PRE-ORDER A COPY OF "LOVE LIFTED ME: THE STORY OF FOUR WOMEN WHO WERE CHANGED BY GOD."

There is joy as you go. This is what I am learning as I walk, hand-in-hand, with God.   

There is a 32 oz plastic container that sits on a shelf in my bedroom. It is filled with little slips of paper. On each, is an invitation to an adventure. Something to do. Something to see. Something to experience. Someone to grow to know. Somewhere to go. Every week, I lift my head to the ceiling, as I place my hand in this container to see which adventure I will be invited to say yes to.  

One Friday in August, I placed my hand in this container and pulled out a trip to the Grand Canyon! I had always wanted to adventure to the West, to be swallowed in the caverns God created with patience over thousands of years, with each element of nature submitted perfectly to His desire. Now, it was upon me, the invitation to go. And as strange as it might seem, given that I had longed for this chance, I was reticent to say yes. It was inconvenient. I had just resigned from my job and this just seemed too lavish of an adventure. Yet, I heard God’s gentle Spirit whisper, “You’ve entrusted the outcome of every draw to Me. This is My invitation. I will provide.” And He did! For 10 days, my Mother and I enjoyed the warmth of the Nevada people, the comfort of our hotel room, the cool relief of the pool, and the journey to the Grand Canyon.   

The Canyon was breathtaking. It did not disappoint. But what struck us, upon reflection, was that the highlights of our trip were found along the way. The kindness and, almost pastoral care of our tour guide; the joy of the daredevil family on our bus, celebrating the 21st birthday of their son with a trip to the Canyon; the humility of the rolling green meadows, which provided a most remarkable backdrop for the sun’s rising and setting as we traveled; the laughter my Mom and I shared as we watched “Daddy Daycare” for the umpteenth time on the bus; and the gift of a maskless embrace of fresh air as we entered the Canyon.  

For a goal-oriented woman, such as myself, this realization, i.e. that the great joy was experienced as we pursued the mark, has been life-changing. In a way, I had thought that to live life well I must always keep before me the expectant end. (Philippians 3:14). And, this is important. God counts this as the posture of a wise heart-the heart that fixes itself on Jesus Christ (the progressive realization of His work in its life and His promised return when all will be restored). This orientation encourages a sober numbering of one’s days and diligent pursuit of purpose. (Psalm 90:12 and 1 John 3: 1 - 3).  

Yet, Jesus Christ is not just working out His goodwill in my life. He is not just the One whom my heart longs to see face-to-face. He is the One my heart knows today. He is my ever-present friend. He is my ever-present life. (Acts 17:28). He is my ever-present hope (expectation). (Psalm 62). He is my ever-present joy. (Psalm 16: 10 - 11). He is with me. (Hebrews 13: 4 - 6). He is in me. (1 Corinthians 6: 18 - 20). I am His and He is mine. He is here and He is now, so every breath is an invitation to experience the fullness of who He is. Every breath is an invitation to joy. There is joy as I press towards the high calling in Christ Jesus. Joy has not been delayed. 

We love to tell stories. Even when we count ourselves clumsy with words, we can’t help but tell a story. Story is the vehicle we use to share our lives. It’s the way we make ourselves known. 

Our desire to be embraced, in the fullness of light, ushers us all into the world of wordcraft. We try to name the very real, yet intangible, components of our inner life-our true life. Naming makes sharing possible. Naming makes sharing easier. Sharing is the only way we come face to face with each other. 

We use the words given to us, or craft new words, to make known our beginnings, make sense of the middle, and fashion the future. We play a key role in our stories, but it doesn’t take much to recognize that so many components of our stories lie outside our control. The fact that we are here; the details of our essential person; the why of it all, were determined by God. (Colossians 1:16). God is the author of our stories, and the level of satisfaction we find in this life is directly connected to how we grapple with this reality.

There are only two responses to this truth: acceptance or rejection. Acceptance results in an experience of rest, peace, and joy as we find ourselves gently ushered, by the wind of His Holy Spirit, along paths fatted, well-watered, and green. (Psalm 23). Through acceptance we find our lives being uncurled into a straight pointing arrow to Jesus Christ. Acceptance causes us to breathe and step in ways that name our Author. Whereas, rejection leads to unrest, frustration, and sorrow as we seek to forge paths against the Author’s will. The paths we carve in our might are meager, arid, and bare: along them, we cave in on ourselves. (Proverbs 14:12). 

Our love of stories bears witness to the fact that we were created by the Storyteller. Before we were born every single letter of our stories was written. (Psalm 139:16). Our good God, in whom there is no darkness, wrote them. (1 John 1:5). Our God who makes no error attended to every detail. (Psalm 18:30).  We do not need to grasp words anymore, we can learn His. We do not need to force our way anymore, we can be led by His Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5).