Happy Groundhog Day

In the now-classic film Groundhog Day, Bill Murray plays a man cursed to repeat his least favorite day of the year over and again until he “gets it right.” Experts calculate that the exact number of consecutive Groundhog Days meteorologist Phil Connors endures is 12,403, or nearly 34 years. That means he spent pretty much my entire lifespan thus far re-experiencing a single day until he lived it flawlessly, all so that he could win the love of his producer, Rita.As strenuous an effort as that seems, according to the Scriptural testimony this is a very optimistic estimation of a man’s ability to self-perfect. My own experience bears this out, too. Sometimes I can let myself tend toward the impression that if I could only execute my devotional life with enough disciplined consistency for a long enough time, I would finally be “good at life.” Then I remember Groundhog Day and I become completely disabused of that notion. The odds are just not in my favor (read: hopeless). Days keep changing on me, bringing new things to deal with, for all of which I am woefully inadequate.Even though I strongly affirm that a long faithfulness within the habits of grace will posture me to receive the grace I need to increasingly live and love well, it will never be enough to "fix" me. ("That's Pelagianism, Patrick!") But that’s really not the point of the habits! In the Groundhog Day universe, Phil had to earn a relationship with his love through performance; but the gospel reverses that order completely. I inhabit the Soul Room because that’s where I experience the friendship of my Father, who meets me where I am and gives me what I couldn't get for myself. We don’t have to repeat our days until we get them right (as if we could): His mercies are new every morning. He's made the way to meet with us in our extreme need, and that's good news for us.This Sunday we’ll peek over the Psalmist's shoulder in the Soul Room once again, and see the Father meet him once again exactly where he needs it most.