God has brought me to a place of –what some might call-
“rest” in life. I prefer the term “rejuvenation” as I believe it is to be more
of a peaceful time of strengthening in both body and spirit for me. I have
always thought of strength building as “work” and rest as “laziness” (but not
in a guilty way, in a disciplined and deserving way). The trouble is, my view
of rest, would result in coming out of that state weaker than I started...
because if we do nothing for a long period of time, we lose muscle mass. If we
do not interact with God, those deep roots begin to shallow and spread outward
instead of downward. And so, this season is not “rest” for me. This is a season
of strengthening both physically and spiritually.
Physically, God has been putting this on my heart for months
now. The idea of my body being a temple and that in order for me to accomplish
His will for my life, I actually need to be healthy in body, and physically
strong with a good length of stamina. This is to help me be the best mother I
can be, and to serve Him in whatever capacity He calls me. This being said,
when I go to the YMCA, I am not going because “I want to look pretty” or
because “I need to do this for myself” I am going as an act of true worship. I
will not do exercise that will harm my body (like hefty weighted isolated moves
targeting a certain “trouble spot”, which can actually cause joint damage) but I will also not be seen doing un-productive exercises just to give my guilt a
kick-back. I will be there, worshiping God.
Spiritually, this conviction came to me mid-late November at
a mom’s group session. The wonderful woman who was speaking mentioned a few
things that really caught my attention, the main one, being the analogy seen
several times within the book of psalms (in 1 for sure, and either 91 or 93 I believe).
The analogy is about a tree whose roots go deep into the ground, and it does
not fear drought, but continues to flourish, and NEVER CEASES to bear fruit in
it’s season... even in droughts... I can see the idea of this physically every
day. If you work hard, and eat right, you are healthier and are stronger to
withstand tough stuff for a longer period of time... take for example, Curtis and I mid-summer... plus
35 outside... 30-40 minutes in, I am slightly heat-stroked and ready to call it
a day. But 3-7 hours in, Curtis is still
doing mental math, balancing on the “2” end of a 2X4, 2 stories in the air
without a harness (sorry mom)... clearly one of us has been strengthened for
the task! And although we seem similar on a day-to-day basis, put us in a
trying situation (like plus 35) and you will easily be able to see who has
deeper roots/stronger stamina.... THIS is what I want to gain spiritually. I
went through a VERY dry season with Josiah’s first year. A drought more intense
than any in my life previously. I came
to the point of playing the Job card, because there truly was not a single
person on this planet who understood everything I was dealing with, and could
properly empathize and support (some people empathized in glimpses, to the
capacity they could understand at the time, and I am not at all bitter toward
anyone. It was just a very unfortunate situation all together and was no ones
fault)... But in that dry season, my roots withered and I became bitterly aware
of how shallow they really were. I renounced God, and asked Him to leave me
alone... and He did.... (or at least
became silent. I know he never leaves).
It has now taken almost the entire second year of my son’s life to
regain some of what I used to have in my intimate relationship with God.
Along this healing journey of my faith, comes the task of
re-building the roots that were severed by my own foolishness. And the
beautiful thing about this task, is that only God makes things grow, so it is not
really a task I feel like I need to
complete. I will draw near to the Lord, and He will grow my roots deeper in Him.
So as I begin obeying His nudges toward this season of rejuvenation and strengthening, I have decided to write out devotionals for
this advent season. This is for my sake probably more-so than it is a desire to
have these reflections read and spread around, yet I don’t see why I wouldn’t
share these inspirations with the world! So As I reflect and grow deeper, may
the Lord bless you and grow you deeper as well!
This “plan” will run from December 2-25’th (as today was
more of an introduction). I never understood why advent plans only went until the
24’th anyway...that aint Christmas yet!! So this one will run RIGHT to Christmas day! I make no promises on synchronicity
within the content, but my current intentions are to work through and reflect
upon Luke 1-2 on a much deeper level. If I am struck by a song or a sermon or a
message from the Lord within this time, I imagine I will interrupt this plan
with those inspired thoughts as well!
And I will try to remember to end each devotional with a prayer!
Dear God, I pray that as I (and we) embark on a journey this
December to give reverence to your story and your sacrifice to us, that you
would bless our efforts to seek you and that you would ordain these devotionals
to inspire others. Lord may your spirit move in peoples lives as they seek you
this season. Please make it unusually easy for people to yearn for you and seek
you lord. May your voice be so audible to those who are longing to hear from
you. God please inspire my mind and my hands as they type out these
devotionals. I pray that anything that is not of you, would not make it onto
the pages of this blog, but that your words would be revealed and read. In
Jesus name, Amen.
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