John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
I really want to be a once a week blogger but I never want my posts to be fake. I never want to post something for the sake of posting. I can always tell when I am writing what God wants me to say because the words come easily. The past few weeks they have not come easy so there have been no posts. You see, I have been going through a growth spurt. Not the physical kind but the spiritual. And trust me, as painful as this spurt has been and only being 5'2", I truly wish it were a physical spurt. So please forgive me for the lack of consistency in posting and know that everything comes from my heart and the battles I share are really being fought.
The title for this post was taken from a Facebook response from my friend Susan. I loved it so much it prompted a long overdue blog post.
She and I are in waiting mode. We are staring at the opportunity for great things to happen in our lives but we have to wait. Patiently wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait. And wait some more. Did I mention, that we have to wait? The problem is we are both doers. We have back-up plans to our back-up plans. We makes lists, check off our lists and get things done. God made us this way. He made us this way for a purpose. And now, He has put us both in a situation where we have no control and can do nothing about our circumstances. Something totally against who we are.
I found a wonderful quote and posted in Facebook that stated: Patience is not the ability to wait but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting. To which my wonderful, beautiful friend replied "Pfft!" Well said friend, well said! And guess who failed that test... I did!
I have had something amazing happen in my life recently. It is potentially life changing and something I have dreamt of for a very long time. The problem is I have to wait 4 weeks before I know anything. Four very LLLLOOOONNNNGGGG weeks.
During the first week of waiting, I was thrilled. I could think of nothing but the possibilities. I was giddy. Silly, dance around, giggle for nothing, big goofy smile giddy. And then that all went away with one stupid thought. A seed planted by the enemy that took root and started to steal my joy.
I have walked around for the past week hearing comments like: "This will never happen to you." "You are crazy to think this will happen." "You do not deserve it." Oh, the best one and again the most difficult to say is "It is mean for God to get you to this point and let you down." You know what I am talking about, the whole "you are not worthy and God doesn't care" spiel. How could I ever for one second think God is mean and doesn't care about me? Hmm? When everything worth anything in this life He "doesn't care about" comes from Him and only Him. Just remember- this spiel comes from some crappy salesman trying to sell you something you neither want or need and certainly do not deserve.
Let me put it in perspective. What is happening in my life is akin to being nominated for an Oscar. Even if you do not win, you were good enough to be nominated. How many people can say that? If you met a Oscar nominated person, I do not think your first words would be "Oh, it sucks for you, you didn't win." I am hoping the words would be more like "Wow, what an honor to be nominated."
But I let the enemy steal the joy of being nominated. I have walked around in a funk for a week because I let him dictate my future. A future that he has no control over whatsoever. Only God has control. That is worth repeating a second time. Only GOD has control. Now granted, I would love a sneak peek at the playbook but that is not how it works. God wants us to be happy and enjoy life. Jesus walked on this Earth and experienced life here. He knows the difficulties of the world. He wants us to be content, joyful and enjoy life. He said in John 10:10 AND:
Ecclesiastes 8:15
So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.
And Psalm 16:11
You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.
That doesn't mean life will always be easy and that there will not be hardships. The world doesn't work that way. But it is knowing God has control and even in the midst of the difficult times, He is there guiding us and giving us peace. The crazy thing is it wasn't during a difficult time that my peace and joy were stolen. It was during a wonderful time. Proof that we can never let our guard down and must always wear the armor of God. So my previous statement should read- It is knowing that God is in control ALL of the time and He is guiding us and giving us peace.
I want to ask that y'all pray for me the next two weeks while I wait. Pray that I can remember the words I just committed to paper. Pray that I can remember what an amazing God we have that He knows our hopes and dreams and wants to help us achieve them. I know that whatever the outcome, it is God's purpose for my life and I will be honored, pleased and joyful that I was simply nominated.
I wish that for everyone. The knowledge that God loves us, never fails us and has our back against all evils. That He wants us to be happy and enjoy the life he has given us whatever the circumstances may be. We need to make sure we enjoy the journey on the way to the destination.
love- j
PS- please forgive the typos. I am trying to get this post in before heading off to carol.
