Altered State

What I remember most about walking into one of my favorite stores is crying. I remember the feeling of the store with all its beauty, peace, awe-inspiring quotes, worship music quietly playing, and prayer table at the back. There was peace. Calm. Quiet. And tears. I sat in the dressing room the day after my friend had lost her sister and sobbed. I felt my tasks were so mundane while my friend suffered her heart torn out at the loss of a sister far too soon. Yet, I felt peace as if I were in another reality. Life was swirling by continuing on as it should as I sat paralyzed in grief for my friend and her family all-the-while experiencing this altered state. I cannot believe it has been almost a year since that moment. I visited the store a few times since. I walked in the other day and began to think about the name of the store: Altered State. I believe this is the way God intended us to live. "Dear friends, I urge you; as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us." 1Peter 2:10-12 We are called to live differently; to live in such a way that unbelievers take notice and are attracted to God through us and the way we live our lives. He isn't calling us to point our noses in the air and snub others. He is calling us to become more like His son and through that others see the grace, mercy, forgiveness, and unconditional love of a Father who never fails and never leaves. There should be humility and kind words; graciousness and hospitality. Our thoughts should be set on Him and our lives built upon His firm foundation. "Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 11:19 This verse encompasses the very essence of living an altered state. These words challenge me to live fully in His presence. I can't think of Him only during prayer, my daily devotion, or on Sunday mornings. No. Living an altered state, to me, means thinking on Him everywhere all the time. Thinking on His beauty, His splendor, His grace and tender mercies, His truth, His majesty, His enormity yet the ability to reveal Himself in things so small. Living an altered state means my thought process is changed, my attitude renewed, my life humbled. Jesus isn't something I place in my back pocket or on my to-do list. He is the very essence of my being. I believe that this world would be changed mightily if believers rose up to the challenge of living in an altered state. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here." 2 Corinthians 5:17 Love & Blessings, Megan