellowship and so forth.

I do not have the time, nor the expertise (hence this blog post) to go into a post on the spiritual disciplines. I would, however, strongly encourage you to read the full article from which this quote by Willard is taken. You can find it here:  http://www.dwillard.org/articles/artview.asp?artID=34.


The experiences I encountered, and what they revealed about me provided an opportunity to consider this: I do not take the spiritual disciplines seriously. I know their value. I can give the Sunday School answer about their importance: What would help in *fill-in-the-blank* situation? What would help when you are faced with *fill-in-the-blank* temptation? Well, prayer, of course. Knowing Scripture. Maybe a habit of fasting, etc.

Oh, I know these things, but am I practicing them? With sincerity? With regularity?

I am a Spiritual Discipline Dabbler. I try a new Bible reading plan at the beginning of the year, and by February it's usually fizzling out. I try to have concentrated times of prayer throughout the week for a while, and then I revert to back to praying here and there throughout the day, which is good to do, but isn't quite the same as spending focused time in prayer. This can be said of fasting, silence and solitude, memorizing and studying Scripture. My life isn't void of spiritual disciplines altogether, but I lack consistency.

And it seems that the space between where I am and the character of Jesus spilling more readily out of my cup might just be a more serious practice of spiritual disciplines. This, of course, combined with a deep knowledge of the love of God for me in Jesus, and the Spirit of God using those practices to transform me. I know this to be true: the character of Jesus will not be produced in me without some effort on my part. This happens both through the character transformation resulting from spiritual disciplines, as well as the daily choice to take up my cross and follow Jesus, in whatever specific way that command may apply to my life at the moment. When the circumstances of life shake me, I really do want the character of Jesus to spill out of me. But it's not enough to want it. To refer back to Willard, "[my] intention and effort must be carried into effect by training which leaves [my] body poised to do what Christ would do well before the occasion arises."

So I ask you, what's inside your cup? When the Christmas tree lights are tangled, or when far worse trials or temptations come, how will you respond? Will you join me in seeking to train now so that others might see the beauty of Christ in us even on our worst days?