Sprint

People will avoid you like the plague when loss, pain, illness or hardship strikes.  It's as if they're afraid your brush with chaos is "contagious," like they will catch turmoil from being around you. 

It's amazing to watch people sprint out of your life with urgent vigor, while crushing blows hit your life at every angle.  You stand there, stunned, tear-stained and shocked as their footsteps echo the dark path out of your life.

Those who once cried bitter tears into your sweater are running with feverish angst, to get away from your disaster as it unfolds.

Once the smoke clears, your stock goes up, and the pendulum swings back in your favor, people start walking back toward you, but 

it's a looong way back. 

By the time they decide you're worth hanging around with, the chasm between you and them has grown even wider, because you've grown.  You've now outgrown your need for them throughout the long tear-filled days you survived after they walked out on you. 

You're stronger, wiser, better.  You've matured past being needy, insecure and deficient. 

They try to bridge the distance, but it just isn't the same. There's an unspoken strain, a stain from when they abandoned you in your darkest hour.  

The scourge is now gone; you're no longer tainted goods, but you are more protective of your space now.  You're guarding your time, your emotions, your headspace.  

You're in a different place now, and you can't apologize for it. 

What those who have left you don't realize is that you have graduated to a peaceful space that is no longer controlled by others' acceptance or rejection of you. You've learned to thrive even when the only voice you can hear is your own, and the only shoulder you can lean on is God's. 

Times have changed, and it's in the air. People can tell that you're better, and you're on the rise.  And here they come. 

But you've also changed.  For the better. You're not wounded; you're healed. You're not deficient; your whole. The hole in your heart left by their absence is closed up and no scar remains. 

You no longer depend on the support of finicky characters; your life is focused, directed and balanced. Clarity is yours, peace is yours; you are renewed.  

And the good news is, your life's happiness is no longer hanging in the balance of unreliable hands; you've taken yourself out of those shaky situations and learned to stand on sacred, solid ground. 

This is the upside of being let down, abandoned, discarded, disappointed, left for dead....

When you rise, you're standing up taller, confident in wholeness, and in the One who never leaves. 

Calling

When life gets rough, confusing, calamitous or tumultuous, look down at your feet - check to see if you've stepped away from your calling. 

What is your calling?  It's that thing that you #know God created you to do. Often referred to as "purpose."

Your purpose provides direction for your life, so that no matter what life presents you with, you are sure of what you are here to do.  It streamlines your path and helps you stay focused on the right things.

So, in spite of whatever trial you may be facing right now,  if you've stepped away, 

step #back into your calling.

That calling seems unrelated to your present circumstance, but trust me - Walking in your calling will bring you joy, peace, and strength in the midst of your hardest trials. 

Regardless of what else you don't know about your life right now, if you're operating in purpose, you #do  know that you're moving forward in what God wants from you. 

If you don't know your purpose, diligently seek God for it; He's willing to let you in on what that is. He wants you to know so that you can be focused, directed and fulfilled.  

When you do know your calling, stay connected to it. Seek opportunity to move in it. 

There is no real fulfillment outside of it. 

Press toward the mark for the prize of the #High #Calling of God in Jesus Christ. (Philippians 4:13)

Don't take your calling lightly; the world has need of you. 

#Purpose #Calling #Direction #Clarity #Fulfillment

Christlike?

If you are a Christian (or even if you are not), you know that Jesus died a horrible, agonizing death. He was accused of things He didn't do; He was betrayed; beaten so badly that He was unrecognizable as a human; He was taunted, tormented, mocked and spat on. 

And yet, in the hours of His searing pain, embarrassment and agony, Jesus was still interceding for others. 

While on the cross, and in the moments before he died, He cried out to God on behalf of those who were crucifying Him:  

"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

It takes incredible strength to call out to God for others, when you are in crushing pain yourself, even much more so, to ask God to forgive those who are somehow inflicting pain upon you.  

But, my friends, #this is what being Christlike is all about.

We must be willing to accept and adopt the mindset of Jesus, in living, loving and giving, down to the very last bit of life left in our bodies. (Whew!!)

How many of us are #really willing to go to these lengths of sacrifice and surrender?

It's what God is calling for; He gave us an example of the life we are to lead through His Son. 

Now, it's up to us to step up to the plate. We can do it. We must.  

Who else is going to carry on His legacy and His standard if we don't? 

#TheStakesAreHigh

#WeCanDoIt

#BloodyPrayers 

#WhispersinAgony

#HeDidIt #WhoAmINotTo

Self

I used to be a flight attendant, and one of the most valuable takeaways from that experience was this:

"Secure your own oxygen mask before attempting to help others."

I gave planes full of people this instruction every day. 

Now, I'm having to put this concept into practice myself.

Thanks for the reminder, Jordan. 😘 Love you, Babi. 

#SelfCare2K17

#SecureYourOwnMaskFirst

This may also apply in the following areas:

#AlsoMindYourOwnBusiness

#SweepAroundYourOwnFrontPorchFirst

#StayInYourLane

#MindThatMoteInYourOwnEyeInsteadofTheBeamInYourBrothersEye

(That last part is courtesy of Matthew 7:3-5. 😉)

It's really all about self care AND personal accountability. 

It may be challenging, but it's necessary. Do press toward that mark.

The Bridge

The prayers of the righteous avail much.

Intercession is not just praying for someone else.  

It is often called "standing in the gap," which is what intercession is - it is laying yourself down over the broken place of the bridge, stretching yourself out so that your brother or sister can safely walk over the bridge from bondage into freedom.

That bondage may be illness, hurt, pain, depression, brokenness, addiction - whatever it is that is in the way of that person's freedom... 

That bondage causes a gap in their bridge such that they can not pass over.  Therefore, they cannot live the healthy, fulfilled life that God has for them.

But, prayer - a willingness to cry out to God on that person's behalf, an urgent call to God for someone else's freedom - that prayer reaches God's ear, and through that intercession, that passionate beseeching of Heaven on behalf of a fellow brother or sister -  that person is brought out of pain, out of hurt, illness or addiction, to a place of freedom. 

I've witnessed it so many times, and I am reminded that my prayers for others are a small thing, compared to what Jesus, the #UltimateIntercessor did.  He laid down His life in painful sacrifice for our sins, so that we could cross the bridge to freedom.

If I want to be like Him, I have to have a heart to intercede for others; I must be willing to cover the gap in their bridge to freedom.

understanding...or not

Every day, I ask God to help me understand, and if not to understand, I ask that He at least help me not to misunderstand. 

As in life, it can be very easy to misunderstand, and very hard to understand.

I believe that there is understanding in this life for me; the Bible says, "in all thy getting, get an understanding" (Proverbs 4:7).

Sometimes understanding comes to you; other times, you have to walk toward it.  

Regardless, it's important to obtain this element of life.  Therefore, I will walk toward it, sit still while it comes to me - either way is fine with me, as long as in my "getting" I get this principle thing.  

Almost can't do life without some sort of understanding (knowledge, acceptance).

However, when there is no understanding of my life, situations, or circumstances, I always have my faith. 

Now, faith is a must-have for anyone who calls themselves a Christian. 

Without faith, it's impossible to please Him, and what is the purpose of a Christian life if we do not aim to please Him?

Understanding is something we want, but faith is something we need.  I'll hold on to my faith while I wait for or even pursue understanding.  

Trembling hands, buckling knees, tears in my eyes, it is the one thing I will hold tenaciously to.  My faith.

So, as the day comes to a close, my prayer is, "God, I pray for understanding, but even if it never comes, help me to always hold tightly to my faith in You."

Amen.

Here Comes The Sun

As I sit here, listening to the rain beating confidently against my window, my thoughts drift, trying to find a happy place amid the cool grayness of the day.

It's Spring, but it feels like Autumn. The precipitation speaks, words of emptiness, futility, waywardness and sad hope.  A heavy cloak of moisture that feels gloomy, with a restless reaching for better days, for shining hope in the pouring rain.

On days like today, I wonder what's lingering beyond this momentary hurt.  What is lonely? Is it actually being alone, without human contact? Or is it a void that taunts us no matter how many people are around us?

At first, I'm thinking "I feel lonely today." But what exactly is "lonely"?

I just dropped my Mom off at work. She is literally less than a mile from me now.  I am not alone; my Mom, brother, close family members and friends are but a phone call or text away.  I'm sitting in Panera, gathering my thoughts and making a feeble attempt to capture them here.

Maybe it isn't loneliness I feel; perhaps it's dissatisfaction - a general unhappiness with my current situation or station in life.

As a single woman, I am unmarried, and I do not have children.  I don't have the same things to occupy my time as a lot of my friends, so it behooves me to sort through my own emotions, motivations and actions. I can't afford to be unenlightened - about my world or about myself.  I have the time to complete my emotional wanderings and get ahold of myself while I am in this season of singleness.  I don't have much of an excuse not to.

For the past 11 months, I have been on sabbatical from work, battling a mysterious medical condition that has baffled doctors and left me with nothing but questions.

I have felt frozen in time - stuck, in a holding pattern.  Unable to move forward with any major endeavors because of numerous doctors' appointments and physical challenges.

Sure, I've had plans, blueprints, lists and strategies. However, all of these objectives have disintegrated and fallen through my hands like grains of sand.

As a result, I've made the adjustment to plow on in vague misunderstanding of what's to come, moving in blind faith that something good is on the horizon, even though I have no idea what it may be.

It isn't loneliness that has me in this place; it is, after all, the broth of general dissatisfaction.  It's liquid restlessness that courses through my veins at lightning speed.  It's a deep desire to be somewhere else...anywhere but here.  But if I were "there" instead of where I am now, I would likely tasting this same bitter brine.  It appears to be a part of the human condition - general unhappiness, melancholy, and bathing in blueness.

On days like today, I try to overlook the unhappy feelings, embrace gratefulness and find something of value to pass on to others.

I try to be productive; creating blog posts, carving out web design ideas, etc.  I make the effort to find another "space" to occupy; to put myself in another place, onward, upward, positive and far from the valley of blue that I find myself in.

Wait...the sun just came out.

I guess there's a message in that.  No matter how confident the dreariness may seem, in a moment's time, cold and blue can turn to warm and bright.

Now, I am looking out the same window where the rain fell, and I see a blue sky, puffy white clouds, and the shining sun.

Okay, I've got the message. I don't necessary have all the answers; I don't instantly have the cure for unhappiness. I don't know what's next in my life, nor do I have a complete knowledge of the good that's around the corner.  But I am reminded that situations are only snapshots in time; they can change in an instant. 

So, while we are waiting for our change, we should attempt to hold on to hope, look past the raindrops and look for the sun.

And there it is.