(This picture was taken by the kids when we all went to DeVos for the Hope College Musical Showcase. The kids thought it was the most boring thing ever...but at least Dave and I sort of got a date night out of it. The "mundane" was made fun to us...and how can you not enjoy our smiles.)I should be cleaning...but instead I'm in the mood to write. I think it's the cloudy weather. It takes away my ambition and makes me very contemplative all at the same time. It's just amazing what a difference the sun makes! And the "Son" makes.
You know that feeling you get when you first fall in love? That butterflies in your stomach kind of excitement? Well, thankfully I still get that way when I think about my husband. Which I think is pretty awesome after almost 10 years of marriage. But, that's not what this post is about. No, lately I've felt that way about my relationship with the Lord! God has been so alive and real and present in my life lately, that He gives me goosebumps. And, hey, when you think about our God and Who He is and all He's done for us...we should always feel that way about Him! Unfortunately, it's too easy to lose that feeling. So I'm praising His mighty name all the more right now. It's just so incredible to know that the God of the universe, the God who tells the sun when to rise and the Who hung the moon and stars...that SAME God loves me enough to have a personal relationship with me!! Oh, my friends, THAT is amazing.
Here's what I know very clearly about our awesome God right now: when we take the time to have a personal relationship with Him, He overflows into our lives. Into every aspect of our lives. Not just the "big deals" or the "high profile" areas, but the everyday, mundane kinds of spots. I used to think that the Lord of the universe didn't have time to waste on such trivial aspects of my life. I thought that I was supposed to "handle" the small stuff and give Him the big stuff. And then there's the saying that "it's all small stuff." Well, you can imagine how this can set a girl up for some major spiritual issues. But lately, I've found that I don't have the energy for even the small stuff. I've been feeling very burnt out and run down and overwhelmed. Because I didn't have the strength to keep holding everything up on my own, I began to turn even the small stuff in my life over to God. Wow. What a blessing my Abba Father has been to me! He is opening my eyes to His ways and His will so much more. It's pretty amazing what can happen when I give full control over to Him! What about you? Are you just turning to Him with the big stuff and figuring you're supposed to handle everything else? Are you feeling run down, stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed? It's time to realize that God wants it all. He wants every little bit of us. He wants us to want Him exclusively. Passionately. With every ounce of our being. Oh and when we do, the blessings are too many to comprehend!
God is giving me a huge amount of clarity in what my focus should be right now. He's helping me sort out all the extra stuff (that I might have to let go of) and figure out just where my time and energy should be spent. I don't want to waste time on things that God wouldn't have me be doing, do you? The only way to know what He's have us do is to ask Him (sounds too simple, I know). And then (the real key here) is to wait for Him to clearly show you His answer. To be quiet and listen. To let Him speak in your life: through quiet direction, through others, through song, through circumstances, through whatever it is that gets your attention. And, here's the best part...when we ask Him for guidance like this: He always answers! When we ask God to make us more like who He'd have us to be, He ALWAYS answers. Always. Why wouldn't He?! We're asking Him to do in us exactly what He wants us to be doing in the first place! It's like a no-brainer. "Lord, please make me more of who You want me to be. Take away all the things that are displeasing to You, and fill me up with Your fruit." Would God say no to that? No way!
So today, on this gloomy day, I could be dwelling on the things in my life that aren't the way I want them to be. Or, instead, I can choose to focus on what God wants me to. What He'd have me to do with my energy today. Yes, it still includes housework. After all, He's called me to be a mom and housewife. But I can choose to do it joyfully. My desire is to please the Lord in ALL that I do. And today (and most every day for that matter) that includes dishes and cleaning and other not so fun things. But with that also comes some very wonderful things: blessing my children, sharing in life with my wonderful husband, socializing with friends, etc.
Psalm 34:8 ~ (NLT) Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
Comments
Post a Comment