.ecclesiastes 3:2.
i think we've all experienced what it means to plant somewhere.
to let the roots of our heart truly touch down and then allow those roots to push ever-deeper into the soil of a particular location, with a particular group of people, chasing a particular vision(s).
it tends to be the type of season where we learn to really buckle down with the Lord and allow our heart to get tangled up with His heart for & perspective on a particular locale or people group.
and perhaps, more than anything, it's a season in which we learn what it means to have a Good Shepherd always enjoying us, guiding us perfectly, keeping us in His "good and perfect will" no matter what the present surroundings of our path look like at the time; even when it's a stretch of the path that we are not particularly stoked about or find particularly appealing at the time...
we learn to trust Him enough to believe that we are just where we need to be--
at this time in history.
in this generation.
in this place.
with these particular humans.
bringing His heart & Kingdom down here- setting our hands to this particular task with the Lord...ever-increasingly learning just what a life consumed by "loving God, ourselves and others" really means- day-in, day-out...rubber meets the road.
and i reckon most of us have also experienced what it means to be uprooted.
to have the Lord speak, confirm and consume our hearts with fresh vision and new desire as He prepares to uproot us from our present location to plant us in a new one.
but the situation i find myself in presently, a situation i have been in one other time before, is that of dangling.
dangling mid-air.
i have been uprooted.
but i' ve not quite yet, however, been re-planted.
i was doing some landscaping for my ma a while back, planting various flowers and such.
i remember looking at a particularly stunning flower. i picked it up and began removing it from it's little plastic carton that it was transported in from the store.
as i pulled it out and held it in the air, it's roots were all exposed.
yikes.
it was still beautiful but it was NAKED. EXPOSED. VULNERABLE.
and it really got me to thinking...perhaps it's not the seasons of learning the hardships & beauties of commitment- of being planted...
and perhaps it's not the seasons of learning 'the ropes' all over again- of being planted in an entirely new place, that are the toughest seasons.
in this place.
with these particular humans.
bringing His heart & Kingdom down here- setting our hands to this particular task with the Lord...ever-increasingly learning just what a life consumed by "loving God, ourselves and others" really means- day-in, day-out...rubber meets the road.
and i reckon most of us have also experienced what it means to be uprooted.
to have the Lord speak, confirm and consume our hearts with fresh vision and new desire as He prepares to uproot us from our present location to plant us in a new one.
but the situation i find myself in presently, a situation i have been in one other time before, is that of dangling.
dangling mid-air.
i have been uprooted.
but i' ve not quite yet, however, been re-planted.
i was doing some landscaping for my ma a while back, planting various flowers and such.
i remember looking at a particularly stunning flower. i picked it up and began removing it from it's little plastic carton that it was transported in from the store.
as i pulled it out and held it in the air, it's roots were all exposed.
yikes.
it was still beautiful but it was NAKED. EXPOSED. VULNERABLE.
and it really got me to thinking...perhaps it's not the seasons of learning the hardships & beauties of commitment- of being planted...
and perhaps it's not the seasons of learning 'the ropes' all over again- of being planted in an entirely new place, that are the toughest seasons.
perhaps the toughest seasons are those in which we find ourselves 'dangling in mid-air'.
we've obeyed and let go of the past as we engaged our hearts with God's word to
"go out from where you are & go to a place I will show you..."
because this denotes major uncomfortability, especially in our modern-day, americanized, worship of logic, having all our "ducks in a row", productivity=value, sortta mindsets.
and boy o boy, does it leave our roots- who we REALLY are deep down- dangling, exposed mid-air.
it's authentic, raw, child-like trust His heart aches for i believe.
and in these seasons of letting go of what we know BEFORE knowing what He will have us grab onto next...it is surely trust He gets!
these mid-air seasons are dang good for quickly exposing our roots- or lack thereof.
DANG good.
:)
so here's my personal challenge- and one that i am extending to you, too:
say "yes".
be brave.
we've obeyed and let go of the past as we engaged our hearts with God's word to
"go out from where you are & go to a place I will show you..."
because this denotes major uncomfortability, especially in our modern-day, americanized, worship of logic, having all our "ducks in a row", productivity=value, sortta mindsets.
and boy o boy, does it leave our roots- who we REALLY are deep down- dangling, exposed mid-air.
it's authentic, raw, child-like trust His heart aches for i believe.
and in these seasons of letting go of what we know BEFORE knowing what He will have us grab onto next...it is surely trust He gets!
these mid-air seasons are dang good for quickly exposing our roots- or lack thereof.
DANG good.
:)
so here's my personal challenge- and one that i am extending to you, too:
say "yes".
be brave.
and trusting.
ALWAYS choose God and ALWAYS choose "yes!" when He initiates a leap.
when you sense Him giving you that "double dog dare" to let go of your past, and to even let go of your present...BEFORE you know what your future will completely look like...TAKE IT. take the double doggie dare my friends.
and when the soul-aches and heart-desires and flesh-screams come racing to the surface, and oh they most assuredly will, please don't ignore them or push them away or allow yourself to choose the cheap, shallow, temporary distractions that our technology-laden society will throw at you.
choose to hold His big ol' loving & powerful hand and explore the aches & desires WITH Him.
He wouldn't be exposing them if He didn't have an escape route and a much better alternative plan.
when you sense Him giving you that "double dog dare" to let go of your past, and to even let go of your present...BEFORE you know what your future will completely look like...TAKE IT. take the double doggie dare my friends.
and when the soul-aches and heart-desires and flesh-screams come racing to the surface, and oh they most assuredly will, please don't ignore them or push them away or allow yourself to choose the cheap, shallow, temporary distractions that our technology-laden society will throw at you.
choose to hold His big ol' loving & powerful hand and explore the aches & desires WITH Him.
He wouldn't be exposing them if He didn't have an escape route and a much better alternative plan.
keep the soil of your heart soft, supple, stirred.
please don't allow it to become hard, unbelieving, or pessimistic for even a moment's time.
learn to stir up your own soul as David did.
keep allowing yourself to be weaned off even the 'legitimate' pleasures of this world.
" You made us for Your good pleasure.
And our hearts are restless, until they find their rest in You."
the mid-air, hangy dangly seasons are truly a priceless, stunningly beautiful, life-altering GIFT from above.
grace to us all to believe that with all our soul.
learn to stir up your own soul as David did.
keep allowing yourself to be weaned off even the 'legitimate' pleasures of this world.
" You made us for Your good pleasure.
And our hearts are restless, until they find their rest in You."
the mid-air, hangy dangly seasons are truly a priceless, stunningly beautiful, life-altering GIFT from above.
grace to us all to believe that with all our soul.
