Collision

There are moments in life that feel like a collision.  One of those ran a red light, came out of nowhere kind of collisions.  It hits, but instead of sitting still in the silence that follows after a real-life car collision, you keep moving at a pace that doesn't seem to fit. Nothing seems to slow down. 

The collision itself should have taken you out for a bit.  It shook you and it hurts.  When you actually have a little time to think about it, the tears begin to fall.  It's real and raw, but somehow you keep finding the strength to put one foot in front of the other.

You lie in bed as the sun begins to awaken all that fills this side of the earth and you see the orange and pink rays.  You smile, thinking about the beauty created in these mere seconds before the sun completely reveals itself.  All of its glory reflecting The One who deserves all the glory.

A heaviness weighs on you in these moments of the morning.  One that feels as though it will keep you from even getting your feet to hit the ground.  The warmth and safety of the blankets seem better, maybe even easier, than what may be waiting for you through-out the day.  You linger.  You wait.  Wait to see if maybe this day can just pass on by without you.

As you close your eyes you remind yourself that actually staying in the darkness cannot be an option.  The light, THE ONE TRUE LIGHT begins to shine into the crevasse of your heart and you begin to choose the way of life.  Your heart gently says to your mind, "HIS mercies are new every morning. Great is HIS faithfulness."  

But you cry to Him, that it feels like HIS faithfulness to you is running thin.  Although, you know that is not true.  The very breath you exhale is a gift. A "just for today" kind of gift.  

Life.  It is an on-going series of collisions.  Emotions, experiences, circumstances, people, trials, questions, joys, pain.  They all collide at different moments, but you keep moving forward.  Honestly, at times this movement is beyond your own comprehension, but deep in your soul you know you move because HE is making it possible.  In and through you.  Despite you.  

The hardest part comes in the choosing.  Not so much because you don't want to choose, but just because choosing the right way seems really hard some days.  It seems that the mundane of every day life or the overwhelming reality of the trial wins at that moment.  That collision of truth and reality.  The grace of the Father and the harshness of the world.  
  
But soon you're on your feet and engaged in life, moving forward.  And HE, the ONE is engaged in every detail of your life.  He sustains when the collision takes place.  That's how you choose and how you keep moving forward.  How you find the joy and hope in breaking through the heaviness.   

You know that this too will shape you and sanctify you and it will be worth it.  You also know that it is hard and real and requires of you a choice. A trusting kind of choice in His will over yours.  

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, 

That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.  Psalm 30:11-12

 

    

Vulnerable

vulnerable ~ exposed, open, sensitive


These are not words we tend to gravitate towards in a positive way.  In fact, I am sure that each of us has a way of setting up boundaries so that we do not expose too much of ourselves to others.  Fear and uncertainty can plague us and in turn cause us to keep the "real us" at a safe distance.  


First, I want to say that I believe it is incredibly important to first filter everything through God's word, so we can be within the guidelines He has given us to follow. Our thought life, our speech and our actions must be motivated by our love and desire to please Him.  


So, with that said, freedom should follow.  


Freedom to follow the call that God has placed on our life.  Yes, there are absolutes in God's word that apply to all of us.  The beauty in His master design of each of us is that we will flesh that out differently.  For one example, this afternoon I had a wonderful discussion with a young woman about having children.  She was saying how she was really wanting to search our her own answer, according to God's word, in regards to married people having children. Is it an absolute?  Is in required?  Commanded?  What about those that are unable to have children due to medical reasons?


I said that I believe God tells us to raise up generation after generation for HIM and for HIS glory.  We need to be obedient to that command.   But to me, here is the beauty of it all.  It is fleshed out in a unique way in homes all over the world.  


I have a friend who has adopted four children and has two of her own, a friend who has only adopted even though she is capable of having her own children and one who adopted after trying for 10 years.  I have friends that only have biological children and friends with no children who are investing in those children around them.  I also just recently heard the amazing story of this young woman, Katie.  Talk about having the freedom to live your life to what God is asking!  

This is where it becomes important that we become vulnerable.  Where we are open to share what God is doing in our life and stand boldly on the foundation of His master plan for our lives.  It is so easy to begin to "mark" our lives by those certain success "markers" that the world so easily places on us.  


college....check
a good job.....check
marriage.....check
a home of our own.....check
children......check
great family vacations.....check
successful children.....check


None of these things is bad.  However, I do believe there are things that carry a great significance on which to build one's life. The list of "markers" goes on and on. I think the list could be much shorter.....


Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul and your mind.  Love & serve others.  


vulnerable


exposed to let others see your heart burning with passion for God
open to letting Him use you in the ways He created you to be used for His glory
sensitive to His call on your life in whatever form that may take


Not all of us will be called to serve a people group on the other side of the world, but I know that whatever God calls you to do for Him, it is a high and holy calling, so do it well.  Do it for Him with all your heart!


motherhood
ministry
teaching
financially supporting
adopting
writing
sacrificing
building
mentoring
creating
fatherhood
friendship
submission
obedience
serving


You can add your own to this list and if you don't know what it is that He has called you to at this season of your life.....stop right now and go before Him.  Do not move forward with your own plans until you have heard from Him about what His plans are for you!  If you have not surrendered your life to Him, then stop and do that now.  Don't wait, time is short and there is much to be done for Him.  


If we are moving forward with God, then we are moving in the right direction!  Let Him show you the "markers" by which to mark your success in this life.  Oh how different they will be than what we imagine!  

The Bigger Picture

We all have something that we said we would never do. You know that list that includes things like..... get married, have kids (definitely not more than two!), go to Africa as a missionary, go back to school, pay off all your school debt, adopt a child, learn a foreign language, run a marathon.... The list goes on.

But, unfortunately, most of the time so do we. Life moves forward at a rate faster than most of us can keep up and we keep adding to the list, but we don't take anything off. They stay there because we unconsciously have made the choice to NOT do it, rather than mark it off because we have done it! We don't actually do anything on the list so it keeps growing.

Now, I am not saying that we view all things in life as a list, but in our head it's on THAT list.

The "Abraham" list ~ the one where you see nothing but impossibility in that one thing really happening
The "Mary" list ~ the one where circumstances would have to be different for that to work out
The "Moses" list ~ the one where you are certain that you are not equipped to do this or that certain thing

Well, so far, the above lists would include the father of many nations, the mother of the Christ child and the man who led the Egyptians out of the land of slavery. They all thought they were incapable or that what was revealed to them seemed impossible, but they, like us, were only looking at the small picture called "right now." The biggest hurdle called "me."

We know people and we hear stories of things happening in which only the hand of God could have made it happen. We are moved and may even thank God for his amazing work. But, we fail to see how we too can be used in His bigger picture.

So, how do we do that? We open ourselves up and we grow. We let God work in us and change us and mold us into His hands and feet. We seek His Kingdom and His righteousness first. We stop building our own little lives and we ask how He wants us to help build His Kingdom. Then, one day without warning we are on a plane across an ocean to serve another people group, we are trusting in Him sustaining us as we train for the marathon to help make a difference. We are preparing for a home study in the process of adoption, we are hitting the books each night getting through school with His grace.  

growth

The list is getting smaller because of His work in us.

Of course we have all heard the expression ,"Never say never!" Certainly with a God like our God, we should never say never. First, because He is capable, but also because "never" is a selfish expression of what we think is possible or not possible. So, shame on us for reading about the great possibilities in His word, for listening to the stories of His amazing work in others, but not really believing. Not really taking the possibility, that He may want to use us, seriously.

We are all someone to Him.
We are all a possibility to Him.

Let Him see in your heart an authentic desire to grow and be used for things that you have always said you would never do.

Devotion? {s}

I remember a few years ago, as I was listening to a radio-talk show interview a Christian author about motherhood she re-told one of her favorite "real-life" learning moments.

One morning she was awoken early and decided to get up and spend some much needed time with the Lord. It had honestly been a few weeks since she really spent some time before Him. She quietly walked to the kitchen and made some tea, then settled down in her chair.

She began praying when she heard slippered feet coming down the hallway. "LORD! Why on earth is one of my children up this early? I got up and am going to spend time with You and one of them is awake! This really doesn't seem fair!"

As her child approached her, he excitedly said, "Mama, were you waiting for me?" Gentle tears began to fall down her cheeks as she realized deep in her heart that each morning, God was waiting for her, but she did not consistently get up to meet Him. Oh what a sweet moment that encouraged her to be just as eager to get up for her waiting Father!





The word "devotions" always seems to bring up an array of ideas in conversation. I love how Jess so simply puts into honest words our need and desire to spend time with the Lord. Not time in a "well I checked that off my list for the day" kind of way, but really BE with and before the Lord.

Our Creator.
Our Savior.
Our Peace amidst the storm.
Our Comfort.
Our Guide.
Our Provider.
Our Protector.
Our Healer.
Our Ever-present help.
Our Emmanuel.

Yes. THAT God, sovereign over the entire universe! He longs to hear from us, so that we may hear from Him. Let Him, "wake you morning by morning." (Isaiah 50:4)