Letting Go - #write31days 10-24-16

How tightly do we hold on to people, places & things when we should loosen our grip... and let things happen freely? Why do we hold on so tightly? When is it time to let go? Why do we want to control our loved ones lives & yet we don't want our loved ones to control us? Why do we get comfortable in a certain place or in a certain scenario or with certain people and refuse to be open to changes?

Ann Voskamp has a great quote which rings so true to me at this season in our lives... 

"Sometimes letting go is how to

find out He holds."

~ Ann Voskamp

If you were hanging from a cliff 30 feet up, would you let go? Would your reply change if I added that a strong person was standing right beneath you with open arms? If you didn't totally trust that person, would you still let go?

For those of us who profess to love & serve the God of Abraham, we always HAVE someone with us who will "catch us". We have someone who has heard our cries & compassionately cares. We have someone who is able to take the darkest threads in our lives and weave them into a beautiful tapestry.

But, do you trust him? Do we really trust him? If not, why not?

There are so many things in life that just don't make sense. Our love (and/or intense LIKE) of people, places and things often causes us to hold on too tightly. Most of us want to be able to make sense out of what happens in our lives. We want to keep those we love from hurt or harm. We want to feel safe, comfortable & secure - sometimes even at the expense of our best or the best of those around us.

Sometimes we just need to let go!

5 Minute Free-For-All - Letting Go - #write31days 10-24-16

That's NOT My Job

That's NOT my job! Have you ever heard or SAID that??

• It's not my responsibility to clean up YOUR messes.
• My job description does not require me to do that.
• It's not my job to raise YOUR children.
• They pay people to do THAT.
• That's below a person in my position.

I can think of so many scenarios where it is easy to say or think... that's NOT my job! We've all done it. But, what about the things that literally are not our job? How about the things we carry around that should have been left behind us... long ago in the past. Sometimes we take on more responsibilities in our "job" of life that really aren't ours to carry. Have you ever stopped to say...

On the Other Side of Silence - #JoyDare No. 2357

She walked at the water's edge in silence. The air was warm & wet and felt thick as her lungs sucked it in. The waters gently lapped the shore. The clouds on the horizon hid the sun which promised to rise and bring yet another balmy beach day.

The colors on the surf & the sand changed moment by moment. The beauty of it overwhelmed her. It was a painting from God that could never accurately be captured in a photo, no matter how many shots she took. 

She walked alone... watching others walking along together. Some were laughing at something the other one had said. Some were talking quietly to each other. Others were just holding hands, walking along together in silence. 

She dreamed of a day when that would happen for her. It was a day she'd dreamed of as a little girl... as a teen making her way through junior high & high school... as a young woman looking for love in her college days... as a young professional starting out in her chosen career. But, would it ever really come? Would it really happen for her?

She'd cried out to God for years now asking for a helpmate to share her journey. She'd watched loving parents who'd shared a wonderful life together. Her relationship with God had ebbed & flowed -- at her own choosing. Still, deep inside, she always knew that He cared & that He would provide... what was in His plan for her.

Sometimes the desires of our heart are set more in what we want to happen than what we are willing to allow to happen to bring glory to God. She knew that. But, she still cried out to God to find a mate to share her journey. The request had been made often. And, many times, her cries were silent... lacking words to express what she longed to have.

Life is full of such times... when we don't really know what to say, how or what to ask, what to expect, what to desire. It's in those times that God hears us most clearly, I think. 

"Deepest communion with God is beyond words, on the other side of silence." ~ Madeleine L'Engle

Days & years have passed from the day she snapped the photo above. God made a way for her to find a man of God -- a mate for life's journey. It wasn't the end all to her questions as she'd expected when a young woman. Many things in life have perplexed her. The world has tried to convince her that as she's aged, she's grown capable of answering most of life's questions. She still knows though... that many questions are beyond her reasoning and... that sometimes the silence is the best time to hear & to be heard.

"Be still &know that I am God..."  Psalm 46:10

#JoyDare No. 2357 times when I just don't know how to pray

Linking with Ann Voskamp - A Holy Experience today... 

NOTE: Due to a small book club group for women started in 2012 by a friend at my church, I actually picked up & read Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts, in early 2012. I began listing gifts then & am planning to continue for years to come. It's a WONDERFUL way to remind myself of God's tender loving care for & faithfulness to me -- and to all his children! I've always been one to get super excited about the little things from God - seeing a mother deer & her fawns while out walking early in the morning, the way the clouds look on a cold -- but sunny -- winter day, the lighting or angle I was able to catch in a photo, the quiet snoring/breathing of the LOML as he sleeps beside me, new fuzzy socks or slippers, an apple right off my tree, etc. Often times my descriptions make no sense to anyone by me & God. So, I decided to expand upon those thoughts in a few posts. So... for today... 

#JoyDare No. 2357 times when I just don't know how to pray