Roles Not Rules

Copyright Nudgies Greeting Card - See: I Can Bend

Roles change. The issue is that we sometime don’t recognize, acknowledge, and move into those changes in a timely fashion. When we don’t our lives start to sputter and stall much like a car with worn out spark plugs. We keep emotionally turning the key, putting our foot on the gas, and sometimes our engines will turn over and we’ll start to move, but we know things aren’t as they should be, and know absolutely that it is time for a tune-up if we want to continue to travel forward.

Recognizing, understanding, and accepting role changes can be one of life’s most rewarding opportunities. It isn’t easy necessarily, but it doesn’t need to be horrifically difficult either. We just have to be willing…to grow.

If you are a Christian, as I am, you know that throughout the Bible no one who was used of the Lord remained the same. They were in constant movement, constant challenge, constant growth, and constant need of His guidance and direction. David, for example, started out as a shepherd boy and ended up as a King. Mary began as a quiet young virgin and became the mother of God. Paul was the enemy of Christ and became His most ardent proponent.

Their roles changed. They had to let go of something in order to take hold of something more, something greater than themselves and their own limited image of just what they wanted or just how they thought it should be. And, they had to sacrifice their grip on pride and fear in order to move into the realm of the unknown will of God.

My roles have changed. My roles are changing. I am learning and I have begun to reach up and out so that I can crawl into the open arms of the Lord’s will for me. I’m growing.

Gratefulness

Gratefulness is so powerful. It really is. It is also an event, an occurrence, a type of other world experience when it hits you with all its undeniable evidence.

Yesterday it slammed into me with such force it was almost more than I could comprehend. I was driving, out much earlier in the morning than normal, headed to take care of a task that has become somewhat arduous, and with lots of other nagging little things on my mind. My route though was taking me past parts of the city that were a part of my childhood, adolescence and early adulthood and the memories began to flow.

One by one I thought of what had been a part of my life as opposed to what might have been. I was so keenly aware of the love, of the favor, of the opportunities, of the kindness, of the grace, of the support, and so very much more. And as those thoughts cascaded the floodgates of gratefulness were thrust open and I saw how much I had truly to be thankful for from the moment I was born.

That journey to gratefulness was priceless. My pulse raced, the tears fell, and the praise arose. The more I thought, the more clear the minute details of my every little blessing became to me. How they all were as opposed to how they all might have been.

Having taken that powerful journey once I know I'll never take my life's blessings for granted again, and I pray I'll be able to retrace my travel to gratefulness time and time and time again. It changes things.

Who You Gonna Call...

After a particularly trying day last week I was driving and whining aloud "I'm so tired, Lord. So tired!". It felt like my soul was breaking and my voice rose to a higher octave as I really got into my anguish mantra when, to my surprise, I heard myself saying, "I am so blessed, Lord. So blessed!" The praise took over from there. Even though the cheerleader of the enemy tried to yell louder about my anguish, it was drown out, no match, for the victor who had taken its place! By the time I arrived at my destination I knew I was blessed, knew I had renewed energy to spare, knew that I, in fact, could do all thing through Him who strengthened me! And, I did.