Last week, I referenced an ongoing conversation with a reader about
whether or not Christianity can inspire us (“Where Do You Go For Inspiration?” and “I Need Transformation More than Inspiration“.) I responded with the thought that
Christianity offers to transform us instead. She wrote back:

“I bet most of us
experience inspiration to be fleeting. Maybe some of us can taking that quick
moment of energy or excitement and transform it into a new habit or routine
(e.g., I read something that makes me feel like I want to be brave, I decide to
try to do one brave thing a day, I stick to it, and over time I become more
brave) but my instinct says it’s the rare person who is that disciplined or
determined. 

In as much as I’ve
experienced transformation, I feel like it’s nothing I’ve controlled. I am definitely
a different person from college, and different in ways that I like, but I can’t
point to anything I decided to do to make me that way.

For you, is it that your
spiritual practices are something you can sit down and actually do that you
feel aids in the transformation you’ve experienced? Do you simply trust that
they “work” even if you can’t point a finger at a prayer you said one
day and credit it with something transformative happening in your life? To me
it seems like that would take incredible faith.”

Check back this afternoon for my
response. Meanwhile, what would you say? How does transformation occur?