One of the oldest school buildings in our community has a very interesting element that I find amusing. On the south end of the building, just above the entrance into the gym are three or four reliefs – concrete, life-sized athletic figures formed right into the wall about 20 feet above the ground. This building was built over 50 years ago and the reliefs are not a new addition. The poses that these figures are in I find hysterical – but that is a post for another day. What I find amusing about all this is that when I came to this community, my first day, as we were driving around looking at the sites, I spotted these strange figures. Now I am not the most observant person, but I picked these things out from the car at 30 miles per hour.
I have now been in this community for over 7 years and I have yet to meet one person who grew up here that, when asked about the figures, even knows what I am talking about. I am always amazed when the subject comes up, that no one has ever noticed these amazingly funny athletes posing in a prominent place on one of our buildings.
But here is the point. We grow accustomed to things and don’t see what is really going on around us. The same is true in the church. We do the same things over and over, year after year and think things are great when often times we don’t truly see what is going on around us. James 1:23-24 speaks to this familiarity. You can read it here.
The author of James says that hearing God’s word and not doing it is like looking in the mirror and after turning away, forgetting what we look like. The point is this, we often become so familiar with God’s truth, we stop living it – it is assumed – and before we know it, the word, the very truth of God, loses its relevance and impact in our lives.
I challenge you today to pray this prayer: “God, today make all things new. Help me to see your word, your will and your plan for me in a new and fresh way – as I have never seen it before.”
I would love to hear what God does in you as a result.
Clay in the Hands 
This blog goes really good with your previous blog (why not me, why not now) because when we choose for the task to be now and the person to be me, it is putting faith into action and relivance comes center stage. It is really easy to become a believing zombie and not allow God to have the impact and revelance in our lives that he desires and hopefully we long for.
By the way – I know the figures you are talking about and have wondered the same. Funny.
I have set in the car facing those figures for years. When you are a mom (AKA taxi driver) you will eventually spend some time there waiting for an athlete to come out of the gym from practice. They are very old and I hope that their is never intention to take the school down while I am alive. That was the high school in my time and very many memories are there, good and bad.
I love this prayer! It is a great begining to each and every day. Nice challenge. I like to add one more line to the end of it: ” God, show me your world.”