Over the weekend, I heard a wise man say, “On your way to doing something, you become somebody.” Be it while working toward a great task or following through with a daily discipline, I firmly believe this is true. You and I are constantly moving forward. There is no place of finally “making it”. Don’t you know it’s all about the journey?
That has been one of the most exciting and difficult lessons I have learned —and am still learning— in my young life. I say young because at the ripe old age of twenty-two I hardly feel old. I still have so far to go, so many things to do and places to see, and so much more of God I want to know, follow, and trust. But if you drink those words in one more time, you’ll find my greatest trap. I look to the future and breeze past today. And shouldn’t I know by now that every today is a day to say “yes”?
Saying “yes” is thrilling and terrifying. Sometimes I wonder if I know the word at all as unwilling as it is to leave my tongue. But a “yes” is what God asks of us. He doesn’t ask for perfection or success, He asks for obedience and trust. Both of those things take a surrender on our part, a willingness to let go of our control and comfort zone to step into His wild adventure.
My biggest “yes” so far came to pass this summer. Your Texas girl heard His whisper and packed her bags for Seattle. I’ll be the first to tell you that it was hardly the direction I expected to be going. I’m a planner; I love lists and diagrams, well thought out road trips, a neatly organized notebook, and school supplies by the bucket load. If I can highlight and color coordinate it, I do. Funny thing is, God doesn’t work that way. He paints sunsets in colors I don’t know the names of and delights me with music in the wind I cannot save for later. I ask “What?” and He says, “Trust me.” I ask “When?” and He says, “Follow me.” I beg “Where?” and He whispers, “Today.”
What doesn’t make sense to me in the moment only goes to show how well He knows my heart. He knows that I hate —well, strongly dislike— being in transition. I love routine! I have this deep desire in me to know what is ahead and to be able to prepare for it. But He knows my future-inclined-self can easily miss the today. It’s why He reminds me of the morning and the moment over and over again.
In the past few months, I’ve learned that being in transition is something we will do all our lives. We’ll transition from one season to the next, one role to another, this job to that, from city to town, citizen to stranger, and many times several of these changes will be happening at once. Whereas I often feel as though I’m drowning in the uncertainty, it is a certified God-moment for me to cast my anchor into the sky and hold to Him instead of something (be it person, place, or thing) in my life that will inevitably change. He is the only steadfast thing. He is what remains.
In my transition from college to post-grad, I have grown weary. In the move from Texas to Washington, I have soared on the clouds. In the passage from student to teacher, I have been challenged. It is the nature of growing up, and it is something I don’t simply want to endure but embrace!
My ramblings seem scattered even to me, but that’s what this process has been like. It’s messy and unclear, good one day and a struggle the next. But my God is good all the time, and all the time He is good.
"As for a man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him." Psalm 103:15-17
My advice to anyone wading through tough transition times would be to press on and take it one day at a time. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, ask God “What is your purpose for me today?” If you’re feeling down, ask the Lord to encourage you and surround yourself with positive community. Share the burden, be honest with yourself about what you’re feeling. If you skirt around the issue or try to tuck things away in a closet, the burden will pile up. He has promised us peace! And He has promised to remain with us.
"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts." Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us two important things. The first is that our God —the Creator of all and Savior of the world— makes all things beautiful according to His timeline and for His glory. A day to him might be a thousand years to us, but still He is good and faithful. He works for the good of those who love Him, even when we cannot see or feel it. The second thing it reveals is that He has placed a longing in our hearts for that "more" and a "forever home" for a reason. We were made for relationship with Him, one that will come to ultimate fruition when we join Him in heaven. But how do we handle today, you ask? We pray and we trust, and we take our changing seasons one day at a time.
Like I shared at the beginning, “On your way to doing something, you become somebody.” Let’s become men and women who say “Yes” to the Lord in the face of transition. When the sand shifts beneath our feet or we stare into the unknown, may we put our trust in the Most Faithful
One, and become who He created us to be.
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This month I find myself blessed to introduce Bailey Jean, she runs the blog and facebook page Anchored in Love Divine. I told her that as I was reading her story I just had to awe at how great God is. There are so many times in life where you will feel like no one else could possibly be going through what you currently are and then He shows up. Her story felt as though she pulled it straight from the mix of emotions that were stirring within me. I hope you enjoyed her post as much as I did.