This post has been several weeks in the making. On the 26th of January, I found that my morning quiet time left me in awe. I have the devotional book Jesus Calling and as I was getting ready to leave for work I felt this gentle nudge to take it with me. Over the years I have learned to listen when these types of things happen. When I sat down at my freshly cleared desk, I decided, before the rush of the day set in, to stop and have some quiet time. You would think that after all these years that I wouldn't be surprised any more, but on this particular morning, it was like opening a window on a sunny day and being greeted by a cool, brisk breeze - the kind of experience where you know its cool outside, and yet when you experience it, you still feel surprised and exhilarated.
Let me digress for a moment. In November I just felt like this new year for me was supposed to be about focus, and slowly but surely, that is how it is evolving. I have an incredible group of friends who have been helping me on this journey, but when I sat down to read the devotion for the 26th - WOW, did I ever feel the breeze of change. For the past several months I have felt more drawn to my quiet time and the need to create things. The things I have been creating aren't random, they are actually things that I have felt led to create for family, friends, and sometimes complete strangers. The beauty of the devotion in Jesus Calling was that is was so affirming and such a beautiful God wink that so clearly told me, "You're on the right path."
Some people may not get this idea or understand this, but my job is not to please other people, it is to learn to take the gifts and talents God has given me and to use them for His glory. It's about holding on to my mustard seed and the promise that He will take every life experience that I have had and will allow me to use them, the good and the not so good, to help others.
I'm going through a change, an incredible change - one in which I am finally comfortable with myself and my life - one in which I am comfortable hearing His voice and not concerned about the voices of those in the world.
"Enjoy the tempo of a God-breathed life by letting Me set the pace."
This so eloquently accompanies every tiny detail of what I am experiencing in my life. As I wrote in September, I am taking voice lessons and on the day of this beautiful devotion it was my first day back in the new year. Learning to relax and use my body the way God designed it so speaks to this devotion.
"Hold my hand in childlike trust, and the way before you will open up step by step."
Those closest to me know that my faith and trust in God is child like in nature. If I feel something in my heart, I will hold on to it like a child with a security blanket. In fact, I was just telling a friend last night that sometimes I feel like I need to step back into my quiet time and pay attention to what I believe with child like faith.
Isn't it funny how sometimes we can see things happen in our lives over and over again, but then we can turn around and let doubt creep in. That is why it is so very important to make time each day to stop and Be Still and listen.
We all tend to look for the "perfect" time to do things or to make changes in our lives. It is not uncommon for us to fall into the trap of telling ourselves, once this or that happens we can breath and life will be okay, but maybe by doing this we are really missing out. Maybe instead of fighting against the waves of uncertainty that life can bring our way we just need to decide to break out a surf board and ride the waves of chaos and uncertainty. Instead of waiting to live until the storms pass, why don't we just put on our boots and dance in the rain and the mud. No one is going to have a problem free life. How we handle the waves of life is our testimony. I would like for my loved ones to remember me one day as a woman who, "swam with the sharks, but she used them like water skis."
Don't get me wrong, I will be the first one to tell you that it would be nice to not have quite so many adventures in my life at times, but what I have learned to do during those times, when the seas of life seem to get to be too much, when the sharks are circling and I'm getting tired of swimming - I stop. I stop for a minute, not to see how far away the shore is, but I stop to look up. It's kind of a MacGyver experience. For anyone that ever watched the television series, you know that he always found his way out of every trial and situation with the most basics of things. We are really no different. Sure, we may not be on television, but God gives us the things we need at just the right time and not a moment too soon, so that we can avoid the jaws of the sharks and live to see another day.
It's in these times of chaos and uncertainty, when we stop, look up, and seek Him that we grow the most as individuals. This is where we gain the life lessons so that we can eventually be someone else's light house when they find themselves lost at sea; trying to make it to shore; trying to survive and fend off the sharks; trying to find a star in the darkness as they drift at sea.
Learning to lean into the trials allows us to strengthen out spiritual muscles so that we can look danger, fear, and uncertainty in the face and tell them "NOT TODAY! NOT TODAY!"
Until we meet again...
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