"God is my Shepherd
And I am his little lamb.
He feeds me
He guides me
He looks after me.
I have everything I need.
Inside, my heart is very quiet.
As quiet as lying still in soft green grass
In a meadow
By a little stream."
Author: Sally Lloyd-Jones (adaptation of Psalm 23)
This sounds great, right? A quiet heart is resting in a meadow, listening to the gentle gurgling of a quiet stream...
Then there's reality: the baby is cranky, very cranky (currently has a virus and is cutting new teeth), and he also has a knack for being caught up in the potty-training adventures of his older sister. Multiple accidents daily and serious lack of sleep at night, alongside the rigors of language study, pregnancy, living cross-culturally, etc...
Rest? Quiet? "I have everything I need"?
We have asked our Shepherd so many times to restore the sleep of our precious, still-very-snuggly 13 month old. Either He's not answering us...or He is. Perhaps He wants to teach us how to rest in Him when life doesn't feel like a meadow with a quiet stream. Perhaps He wants to teach us how to have a heart that is very quiet even as we respond to the not-so-quiet issues He's called us to deal with.
He is, after all, still the One in charge. He has not lost a bit of victory. Whatever He asks us to do, He assures us He will give us the strength to do it. He is totally capable of "strengthen[ing us] with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy" (Col.1).
This is a moment-by-moment battle. When I am tempted to be frustrated (or when I have already begun to feel frustrated), the question is beginning to arise: "Will you rest in Me and enjoy this task that I have given you or will you just 'survive'?"
We know our true identity; He knows our true identity. May we live as the royalty we truly are.
Montevideo
La Rambla, Pocitos
Showing posts with label Peace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peace. Show all posts
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Monday, December 26, 2011
So much to do, so little time
Looking at the next two days is overwhelming. If we were to try to do everything that we need and/or want to do (last minute details, last minute packing, focusing on saying goodbye well, we would be stressed for every minute of the next two days.
A quote from one of my (Timbrel's) favorite books helped me this morning as we prepared to leave Toccoa, GA (where we've been for the past week with my family). Being away from Minneola has been stressful in its own way, especially for the kids, but for us it has also been a break from all the crazy packing, details, and decisions. Now we're entering the packing zone again, and I feel the weight of "how will I get all this done?" returning.
Here's what Abba said:
"Your time and energy are limited; only I know how much of each you have...Instead of wasting so much energy longing for what is not, invest that energy into trusting Me...Trusting Me will draw you into My joyful Presence."
So, we have come to grips with the fact that not everything that "needs" to be done will get done, and we have already crossed a few things off of our list. We are asking Abba to help us accomplish the important things and to help us recognize and let go of the nonessential.
Because one day in His Presence is better than a thousand elsewhere.
Will you ask the Father to keep drawing us into His Presence, and to care for the details that need to happen? We continue to speak "Grace!" to the growing mountain of luggage that sits in our house - "Grace!" to its packing, "Grace!" to its transport to the airport, "Grace!" to its free passage to Costa Rica, "Grace!" to it's acceptance into Costa Rica, and "Grace!" to its unpacking in Costa Rica.
He is enough.
A quote from one of my (Timbrel's) favorite books helped me this morning as we prepared to leave Toccoa, GA (where we've been for the past week with my family). Being away from Minneola has been stressful in its own way, especially for the kids, but for us it has also been a break from all the crazy packing, details, and decisions. Now we're entering the packing zone again, and I feel the weight of "how will I get all this done?" returning.
Here's what Abba said:
"Your time and energy are limited; only I know how much of each you have...Instead of wasting so much energy longing for what is not, invest that energy into trusting Me...Trusting Me will draw you into My joyful Presence."
So, we have come to grips with the fact that not everything that "needs" to be done will get done, and we have already crossed a few things off of our list. We are asking Abba to help us accomplish the important things and to help us recognize and let go of the nonessential.
Because one day in His Presence is better than a thousand elsewhere.
Will you ask the Father to keep drawing us into His Presence, and to care for the details that need to happen? We continue to speak "Grace!" to the growing mountain of luggage that sits in our house - "Grace!" to its packing, "Grace!" to its transport to the airport, "Grace!" to its free passage to Costa Rica, "Grace!" to it's acceptance into Costa Rica, and "Grace!" to its unpacking in Costa Rica.
He is enough.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Faith, Passion and Peace
Have you ever been disappointed? Have you ever looked forward to something with great anticipation, only to watch it vanish away before coming to fruition?
We have.
Have you ever tried again, nerves and emotions on pins and needles, "Surely it won't happen again..." But it might. And sometimes it does.
It did.
"Are you guys excited about going to Uruguay?" We've heard it many times, and of course we say "Yes." But deep down, we've held out the full measure of excitement, holding our internal breath so that, just in case something else happens to prevent us from going, we won't reel quite as deeply.
Last week our "yes" changed to "yes!" Constant disappointment had dampened the freshness of our calling, but last week changed that. "Just because your calling is attacked does not mean that your calling is invalid. In fact, it's usually quite the opposite" (from a conference we attended in Atlanta last week). We believe again - Dad's got everything under control. In His timing, we'll leave on December 29.
Interesting how faith, passion, and peace are intermingled. Because our faith was restored, our passion increased. True passion is accompanied by deep peace.
Thanks, Father, for the adjustment in perspective.
Let's Go!
We have.
Have you ever tried again, nerves and emotions on pins and needles, "Surely it won't happen again..." But it might. And sometimes it does.
It did.
"Are you guys excited about going to Uruguay?" We've heard it many times, and of course we say "Yes." But deep down, we've held out the full measure of excitement, holding our internal breath so that, just in case something else happens to prevent us from going, we won't reel quite as deeply.
Last week our "yes" changed to "yes!" Constant disappointment had dampened the freshness of our calling, but last week changed that. "Just because your calling is attacked does not mean that your calling is invalid. In fact, it's usually quite the opposite" (from a conference we attended in Atlanta last week). We believe again - Dad's got everything under control. In His timing, we'll leave on December 29.
Interesting how faith, passion, and peace are intermingled. Because our faith was restored, our passion increased. True passion is accompanied by deep peace.
Thanks, Father, for the adjustment in perspective.
Let's Go!
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