Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Bigger; Revelation 3:20

" Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."

hmmm, I bet you are wondering what exactly is this lady going to share with us today with that kind of title aren't you?  I know it struck me a bit odd myself when I thought about it but I get it so let me share.

Sometimes I need to be reminded that God is bigger than all my happy times, all my sad times and all my in between times.  Sometimes I need to be reminded that my God is bigger than my worry, my guilt, my shame, my pain.  Sometimes I need to be reminded that my God is bigger than my celebrations, my hopes, my dreams and my plans.  Sometimes I just need to be reminded that HE is GOD and I am simply blessed that He is who He is and I am who I am. 

I've been part of a Bible study on Thursday nights that has begun peeling back some of the not so pretty parts of me, you know those parts that you hope no one will ever know and that you'll always be able to cover up and pretend that they don't exist?  You know what happens when you pull off a scab (sorry, I know that is gross)... sometimes it hurts and the area feels tender and sometimes even bleeds a bit until it begins to heal.  God has been peeling off the "scabs" of my wounds of long ago and has begun a healing in me like I can't explain.  He's not only begun to heal those wounds but he's given me a lot of precious band-aids called sisters who are walking the journey with me in this class.  They have "STUCK" through this class with me and we have seen wonderful things happening in each other.  (that was a little play on words as the study is called Stuck by Jennie Allen).  This class served as a reminder to the one who caused all those wounds to begin with, the enemy of God and man, who God is and just how big he is. 

Each week we are given homework and an on-going question is "Who are you Lord?"  The first week I had my canned answer, sounded good, sounded just about perfect with all it's polish and by this week I began to really ask that question honestly.  Who are you, Lord?  He shared with me just today actually that he is the door when I pray for a window.  You see that's how big my God is.  He doesn't just give me what I pray for, he gives me more.  He goes one bigger and better than what I can envision for my own life.  I know that I can trust him with my whole being and that people will poke at the wound, maybe re-injure me but my God will be there to supply me with the "band-aids" to mend me and make me whole.

Scripture tells us " Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."  I've opened the door, the one God designed specifically for me.  In me he didn't create a window to my soul... he went one bigger.  My God is bigger.

Are you claiming a window when God gave you a door?  Have you bolted the lock so tightly that you've stopped all blessings coming in and going out because of the wounds that surround your heart?  Is today the day that you stop and answer the knock and hear his voice so that he can come in and be life within you?

Blessings,

Heather

Sunday, June 3, 2012

The Journey; Proverbs 16:9

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."

This is the time of year that school ends for many young people, some are beginning their next step of their journey as they exit from what others tell them they have to accomplish to graduate, to actually making decisions that impact their future.  It's a scary and exciting time for both the graduate and the family.  But it doesn't end there does it?  We continue on with our journey making plans and then changing them and making new ones and changing them and on and on. 

How many are doing exactly what they planned and in the exact manner that they planned it?  I'd say not many... maybe a few of you, but that's not the normal course of action.  I remember as a little girl I wanted to be a weather girl because it looked like a cool job, but then I found out that it wasn't just pointing at a weather map with a pretty smile on my face and well my course of action changed.  Then I decided I wanted to be a teacher as I loved English and thought yah that's what I want to do and then I changed my mind again.  I loathed high school, it wasn't an easy place for a girl who had low self-esteem but never wanted anyone to know that.  To escape I decided to go to the local vocational school and for me it was a great choice.  It boosted my self-confidence and gave me a profession in IT where I've experienced success and have been overall happy with the career.

After I lost my son I decided the best thing I could do for myself was to go back to school and get a degree in Psychology (Social Psychology to be more exact) and try to heal my broken heart by understanding how the mind works.  It was a good choice, but as you are now aware by reading this it wasn't my original choice.  Proverbs 16:9 says the Lord determines my steps.  You see God knew what my journey would be, although sometimes I made a lot of turns and sometimes, in my best GPS sounding voice, legal U-turns, it wasn't the course that I had planned in the beginning.  To be totally honest and revealing... I still don't have a clue what I want to be when I grow up but somehow I just know that God does and he's been ordering my steps from before the moment that I thought I wanted to be a weather girl.  The twists and turns that life has taken have been part of that journey that is leading me to my future moments.  The older I get the wiser I get,  not in my own understanding, but in the simple truth that I can trust God with all things which includes all of my tomorrows.  His plans have always turned out better than mine, I'm finally getting that and it's a big stress reliever knowing that I don't have to have it all planned out because God already does.

So if you are a recent graduate, congratulations!  You have nothing to fear, trust in the Lord... He has your steps already ordered and you can rest in that his plan is greater than any plan you can imagine.  Do the work, listen to his call and step in faith as he has called and ordered.

Blessings,
Heather