then do something...
There are chapters is in our books that we don't like. Ones we'd like to skip past or rewrite it we could. If you ask me though, that's often the mark of a worthwhile book because we have to keep reading. We're pulled in, longing to know and believe that the author has more in store for us. That there will be a bright side. Redemption. There has to be if there are pages left. And if we make it through the tough chapters and keep reading, we tend to find ourselves crying tears over a happy ending.
The chapter for me was 2011. Well, really, it started before then but 2011 was the climax. I ended the year with my life in shambles feeling stuck Stuck in a spot from where I couldn't move. Not because I didn't want to but I couldn't see a way out. I couldn't see past the darkness clouding my vision, and what little I did know left me feeling scared. And so I spent much time in mourning. I cried and I worried and I felt sorry for myself. How would things ever improve? How would the light return? Would I ever feel happy again? Would I really be able to recover and move on? I had been praying for months that God would change my circumstances but from my dreary point of view the changes seemed bad.
Spring break has always been a significant time of the year for me. I'll spare you the details of why and when because I'm sure you'd think them silly. Many big moments and decisions have happened during mid-March, and as March 2012 got closer I decided it was time for a change. I was tired of the way things were going and so I was going to do something about it. I signed up to go on a mission trip to Hungary with my church, and that was the week God began writing a new chapter in my book.
It wasn't the trip across the ocean that changed things, per se, but then again it's what I needed to get the ball rolling in a new direction. Because for months on end my eyes had been turned inward. All I could think about was me, my pain, my circumstances, and my fears. I was so consumed with what was going on in my life that I could hardly function. And I was full of worries. I worried what other people thought. I worried how, if, and when my life would take a turn for the better. I worried that my hopes and dreams would never come true. And the more time I spent thinking about myself, feeling sorry for myself, and worrying about myself, the harder the days. I realized that this trip was the answer. I could fly across the world and be away from it all. I could take a break from my current circumstances and be lost in another country, surrounded by strangers who didn't know me or even speak the same language, and I could escape. Little did I know, it would be different than what I expected.
They say you're always famous in your hometown, and there's no doubt to that statement. But word got around to Eastern Europe, and the group of strangers knew exactly who I was. They knew exactly what I was going through. Blending in and escaping was no longer an option because they weren't afraid to ask. And, God wasn't going to let me get out of it that easy. So I spent the week sharing my testimony. My raw, depressing, cliff-hanger of a testimony. I told it over and over and over again. And each time I told it, it got easier because this kind group of people I had gone to minister to were ministering to me. And as I poured myself out that week trying to help others, they helped me. As I told them of the Healer, he healed me. And as the week came to a close, I stepped off of foreign soil a renewed and refreshed woman.
Prayer is powerful. We pray and God moves, and there is nothing wrong in waiting. But there are moments in our lives where we must pray and move. Because here's the thing, if we pray then sit and stare at the issue on hand, we can easily waste away an incredible season of life. A season where God desires to teach us great things and use us in unexpected ways. So often we find ourselves in a difficult chapter and we pray, we cry, we wait, and then we do nothing. We expect God to drop whatever it is we're waiting on right into our lap to make it easy on us. Yet God invites us into the process. He wants us to labor and work alongside him because that's where the learning happens. That's where growth occurs, perspective changes, and faith is strengthened. That's where our lives are transformed. It's in the process, when we have our eyes on him and our hands doing his work, that we begin understanding God is accomplishing something greater than we could ever do on our own. But until we turn our eyes outward, rather than keeping them focused inward, we won't see it. And so we've got to do something to change our focus and gain the right perspective.
When we find ourselves stuck in those chapters, we pray and we ask. What is it that God is trying to teach us? And as we wait on him to answer, what is it that He might have us do during this season so that it's not wasted? Because things will change and in God's hands, nothing is wasted. This chapter will end and a new one will begin. And if you're not really liking the way this one is turning out, then it's probably time to turn your eyes upward, rather than inward, and do something!
The chapter for me was 2011. Well, really, it started before then but 2011 was the climax. I ended the year with my life in shambles feeling stuck Stuck in a spot from where I couldn't move. Not because I didn't want to but I couldn't see a way out. I couldn't see past the darkness clouding my vision, and what little I did know left me feeling scared. And so I spent much time in mourning. I cried and I worried and I felt sorry for myself. How would things ever improve? How would the light return? Would I ever feel happy again? Would I really be able to recover and move on? I had been praying for months that God would change my circumstances but from my dreary point of view the changes seemed bad.
Spring break has always been a significant time of the year for me. I'll spare you the details of why and when because I'm sure you'd think them silly. Many big moments and decisions have happened during mid-March, and as March 2012 got closer I decided it was time for a change. I was tired of the way things were going and so I was going to do something about it. I signed up to go on a mission trip to Hungary with my church, and that was the week God began writing a new chapter in my book.
It wasn't the trip across the ocean that changed things, per se, but then again it's what I needed to get the ball rolling in a new direction. Because for months on end my eyes had been turned inward. All I could think about was me, my pain, my circumstances, and my fears. I was so consumed with what was going on in my life that I could hardly function. And I was full of worries. I worried what other people thought. I worried how, if, and when my life would take a turn for the better. I worried that my hopes and dreams would never come true. And the more time I spent thinking about myself, feeling sorry for myself, and worrying about myself, the harder the days. I realized that this trip was the answer. I could fly across the world and be away from it all. I could take a break from my current circumstances and be lost in another country, surrounded by strangers who didn't know me or even speak the same language, and I could escape. Little did I know, it would be different than what I expected.
They say you're always famous in your hometown, and there's no doubt to that statement. But word got around to Eastern Europe, and the group of strangers knew exactly who I was. They knew exactly what I was going through. Blending in and escaping was no longer an option because they weren't afraid to ask. And, God wasn't going to let me get out of it that easy. So I spent the week sharing my testimony. My raw, depressing, cliff-hanger of a testimony. I told it over and over and over again. And each time I told it, it got easier because this kind group of people I had gone to minister to were ministering to me. And as I poured myself out that week trying to help others, they helped me. As I told them of the Healer, he healed me. And as the week came to a close, I stepped off of foreign soil a renewed and refreshed woman.
Prayer is powerful. We pray and God moves, and there is nothing wrong in waiting. But there are moments in our lives where we must pray and move. Because here's the thing, if we pray then sit and stare at the issue on hand, we can easily waste away an incredible season of life. A season where God desires to teach us great things and use us in unexpected ways. So often we find ourselves in a difficult chapter and we pray, we cry, we wait, and then we do nothing. We expect God to drop whatever it is we're waiting on right into our lap to make it easy on us. Yet God invites us into the process. He wants us to labor and work alongside him because that's where the learning happens. That's where growth occurs, perspective changes, and faith is strengthened. That's where our lives are transformed. It's in the process, when we have our eyes on him and our hands doing his work, that we begin understanding God is accomplishing something greater than we could ever do on our own. But until we turn our eyes outward, rather than keeping them focused inward, we won't see it. And so we've got to do something to change our focus and gain the right perspective.
When we find ourselves stuck in those chapters, we pray and we ask. What is it that God is trying to teach us? And as we wait on him to answer, what is it that He might have us do during this season so that it's not wasted? Because things will change and in God's hands, nothing is wasted. This chapter will end and a new one will begin. And if you're not really liking the way this one is turning out, then it's probably time to turn your eyes upward, rather than inward, and do something!
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