Every time he drives off, I pray that he would be wise and pleading with God to keep him safe. So, when I hear his ringtone playing through phone minutes after he has left the house, my heart skips a beat wondering, "Oh no, what happened." Thankfully, this last call was not a 911, but there was an issue.
He had left for church and on his way stopped in to get a donut. If you could see how big his truck is, you'd know why he avoids drive thrus! Toooo big to maneuver through them. So anyway, when he made his sugary purchase and returned to the truck, it didn't start. And that's when I got the call. Thank God he was not broken down in the middle of a main road, like a few weeks ago!!! (Yes, that was scary! Drive shaft dropped mid-road! He was okay, thank God!)
The other kiddos and I were loading up already to head to church so we made the detour into Shipleys (which by the way, soooo much better than Dunkin Donuts!!), and you can imagine the delight that erupted in my car! They didn't even notice their brother's huge white truck being there, or remember that he was going to stop by. All they could imagine was DONUT HEAVEN!!! (We hardly ever buy donuts so their delight and shock was genuine! LOL)
To their disappointment, we pulled into the space by big boy's truck and connected the batteries and gave him a jump. It took a few minutes to figure out which wires were loose before it started up, but it did. We were all good to go yet now late. I hurried up and got back in the car and started driving to church, with no time for a drive through to get a "sugary delight." Yes, you can imagine the disappointment. But, we had gone there for a purpose and it was not for donuts.
As we were driving off, my little guy who is 7 years old said, "Mom, why did you have to hook up to his truck?" "He needed me to jump his battery so he could keep going. My battery was full and his was empty. If we didn't stop and help him, he would have just stayed there and missed church."
God uses us in the same way. We need eachother to help "jump start" each other when we are "empty." We all go through days or seasons where we "run out of juice" in our batteries. We are at a stand still and find ourselves unable to "go another mile." Certainly God leads us through periods of rest and waiting but being at a complete stop, or being "broken down" along the road is something completely different. We know it in our spirits when we have reached that place of fumes and eventual emptiness. We push as far as we think we can (even when we are functioning in the Lord's strength of Philippians 4:13....and it's a whole other blog about doing things in our own strength and how quickly we will hit "empty) but even those times we are giving our everything to the Lord and relying on His strength, we can still find ourselves exhausted and running on what feels like "fumes" until that day we finally register "empty."
It is then, that God sends us someone to "charge" our batteries. While our "battery" is empty, theirs is full and able to give us a much needed "charge." Sometimes it's a simple smile or a hug that can brighten our day. A lunch/coffee invite, a kind word or deed done for us or on our behalf. Blessings and gratefulness begin to overwhelm us. We didn't think we could go any further. We felt empty and abandoned and then there arrives the Lord's sweet reminder that we certainly are not alone, unusable or truly empty, we just need a "jump start" from someone with a full battery! There may even be days or seasons you have to move around some "wires" and tighten up the "connections" before your "battery" will receive the "full charge." Patient endurance!
How important to remember that there is a purpose for living in community with each other! We "charge" and "sharpen" (Proverbs 27:17) one another when we pray and fellowship together. We must be careful to avoid getting side tracked by the "sugary delights" all around us in our relationships with each other. It is very easy to just have fun, talk about fun things, discuss the world events, sip coffee, share our latest Pinterest finds...all the while, forgetting the fact we are pulled over in the space next to someone who's "battery" needs a charge.
If you are running on "fumes" or you can feel the "charge" in your "battery" slowly beginning to grow weak, be encouraged that God has not left you alone in that space. He will send rescue but you need to be ready and waiting with eager anticipation looking for it. If your "hood" is not open, I cannot reach your "battery." As a Believer, you already have the power of the Holy Spirit within you but you can quench His power to work in you. How are your "connections?" Are you dwelling in God's Word? Who is the source of your strength? Whose truth are you relying on? God sends "others" to "jump start" us. We are all at different places on our journey and thank God so that when we "break down" we can call for someone else to give us a "jump" so we don't just stay there and miss church!!
"And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle,encourage the fainthearted,help the weak,
be patient with them all." 1 Thessalonians 5:14
"And so, from the day we heard,we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patiencewith joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
Colossians 1:9-14
Ever felt the embarrassment of "less than?" I felt inadequate as I looked around. Their tables looked straight out of a magazine, or the top Pinterest board! They were beautiful and full, each one different in theme and style but all incredibly rich and lovely. I walked over to what was about to be my table and felt defeated as if I had merely brought 3 bags of mulch to dump on the table top and call it done. Deep sighs filled my heart and honestly, my spirit. There sat my uninvited guest, the enemy of insecurity.
How quickly "comparison" can rob us of our own personal joy. Just an hour before, I was hot glueing and glittering my candles to set just under my Grandmother's Bible in it's position that would be just above mine. I had devoted much time and energy planning out my table theme asking God to show me how He wanted me to interpret it into a beautiful setting for 8 ladies. God moved my heart to reflect on the theme and the meaning of this event..."Reflections of Light, Mentoring, Sisters, Encouraging, Older and Younger. The core is The Word shared. I grabbed my Grandmother's Bible and Mine as my centerpiece. Then "light", candles. Light of the Word, scriptures ON the candles. Reflections, mirrors and gemstones to catch all the many facets of light. And an angel standing nearby holding her heart to share. This table held possibly two of the most precious and valuable possessions I own...my Grandmother's Bible and my own. That was my table. Created by simplicity, lots of hot glue, staged with great meaning! But, was it good enough? At the time, I felt not.
Here's the crossroad we face when we stare the enemy of inadequacy square in the face. Will we allow the enemy to charge us with fear and insecurity, or will our hearts rest confidently in the vision the Lord has seeded within? I wanted to drive straight to Kirkland's and buy an entirely new table setting (which I really couldn't have afforded.) I felt like the little black duckling in a sea of beautiful swans, I dropped off my bags and left to return after dinner.
Time came for me to pick up my oldest teen from baseball and upon entering the car he asked about my day and I told him it was okay, that I had just dropped off all my things at the church for my table. Sensing something wrong in my demeanor, he asked "Well, what's wrong with it?" I replied, " I just don't think it measures up with the rest of the women's rich tables." He came back with a quick remark, "If I was doing a table, I'd throw a camo net over the top, set out paper plates and paper cups, and call her done." And I bet he would too! It was good to laugh for a moment in my pitiful moment. Then, the very words that I have spoken into his heart for nearly 16 years were returned to me, "Mom, you just have to be you." And there in that profound moment, it cut to my core. He's right. In that moment, God used him to speak into my heart, straight past my convicted heart. What was I thinking?!?
When we compare ourselves, our things, maybe even our giftedness and talents to others, we are actually rejecting God's created design, in essence saying, "You made a mistake. Can't you do better than that?" What a frightening place to be when we reject the Hand and Heart of the One True God, The Creator of the Universe and everything good. There I stood, comparing...rejecting what the Lord had given to me to reflect His love for these women, and my worship of reflecting Him being overtaken by worry.
The Lord our God has built each one of us with a unique DNA which sets us apart from everyone else in our physical attributes, emotional make up to our spiritual gifting and talents. When we reject ourselves, we are rejecting Christ's redeeming and unique work. Rejecting God's design brings destruction and rejection; however, when we walk and live by faith, trusting completely and waiting patiently for His perfect plan, we receive His blessings of peace, contentment, joy. Timely as always, this week in my Genesis bible study, the lesson opens with Abram and Sarai trying to "make it happen."
"Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, "Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress." Genesis 16:1-4
What a mess. It didn't look like God knew what He was doing, so Sarai did in her sight what made sense to her. She had a plan, despite that fact the God had already explained the plan to both her and her husband. She did it her way. She's not the only one to question God. We met Eve, in the beginning. Questioning God only brings trouble.
Next time you have thoughts like, " Is this good enough?" "Am I good enough?" "What will he/she think?" "What if...(blah-blah-blah)...."....remember that the Lord your God created you and you are GOOD!!! Read Genesis 1-2 and you will see He is a specific God. This is not to say that you don't care about the watching world, rather, you Love God first, then others. If we would simply consume ourselves with what GOD thinks, remember that He created us with specific attributes that He felt were necessary for our good and His glory, who are we to question what He has made? There can't be comparisons for what are we comparing to?! It's apples to oranges.
Great satisfaction comes when we find ourselves established and rooted in the Lord our Creator and King. Satan stands ready for any opportunity to present doubt before you and if our thoughts are consumed on Christ alone, we can stand against the schemes of the devil!!!
I am looking forward to tonight, knowing that every piece on the table brings a smile to my Father's heart, and knowing that I am sitting at His table and not mine.
Father God, tonight I honor the Reflections of Your Light, The Light of Your Word. Thank You for creating me uniquely and help me to embrace what You see as good. When I feel inadequate Lord, I know my eyes are looking to the left and right, Holy Spirit, keep my eyes focused on You that I may not see the temptations of doubt standing beside me, waiting to steal my focus and my joy. Give me courage to walk in my giftedness, as quirky, dorky and crafty as they may be compared to the riches of the world, God, to You be all the glory in all that You see as good. May it be so in my life. Thank you for caring enough about me to speak truth to me through other godly women and even through the mouths of my children. Your Word truly is the Light unto my Path! Thank you Lord for Your faithfulness. I love You with all that I have and I praise You with all my heart. To YOU be ALL the glory as You reign over the heavens and the earth, and everything in it, including me. You are Lord, amen.
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." Genesis 1:27
"You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left." Deuteronomy 5:32
"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." Ephesians 6:11
