Aftersun

[If I was planning out the order of these posts, today's would follow on nicely from one a couple of weeks ago (the last time the sun made an appearance): "Transformed". If you haven't read it, why not do so now?

[http://thegoldenandthegrey.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/transformed.html - what a lovely little bit of self-promotion!]

Anyone who saw me yesterday afternoon or evening may have thought I was in fancy dress as a lobster.

Unused to the sun in recent weeks, I had forgotten to apply suncream before spending the afternoon outside.  By the time I realised, I thought I would be okay: I don't usually burn.  But by the end of the evening, my neck and arms were radiating and pulsing with heat and I was glowing like a beacon.

It was not a good look.

Thankfully one of my friends supplied me with aftersun which I applied regularly and liberally and by the end of the evening things had settled down a bit.

I have always known that the purpose of applying Aftersun was to protect and moisturise our skin, but I was surprised to discover it is now also being promoted as an effective way to "prolong your tan".

It got me thinking: What do I do to protect and prolong the things I learn when I have been bathing in God's light?

When we feel God speaking to us, or giving us a verse, or a picture or a word, do we simply enjoy it for a moment and then let it fade?  Or do we use a spiritual form of 'Aftersun' to make sure that what we have learnt doesn't disappear when we go through dark and difficult times?

How do we make what we learn stick?

James tells his readers to act on what they've learnt, to put it into practice. 

"Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.  For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.  You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.  But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it."

[James 1:22-25 NLT emphasis mine]

It's the same with us: in order to get things to really stick, we need to do something with what we've learned.  Write it down somewhere [I like writing things on my mirror], journal it, share it with others,  live it out.

Find a way to make it real in your own life.

Find a way to make it stick.