Have you ever stood and watched a storm approach – closed your eyes and enjoyed the goose bumps and the wind that moves your hair and the mist that slowly brings the rain and the thunder … until you’re swallowed in a force that overwhelms and envelopes, reminding you of your own weakness and of its great power.
As silly as that sounds, I’ve been there, and I love that moment. What a reminder it is to me of my own fragility and of God’s amazing, unfathomable power!
A few weeks ago, I wrote about clarity. I explained to you what life is like without this
necessity and what clarity brings both to our physical lives in the way of sight as well as our spiritual lives in the way of God’s Wisdom.
I feel like our life has taken a turn. It was not intentional. We weren’t looking for God to change our plans, our location, our day-to-day. We were actually at a place in our lives where we were both becoming content with the status-quo…. and that scared me.
I spent the summer praying through the Proverbs for Adam (and myself) (the heartbeat behind my Talk about It Tuesday series on prayer), after arriving at the conclusion that status quo scared me–terrified me–beyond the possibility of what amazing things God could do in and through our lives.
Life. So busy and so wonderful, yet so standard. We work busy lives, we spend our evenings fulfilling our other duties, and on Sundays, you’ll find us at church. …And?
My life has become more about accomplishing goals and arriving at the next event on time and making sure all the irons in the fire are at the right temperature and all the items on my plate are evenly consumed. It has been a combination of work, church, housework, exercise, fire department, blog writing, etc. So much to do and yet so little with eternal value… or is that true? Is there more of a spiritual value in the little things I do throughout my every day? Is it just that my mind’s focus on the task following the one in which I find myself keeps me from doing everything wholeheartedly, as unto the Lord?
So, here I am, standing with the wind running its fingers through my hair and the shivers running down my back, leaving goose bumps in their wake. God is on the move.
I can’t tell you what it’s going to look like in the next year.
I can’t tell you where you will always find me, and if the here where God has placed us for this season of 2012-2013 will be the “here” He has called us to in 2013-2014.
I can’t tell you what regular time dinner takes place at my house or if my home cleaning schedules will still allow for bathroom cleaning on Tuesday nights and baking on Saturdays.
I don’t know.
However, as I consider what God has called us to for the next year in our lives, I am excited with what I can tell you:
After years of being youth leaders for our church (6 yrs for Adam and 3 yrs for me), we are no longer going to be leading in this capacity. It’s been a rough summer praying through what the Lord would have for us, and the ministries that He has not only made available but give us a passion for. Yes, we have a desire for the youth in our church, but God has given us an even greater direction.
As of this fall, Adam and I have taken the role of the heads of the ministry to the young adults. This ministry involves planning, activities, Bible Studies, and leadership to encourage those post-highschool, in college, post-college, and young married couples in their walk with the Lord and their fellowship with local believers.
I cannot begin to tell you the excitement I have for this new ministry! As soon as this changed was prayed about and settled upon in our hearts, we brought it before church leadership, and the decision/transition was made, I could not decide whether to laugh or cry.
Not only are we called this next year to work with an age group that has been on our hearts in a more urgent way than either of us even understood at first, but we were encouraged that the role we have in the local fire department needs to be viewed as it really is: a ministry, an outreach, and an opportunity that deserves wholeheartedness and focus like any other ministry within the church.
Oh, to have weight lifted from our shoulders, to know that the paths the Lord has set before us were indeed set there by His Hand, and oh, the peace in knowing that the passions He gives us our purposeful, for His Glory, and full of eternal value if invested in with that object in mind.
As a result of this confirming message, my to-do list for this next season of life has changed. I have sincere goals and plans that are based upon this new season and its direction and our goals as a couple.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not an easy thing to have life change, to have your direction altered, or make the necessary disciplines a real part of your daily schedule. However, just as the wind and power from a storm calls me to make changes in my daily plans, to seek shelter, so this new change has me recognizing my own fragility and of God’s amazing, unfathomable power with an end result of sending me to my knees and reminding me of my need to be grounded amidst the storm.
It’s time to come back to the basics, to find my rest in the shelter Rock of Ages, to find my sure footing again in the daily presence of the Divine Storm Who has reminded me of what is important and the one and the same Strong Fortress Who has offered me an eternal foundation.
My arms are showing goose bumps, the wind is moving my hair, the mist is slowly bringing the rain and the thunder… and I am on my knees. God is on the move.
Making My Boast 