Several years ago, we lived in a 100-year-old house located in a Colorado ski-town. Nestled in the corner of our living room sat an old black coal-burning stove. Every night we would fill it with little pieces of kindling, strike a match, and start a small fire. When there was sufficient flame, we added large chunks of deep black coal and closed the door tight. We knew the heat emitted from hot burning coal would rise through the vents in the floor and up to our bedrooms to keep us warm through the sub-zero nights.
In the mornings, however, we inevitably awakened to cold floors and frigid air. Opening the stove door, we would find whitened embers and piles of smoldering ash. Very little heat came from the once radiant coal. Hoping to recover some warmth, we poked with a poker, blew puffs of frosty breath into the remains, and added small pieces of wood. Eventually, we resorted to using the big bellows to force blasts of air into the flickering cinders. Remarkably, the fire would re-ignite! More coal added assured the house would soon be warm again.
Our lives are often like those chunks of coal. We burn brightly, emitting heat and warmth and passion–for a season. Then, somewhere in midlife, the fire for God and service and faith starts to flicker and soon may only smolder. For many reasons, we lose some of the spark, some of the fire. Sadly, we sometimes grow cold.
In our ministry, we have the privilege of blasting air into the lives of Boomers to re-ignite passion and purpose. In a recent Re-Ignite retreat, Linda told us she had come wondering what could be ahead for her. After years of providing care for her parents and then for her husband, she felt disconnected from her purpose and her calling. She was done. She felt cold. Thankfully, God moved in her life during one of the small group discussions on purpose. She called it “divine intervention.” She left renewed–re-ignited. She has decided to fan the flame by re-connecting with music and her calling to sing.
Do you need a little “re-igniting”? Here are some ideas for stoking the fire:
- Start in the Scripture. Study the lives of those Biblical characters whose lives had gone “cold” but God re-ignited through fire. Begin with Moses (Exodus 3).
- Intentionally seek God’s direction through the writings of those addressing spiritual passion and vitality.
- Surround yourself with others who are seeking God’s leading. We call this a “Campfire Circle.”
- Consider God’s calling in this stage of life. We’ve written Third Calling: What are you doing the rest of your life? and an accompanying study guide to help guide you
Kindle afresh the gift of God which is within you!
2 Timothy 1:6
