My students, mentees, clients, and family know this about me: I don’t believe in coincidence. I believe in God-incidents. Scripture tells us that God cares so much about each of us that He counts the hairs on our head. It is my belief that God is moving in and ordaining every second of every day.
And it’s our choice as believers to listen and see and recognize His presence and His voice in our lives.
I wonder if a society so accustomed to instant gratification, to i-everything, addicted to social media status updates and apps that make everything easier really has the heart to seek peace. Really seek peace.
You know, sometimes I wonder if we all just focused on “loving one another as we love ourselves” — that second Great Commandment — if we just did THAT – all of us, regardless of political persuasion, religious affiliation, personal agenda – if we ALL just did THAT — I wonder if we might actually see the change we want to see in the world.
If we ALL committed to THAT couldn’t we create a world where fear and terror and murder and rape and hate and discontent and anxiety and doubt and judgment and loathing and persecution vanishes?
Couldn’t we do that?
“This isn’t the life I thought I’d lead.”
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard some variation on that theme, I’d be a rich woman. And, being completely transparent, I’ve heard it many times from my own mouth.
I am in awe of people who know from an early age what they were put on this earth to do. Doctors. Actors. Teachers. Mechanics. Artists. Writers…..
And then there’s the rest of us. We know we’re good at certain things. We have gifts and talents. But the problem is that those gifts and talents could be applied in myriad ways. Many of us go to college, select a major, graduate and if we’re lucky we find a job that has a slight resemblance to our major and maybe even our passion. We work at it. We make a living. Many settle down and start families and it’s all ok.
But it’s not great.
And at some point it begins to feel like a gerbil wheel. Round and round and round we go.
I have always been mesmerized by stained glass. Its intricate beauty and the workmanship required to create it take my breath away. And as anyone who has ever really looked at stained glass knows, it only achieves is true potential – its utmost beauty – when light shines through it.
It reminds me of the power of grace in our lives.
I love waterfalls.
Whether they are just a few feet high, or towering rushes of water dropping hundreds of feet, their beauty and power have always caught my eye and captivated my imagination.
I’ve only stood under a waterfall once and it was exhilarating – and a painful. Exhilarating because, you know, I was standing under a waterfall! And painful because the water was falling from several feet above my head and the force of it hurt as it hit my skin.
It’s been a long time off from this site — and from this work.
And in that time off God has done a great work and recommitted purpose and most importantly SHOWN UP.
More to come — I promise.
More to share — I promise.
And YOU… you precious child of God… MORE for you, too.
Have you noticed that sometimes a teaching or passage of scripture you know well takes on a completely new meaning one day. That happened to me this morning. I will just share with you what I read in my devotional One Bread, One Body today. I trust the Holy Spirit will move in you if He needs you to hear this in a particular way.
God’s timing is always perfect. Which means His lessons are always perfectly timed.
As I committed to spending time focusing on forgiveness, wouldn’t you know He would provide a circumstance where I could walk my own talk. Continue reading
Some people LOVE doing laundry. I’m not one of them. It’s a task that must be done, but I find little joy in it.
Just this week though, my laundry taught me a lesson.
Most of the time doing laundry is pretty routine. Separate the lights from the darks. Separate the delicates from the not-delicates. Wash, dry, fold, put away.