Perhaps

I sit and listen to the chimes outside my window create a melody – a song of peace. After such an expressive weekend I am left to sort through a puddle of emotions.  An empty nest awaits. How do I feel about my new found journey, mixed with ribbons of possibilities and colorful paths to explore? Excitement and fear intertwine – yet there is balance.

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

My son recently graduated from high school and I reflect.  What paths will he follow? Will he choose wisely? Will he become bold enough to trudge through unmarked territory if that is where God leads? Will I?

Job says, “There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths.”
 Does the path always reflect a road or trail? The path is light. God is light. God is the path and if we see the light, yet not a road, do we dare follow? How often have we stopped short against the tall grass because we could not see the markers– though the light clearly spoke, “come this way?"

Perhaps you have found yourself in the clearing of a beautiful meadow and had no idea where to turn. And maybe you’ve spun your back against the glittering light and walked in other directions.

My prayer is that my son will follow the light on his new and amazing adventure rather than every road he sees. My prayer is that we both will become bold enough to step toward the light if indeed God is calling. Perhaps we will find the courage, as Waldo Emerson said, to “go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Perhaps.

Perhaps others will follow the trail God asked us to make. Perhaps we will journey our very own special trails - set aside by God alone - just for us.

Let me encourage you today. If you see the light and know God is calling – step into it. Truly with God all things are possible.

Today may we boldly proclaim - May it be so!

 

The Cone of Life

Do you ever have one of those moments where you feel like you have no idea where you are going? Do you feel blinded and confused? I have often found myself walking into a room only to stop in the middle of it and ask, "Now why did I come in here?"

Our dog Gavin recently had surgery to be neutered. I would have liked to have seen it done sooner but three males in the house kept me from devastating our male dog in such a way. Now - we are faced with having to take care of a BIG puppy that is very unhappy. To keep him from "messing" with things he has had to wear the dreaded cone.

We laughed as he stumbled around the house but over time he began to look lost and sad - we too felt his emotion. After a day of trying to get around the house- the once "new" looking cone turned into a battered cone wrapped in duct tape to hold it together.

I sat watching him one day and reflected on our journeys and how they seem so similar to his right now. I often feel as if I am blinded - guarded - blocked - from seeing the world as I would like. Never-the-less I trudge onward through life banging into things and often breaking them. I am sure that I come out looking like Gavin much of the time.

And so I sit and watch this pitiful puppy try to find his way around the house and I say to him, "This is to help you and not to harm you." "This is so you won't hurt yourself." "This is how it needs to be right now." I rise from my chair, grab hold of his cone, and help him find his way.

The Lord will often keep us from seeing things we shouldn't - he will guard our ears and eyes to protect us - he shields us on our journeys and allows our views to be only what he wants them to be. We often fight to travel a certain way. We have no idea what lies ahead because our vision is skewed - But the Lord knows because he can see all things  . . . and he whispers to us if we will but listen . . .

"For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." (Isaiah 41:13)

He will help us - lead us - guide us - along our journeys. Though we cannot see the full view much of the time we must trust that God loves us enough to lead us the right way and do what is best.

When Gavin finally reaches that place of healing we will be able to remove the cone and he will be able to run free once more. We are all waiting for that blessed day!

May your journey be filled with Peace today!

Heart of the Details

 I ran into a friend of mine last week and she asked, "How are you?" I responded with, "Well . . . " She interjected with . . ."Life is busy!" We've all said those words to ourselves or to others. She seemed to sum it up for me.

We can become so busy with "life" that we forget to live "life." But how do we live life to the fullest when we miss out on God? Part of living life is finding God in the details of it. So just for fun let's take a look at what that might look like:

D - Delve In! Start searching for God.
E - Everywhere! God is everywhere and we can find him in all things!
T - Turn! Turn your heart toward him.
A - Accept! Accept what he might be trying to say to you that day.
I - Inhale! Breathe in those words and his love.
L - Listen! Listen to his still small voice.
S - Share! Tell others how you have found him in your day.

May your journey be filled with success on this day and may you open your hearts to find God in the details.

The Voice of God

Hannah prayed that God would send her a child. . . He did. As soon as Samuel was weaned, Hannah took him to the temple of the Lord and gave him back to the Lord. I imagine that it took great courage and love for the Lord for Hannah to be able to release her son. Samuel would now be raised by the priests in the temple.

One night while Samuel slept he heard a voice call his name.

"Samuel answered, "Here I am." And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." (1 Sam:3:4)

The Bible says that "in those days the word of the Lord was rare." (1 Sam3:1) Even though Samuel lived in the temple, worshiped in the temple, and grew up in the temple, he did not recognize the voice of the Lord. Eli told Samuel that he did not call for him and to go back and lay down. Samuel obeyed and went and laid back down.

"Again the Lord called, "Samuel!" (1 Sam:3:6) Samuel got up again, went to Eli, and said, "Here I am; you called me."

Eli told Samuel once again that he did not call for him. "The Lord called Samuel a third time and Samuel got up and went to Eli." At that moment Eli realized that the Lord was calling Samuel and he told Samuel that if God called again say, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."

God did call Samuel's name again and Samuel did respond. We will have those moments on our journey when we hear a sound, a voice, a whisper, or something we are unsure of. "Can it be?" we might ask ourselves. Many of us will dismiss it or say "I must be hearing things."

Samuel did not recognize the voice of the Lord because he didn't know Him. "Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord. The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him." (1 Sam: 3:7) Good knews for us - we can know God. The word of the Lord is available to us anytime we want it. We can have a personal relationship with him. The lessons are there for us - we just need to dig in and get to know Him. Below is a personal moment from a young woman who took my Journey class. I asked her if I could share her experience with you and she agreed.

"This specific moment actually happened to me during our class. I am really not sure why I didn't share it. I guess a part of me was a little scared because I still don't know what it means. Ok, here goes."

"I was laying in bed one night feeling very emotional and lost. I had been out in Colorado away from my loved ones for a long time. It seemed like everything I had planned was not working out. Before I went to bed I sort of just rushed a prayer, "God, do I stay or do I go?" Later that night I woke up to hear a voice I have never heard, and can barely describe, say, "Stephanie, this is the voice of the Lord, stay." I was very startled and started shaking. Then I heard almost a laugh, like one you'd make when a child asks a silly question. The voice then said, "Do not be afraid. Stephanie, this is the voice of the Lord, stay." After that I went right back to sleep. I still don't know what is out here for me in Colorado, but I'm glad I decided to stay."
Stephanie

God still speaks - he spoke back then and He will speak today. Build that relationship with Him, study His word, listen for His voice, and your journey will be changed. God will speak to you and you will find God in the details of your journey.