The Doctor is in.

Advice. People like to give it to you, whether you want it or not. And we like to dish it out to others just as freely. Think about the advice you have been given in life, whether sought out or not. Did you get any really bad advice?? I have.

When my oldest was a baby and toddler, I was a part of a mothers group at a church. This is where I got my bad advice. We had a speaker one month that was talking to us about the stresses of motherhood. I still remember her telling us “To stop worrying about missing your quiet time, sometimes life happens.” It was the worst advice ever. I didn’t know it at the time, but I do now after the damage.

Life, for all of us, can get crazy at times. You can be a mother of small children, a mother home schooling her children, a full time working woman, a full time student, a retired woman, and I would dare say even a man and have a crazy life. The craziness just changes.

It was during the craziness of diapers, feedings, and looking for adult conversation that I received my bad advice. Whew! What a load off, I didn’t have to worry about the quiet time being checked off the list, God would understand. I didn’t need to feel guilty about it anymore. The problems were just beginning. Not worrying about it one day turns into a week and into a month and into a year. Could I look back on a year and count how many quiet times I had? I would try again and repeat the cycle over and over. It would continue until God taught me some lessons.

Here is what I learned………..it is not about a checklist. When you begin to miss a quiet time, you see the need for it. It is not about 1. Read a Bible verse, check 2. Pray, check, check 3. Check it off the list, check, check, check. It is discovering the Words your Creator wrote for you. It is talking to the all-powerful, loving God about the love He shows us, the life He gave us, and how He wants us to live that life. It is the process of knowing God and becoming more like His Son. It is knowing that you can’t live a day without Him. These are the blessings that come from a relationship with the Most High.

Now, who is to blame for all those missed blessings? The speaker, for giving bad advice that she thought young mothers needed. Or was it the mothers group for letting someone give unbiblical advice to a group of impressionable young women. Or should I blame the church. Ultimately, the blame belongs to me. I knew when I heard it that it was bad advice, but since it came from a speaker I thought it was true. I can not blame anyone else for my own sin.

We are all in different places in our spiritual walk with the Lord. The wonderful thing about Him is that He meets us where we are. He was there every morning when I wasn’t. He is there waiting for you now.

Go and meet Him, I am sure it will be a wonderful conversation.