God in our everyday
I took a brief break from writing due to having family in town. It was such a blessed time and I spent the week absolutely over the moon, having my home filled with all of my children, grandchildren, my mom and friends. There was an abundance of activities, laughter, conversation and food. The week came and went so fast… too fast. But I cherished every single moment and we built lifelong memories and new traditions that I have eternal gratitude for.
Since their departure, I found myself fighting the tug of sadness. I’ve tried to keep myself busy since they all left, but I feel like I’m in a daze. The Lord continues to nudge me throughout the day to write but I have felt unmotivated and uninspired. This morning I prayed again for direction, motivation and a renewed spirit. Moments later, I felt the desire to read a chapter of the book I am currently reading, Live by Sadie Robertson (awesome book btw!). She mentioned the scripture at Matthew 18:20 where Jesus says, “Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” She went on to say, “...seek unity, gather with people, believe with people, pray with them.”
My soul was stirred and instantly I knew exactly what I needed to do. I needed to reach out! I needed to seek unity and ask people to pray for me. So, I did not delay. I picked up my phone and sent out some text messages to my sisters in Christ. I briefly told them what I was struggling with and asked for prayer. The response was immediate. My spirit came alive with the encouragement I received. I felt covered. I felt protected. I felt…so loved. One of the replies I received included the picture I am attaching today. I prayed that scripture out loud and felt a sense of peace and relief come over me.
I then had the overwhelming desire to reach out to other people just to check in on them. I did not mention myself but simply asked if there was anything I could pray for them about and wrote out a new prayer list. I felt even stronger. Yup, this works both ways. Praying for others gets me out of “myself” and into a warrior stance with Jesus by my side. I feel stronger. I feel awake and alive. I feel a sense of purpose and delight.
So yes, although I was sad that so many of my physical family members had to depart many miles away - God surrounded and tucked me tightly into my spiritual family. I just needed to reach out. I heard what God had whispered to me and promptly acted on what he was saying.
When I was getting ready to sit down and write today’s post, I whispered to the Lord to help give me the words to write because I wasn’t sure what today’s topic would be. Literally within 2 minutes, my phone rang. It was the same friend who sent me today’s picture suggesting I write about what I went through today. She had NO idea I had just said that prayer literally moments before. When I told her, we both giggled because we just knew. This is God showing up in real life. THIS is what living out faith results in...movement. A positive altered perspective and lighter soul. What could be a better subject to write about than that? God in our everyday.
I thanked the Lord and my friend. After we hung up I paused, gazing out the window and getting lost for a moment in the beauty surrounding me. God is so kind. He never lets us go through anything alone. We just need to go to him and pay attention to where he directs us, even if it is outside of our comfort zone. He is indeed a good, good father.
Stay encouraged. Feel free to listen to this beautiful song by Chris Tomlin:
