Resting...

Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

 

 

As I scroll back through my blog, a common thread emerges. It's that compelling "I have to write then I'll feel better" theme.  Often I have passed up the urges and still survived. LOL.  However sometimes, getting the thoughts out into the atmosphere bring about a strange healing, sometimes for me, sometimes for others who may stumble across my ramblings.

I'm always learning.  Now don't get me wrong.  I don't pretend to be well versed in much anything. But the process of learning is often bettered by sharing with one another in the process. I don't like the idea of simply throwing every exciting thought out into the universe, but often others' words can serve to be a source of encouragement that can be just what is needed at the moment.  And tho I abhor the impersonal nature of social media, I have seen God use it much! 

This week we finished a beautiful vacation with my family at the ocean. We had perfection.  80 degrees and sunshine daily.

This week also brought some moments of painful revelation, the kind that kick you in the gut and leave you questioning many things including your own sanity and every decision you have ever made.  It's the kind that also amplifies one's failures. It elicits the kind of emotion that makes you feel like vomiting at any given moment. And of course it brings the endless stream of sleep robbing questions...what if's...what nows...

To preserve my last shred of sanity, I have been browsing through our beautiful vacation photos and grasping on to every small blip of encouragement I have come across. 

Like this one...

 

 

I love the carefree spirit and love I see embodied here.  It reminds my of my circle..my Bible study girls in particular...those friends who love me even when I am crazy and queen grumpy. They pray for me and hold my hand and tell me it'll be ok. I can be completely real and tell them the truth about the crappy stuff and they'll not "rat me out" or make my already fragile spirit feel unsafe. They do fun too. Our giggles are the best.

And they help me learn about resting...and waiting when I want to get my wonderwoman boots out and kick some butt.

 

 

 I love the memes and daily devotional style posts that come across facebook.  Ann Voscamp is among my favorites.  This one popped up this week at an intense moment where I wanted to curl up in a tiny ball, hide and weep.

 

 

I know it's truth.  I'm learning to lay my head there. It ain't easy...

 

 

 

And then there's this photo....(shout out to my hubby who carried most of the weight of a hundred pounds of shells the what seems like 5 miles back from Shell Island.)

So much of the time when my boots come out, I am finding often that resting first is a better option.  This doesn't mean that I never enter warfare or face the tough stuff head on. 

I happened to marry "Mr When I'm Not 100 % Sure What To Do, Don't Do Anything". It's another one of those God designed gifts that drives me crazy.  But that's another thought for another day.

The stuff that slammed us this week is no laughing matter.  It's hard...yucky...nightmare material.  And the reactions we express now could mess certain relationships up for the rest of time.  It's that serious. So when I've been tempted to rush in, I'm learning in some hard ways why at this moment resting and waiting is in all of our best interests.

 

 



In the process, I keep getting almost daily reminders of my worth and beauty before my father God who adores me beyond my comprehension. 

Like these wild ocean side grasses....

From far away they are plain and unappealing.  But close up, they have intricate beauty and detail.

What a place to rest.

 

Today the day started in tears, misunderstanding and great frustration and fear. But then God stepped in and in his typical great and amazing grace provided peace and rest.  I opened my face book to this reminder.

 

 

What a promise.

We are not required to, well actually the Bible commands us not to worry about the troubles of tomorrow. I'm real good at not obeying that particular command. But today I am choosing rest.

 

And you know how rest producing troubles often draw us closer to HIS heart...

 

 

With that season of rest, I am gifted time. 

Time to ponder...time to care for others via prayer and intercession.

So in my resting today, how can I pray for you?

You can comment here or message me if that's easier.

 

                                          The road of life is easier when walked with a friend - unknown





 

Enough

I've been there a bunch lately.
In that place I call "the corner".
It's that uncomfortable state of being many of us find ourselves at periodically, some more then others.  If we're honest.

We beat our selves up there.
Crazy happens there and lots of feeling sorry for myself and comparison of others who I perceive to have reached those gargantuan places full of perfection I can never hope to attain to.
And then there's the what ifs section of the corner, the place where every idiosyncrasy of my spontaneous nature is dissected and abhorred.
What if I'd been more rigid in my education style?  Maybe my kid would read better?
What if I'd been more watchful? Maybe I'd still be mom to 4 living children instead of 3 and 1 angel.
Lots of my friends have been there too lately I am finding.
They stress and fret and stew and live really hard and sometimes very yucky day to day existences.
They wonder, as do I, about who they are.  Really are.
They wonder if they are worthy.
They wonder if they are loved.
They wonder if they are enough.
And they wonder if they can make it though one more day of pain.
I recently read a homeschool mama's book called "Teaching from Rest".
Now let me tell you, I don't get much reading time.  I enjoy reading but my current pace eliminates time for meaningful reading. But this book was short and I devoured it.  Every single line. It was what I needed at that moment.
It gave me the much needed reminder that rest is ok...and really actually needed...and that the crazy we subject ourselves to with the lists of activities and responsibilities (not to mention the beating ourself up time)  we immerse ourselves in, while tho they may be good are not always for our best.
It did not grant me a license to be lazy mind you, but to re evaluate my priorities with the Best Yes philosophy that has turned my life upside down.
This also motivated me to re investigate the truths of the Bible and how they apply to my day to day.
Here's my most recent list (since I'm all about lists...)
*We are LOVED. 
Ephesians 2:4 - 7 says "But God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loves us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ...
*We are VALUED.
Matthew 10:31 says Fear not, therefore; You are of more value then many sparrows.
*We are PRECIOUS.
Isaiah 43:4 says Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.
*We can make it through the tough.
Isaiah 41:10 reassures us of this.."Fear not, for I am with you; Be no dismayed for I am thy God.  I will strengthen you, I will help you...
* We are ENOUGH.
2 Peter 1:3 says "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.."
and then there's this one...Ephesians 2:10 - For YOU are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works..."
How's that for value?
If you like me and many others I love, struggle with who you are, let me shout to you from my corner that YOU ARE ENOUGH!

So much has happened recently that has reinforced these truths.
I'm finding that so many of my beliefs center around my wrong thought processes and me not valuing who God created me to be.
Not that I need to take pride in wrong ways, but God talks much of our value in his word so there has to be truth to that somewhere right?!
I met someone this week, who in my mind is somewhat of a celebrity.  She bounces around in memories of my childhood.  She has also reached pinnacles of success I feel are never going to be my destiny.  (how's that for the yucky comparison monster?) My first reaction at meeting her again had me shaking in my boots.  "She'll never remember me...country mouse I be..." But as fate would have it, God reminded me of my value. I considered running the other direction or acting like I was busy when she entered the room.  But there she came, straight into "my corner"..and she remembered ME!  and had the same recollection of memories.  I'd have missed a great conversation if I'd stayed stuck in my corner, worrying and devaluing God's handiwork.
Now, I'm not saying that her remembering me gives me value, but for me it is a reminder of who I am...I AM ENOUGH!
Casting Crowns has a song I love called Voice of Truth.  Take a minute to listen. Let the truth wash over you.
And if you are facing a "climbing out of boat onto the crashing waves" time in your space called life, take hope and remember...YOU ARE ENOUGH!

He is enough!