The Wall & Worship

First: The Wall
This last week I've felt as though I'm done catechism classes. Not done as in I don't need to go back - because there is still a lot to learn. But done as in I'm tired. I've never run a marathon, but have heard that there is a point where the runner feels as though they just can't go on and they need to push through that to get to the finish. That's where I am. I'm tired and want to go sit by the sidelines. But I also want to get to the finish line. So, I'll keep going.

Second: Worship
Yesterday we were invited to go to a worship night at a Protestant church. It was interesting because friends of ours invited us to go after he went to the Vespers service at the Orthodox Church. While I was at the Praise & Worship, I had some thoughts which I wrote down to write here:

God has brought me to the Orthodox Church so that I can grow deeper. I couldn't grow deeper in the Protestant Church because everything it does just reaches the surface. There is a longing in some to grow deeper; however, many are satisfied with the entertainment received once a week. If we want to practice the disciplines which will enable us to go deeper in our walk with God, we are left on our own to fumble through.

Everything in my walk previously has been about me. I've thought I've done really well and have this "special" relationship with God because I have heard his voice. But growing deeper is about more than hearing God. I don't understand all that the Orthodox Church teaches, but I do know it is the place that will enable me to grow deeper - to a place I've longed for for a long time. The water in the Orthodox Church is not on the surface - it is an underground spring that runs deep. I have been watered on the surface which has given me the longing for more. I don't want the first milk, I want the rich milk.

Worship at the Protestant Church, while it makes me feel good, it misses the point. Worship is deeper than that.