There's a Lesson In This

While so much fun seeing all of our families, this Christmas season was long and tiring.  After traveling three weekends in a row we were all so ready to be home where the kids could play with their new toys and we could all sleep in our own beds.  And then on our second day home the littlest wakes up with a stomach bug, followed by the oldest, then mommy.  :(  Not exactly how we planned to enjoy our new toys and time at home, BUT there's a lesson in this . . .

During our driving this holiday and in the days leading up to the New Year, I took some time to sit and consider what I wanted out of this new beginning.  I put in some extra prayer time and Scripture reading and while many were coming up with words for the new year, I felt like God placed this little phrase in my mind - work smarter, not harder.  You see, I'm from the mindset that in order to expect big things (and really feel like you're doing anything worthwhile), you have to work hard and put in the time.  Unfortunately, this mindset has left me strained, stressed, and overwhelmed.  Not to mention feeling like a failure in many areas of my life.  God's gentle instruction opened up a whole new idea.  Slowly He's been showing me to put Him first, follow where He leads, and do only what is needed in each area without going overboard (I often dive in head first and want a years worth of work done in about an hour, just ask my husband!).  

While my children have been sick, I've done countless loads of laundry, cleaned furniture and carpets, snuggled sick babies, and worked only in the few minutes I can each day.  And you know what?  I haven't been stressing.  In fact, I feel as though I've been more successful in my endeavors because I haven't pushed.  I haven't had time to overthink.  And I've been trusting the Lord so much more.  Trusting that He will lead me in the direction I need to be and not trying to do something beyond that.  Accepting that He has good things for me, even if they don't look like what I thought.

He has confirmed this to me in a couple ways over the last 24 hours.  First involved an incredible book I'm reading called Breaking Busy by Alli Worthington.  In my reading she talks about our God-given purpose and our need to be obedient to that purpose, knowing He can do so much more through us when we follow the plan He has.  The second was through an audio teaching by Priscilla Shirer. I have a devotional CD of hers that plays whenever I'm driving and in this particular message she talks about hearing a prize winning tomato farmer share how important pruning is to producing the largest, ripest fruit.  She goes on to talk about how sometimes we have to prune good things in order to grow better things.  It's funny because they also both point out various times in Scripture where Jesus Himself reminds the people why He came.  For example, after healing many people, the whole town came out to where Jesus was staying and attempted to keep Him there so He could continue to heal them.  This was His response:

But He said, I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."  - Luke 4:43

Both ladies pointed out that Jesus didn't just come to do the Father's Will, but that He did the Father's Will and nothing else.  It would have been good for Him to stay and heal them, but that's not what He was called to do.  Just as I am not called to work myself ragged in every area, trying to trudge my own path and force everything to work the way I want under my control.  I must work smarter, not harder.  For me, this means spending more time with the Lord, listening to His guidance, and being obedient even when I don't know how it will turn out.

I'd love to hear if God has given you a word or phrase for this new year.  Or perhaps He's in the midst of teaching you a new lesson.  I'd love to hear that too!

Do you want to get well?

In continuing my reading in John, I found another verse that really stuck out to me.  Jesus is in Jerusalem and He walks past a pool of water where many disabled people used to sit in hopes of being healed by the waters when they are "stirred."  In this encounter Jesus meets a man who had been invalid for 38 years and asks what might seem like a silly question.  In John 5:6, Jesus asks the man, "Do you want to get well?"  I mean, really Jesus?  This man hasn't been able to provide for himself, sits in the city and begs, and now is waiting by some water every day waiting for the possibility of healing (we won't get into the fact that this man didn't recognize healing - Jesus - when it was right in front of him).  Wouldn't the answer seem obvious?  But wait.

When I was growing up I faced some difficult situations that resulted in an inability to relate to people from an emotionally healthy vantage.  I didn't know how to open up to people, struggled with what to share with others, and even dealt with flashbacks to certain experiences I had when I was younger.  Looking back I can see that I played the part of a victim.  That's what I knew and how I responded.  Then I went to college and started going to an amazing church where they spoke about freedom and peace.  God began to do a lot in me and I realized there were things He wanted to release me from.  But first I had to answer a question.  "Do you want to get well?"  Again, the answer seems obvious.  But what if I said yes?  What would that require of me?  What would change?  Who would I be if those experiences were no longer my identity?

We often say we want healing and freedom, but inside there can be fear of the unknown.  I knew the part I played as a young girl defined by her past.  I didn't know what it looked like to be free from that.  Fear of the unknown can keep us from saying yes to healing and freedom.  Fear of what will be required of us, the new expectations, can cripple us.  Will I be any good at anything else?  Will people like the "new" me?  At the root, however, is simply fear.  We must remember that God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).  It can be hard to open ourselves up to healing, but when we do, God will meet us there and we will stand amazed at the other side wondering why we didn't trust Him sooner.

So the next time you read this passage and wonder why Jesus would ask such a seemingly obvious question, ask yourself if you want to be healed or set free from something.  Really dig into it.  The answer may surprise you.  Then you get this wonderful opportunity.  You get the chance to say, "Yes!"

For The Weary Mama

In a season of feeling stressed and overwhelmed with two little ones, a new (to me) ministry, and a small business (not to mention typical household chores), I have truly recognized my need to get back into the Word regularly to gain clarity, strength, and wisdom.  After my daughter was born in mid-February, it was a steep learning curve figuring out how to accomplish anything with two under two in the house.  I had to figure out what worked so I could make dinner, fold laundry, get through the grocery store (!), and, not surprisingly, how to do it with limited sleep!  I'm sure many of you can relate.  So here's me trying to get in a better rhythm.

My plan of action is to focus on the book of John (I just needed somewhere to start without something else to think about each time I sat down!).  I'm probably a week into this idea of reading a chapter a day and just finished John 4!  But my tired, weary, anxious mind got a lot of encouragement today as I read these familiar stories.  Things I never noticed before seemed to stand out.

Let's start here, " . . . tired as [Jesus] was from the journey . . . " (John 4:6b).  Did you catch that? Jesus understands how it feels to be tired!  He can relate to me!  It may seem small and I've rushed past it many times, but when you get so stressed you feel as though you're failing daily, there's encouragement in knowing Jesus knows how tired I am and what that feels like!  Phew!

Here's some more encouragement for the weary mama - just a few verses later, Jesus says to the woman at the well, ". . . the water I give him will become in him like a spring of water . . . "  (John 4:14b).  It renews and refreshes itself.  And we have this spring (the Holy Spirit) within us!  How often I forget that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives within me (Romans 6)!  I have become very aware of a little mantra that runs through my mind (and out of my mouth) when things get tough.  You might recognize it, it goes like this, "I can't!  I can't!  I just can't!"  The truth is, He can!  While there is some truth in that - in and of myself I can't - it's not the whole truth.  Enter God! I can't, but He can and His power is at work within me.  This gives me hope.  Will I remember this truth every time I get overwhelmed?  No.  But the more I remind myself, the more quickly this truth will come when the moments become too much.

It's not much, but hopefully these passages encouraged you as they did me.  And remember, mama, you're doing GREAT!

"When they had seen Him . . . "

First, a completely unrelated thought - Some days we feel so close to and on fire for God and the next day He feels distant.  Don't be discouraged, for God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8).  He never changes!  When we feel distant, we shouldn't give up or think He has left us, for those who ask, receive; those who seek, find; and those who knock find the door opened (Luke 11:10).

Now back to those shepherds (Luke 2:8-20):

Another thought to ponder - why shepherds?  There were plenty of other "common" people around.  Many people were in Bethlehem because of the census, yet God called some shepherds who were tending their flocks in a field outside of the city.  At the moment, the most logical answer for me is that God announced His Son's birth to shepherds first because Jesus would be the ultimate shepherd, laying down His life for His flock (John 10:11).

The next lesson came from Luke 2:17.  I have a passion for discipleship.  I love to support, encourage, and share in others' walks with Christ.  There is nothing more exciting than to see someone seek out and run full-force towards Him.  But the shepherds reminded me of something very important.  Notice the order of events in this verse.  "When they had seen Him . . . "  The first step was to encounter Christ for themselves.  They heard what they angels said, but before they told anyone else, they went to see for themselves.  It was only after they had that experience that they "spread the word concerning Him."  The crucial first step in living a life all-out for Christ is encountering Him for ourselves.  We cannot rely on the faith of our parents, grandparents, friends, etc.  We can't "ride their coattails" along this journey of faith.  We must make it our own by having our own encounter and experience with Christ. 

Finally, the shepherds' story ends in Scripture by saying they saw everything "just as they had been told" (Luke 2:20).  Our God is a God of Truth.  We can trust what He says!!