Making the Most of the Middle

I was talking to a friend of mine at Starbucks two weeks ago and found it interesting how, although we are going through two very different situations, we are both in the middle of waiting to see certain promises of God come to fruition in our lives. 

Maybe you've been there.

It feels like wandering around aimlessly in the desert...Or chomping at the bit, ready to run the race, but not knowing where the finish line is...Or knowing you're called to more but at the same time knowing that you're right where you're supposed to be. 

We know that God is faithful, but not knowing how or when God is going to work things out is tough. Actually, it's terrible!

I recently found myself thinking in circles and trying to figure out God's plan for my life when the Lord reminded me of this picture.

I feel like it beautifully portrays the heart of God for his children. What it doesn't do, however, is depict the emotions of the snapshot after this one. The one where God asks you for your teddy bear and you give it to Him. You sell your house. You move your family. You quit your job. You end that relationship. You give Him your addiction. And now you're left standing there empty handed. You've given God what he asked for and are now left waiting for Him to give you His best. The only thing is, you don't know when that will be and time seems to move extra slow in this season. 

Friends, welcome to transition. 

I was having a one sided conversation with the Lord the other day as I was reading my Bible. Okay, I was kind of just skimming it as I was venting all of my unanswered questions when this verse from Isaiah 45:9 literally jumped off the page and interrupted my pity party. 

It says, "The clay does not ask the potter, 'What are you doing?' The thing that is made doesn't say to its maker, 'You have no hands.'"

Are you kidding me? It was as if the Lord directly responded to all of my questions and immediately put in perspective who God is and how minuscule my concerns were. Not that He doesn't care about them, but that He cares about them so much that He already has all of the details worked out. He is a master potter.

The very next weekend Pastor Steven Furtick preached a sermon called 'It's in the Middle.' (I know, right? You'd think God was trying to tell me something.) As I sat at Elevation Uptown, in the beautiful historic church building, in my red velvet theater seat and listened to his words it was as if he was directly responding to our Starbucks conversation and to the conversations of my heart.

Pastor said a few things that truly resonated in my spirit. I want to share them with you; 

He said, "When (God) takes over your life, He blesses your life. But the same hands that bless your life are the same hands that must be trusted when your life is broken." 

After all, He's the potter, right? 

He continued to speak to my very situation by going on to say, "So God says to everyone who's in the middle of something right now, in the middle of change, in the middle of process, in the middle of becoming, in the middle of a storm, in the middle of the fire, keep stepping, stay in the middle, stay in faith, stay in courage, stay blessed, stay in my hand, stay in the storm, I'm with you in the fire. God is in the middle." 

The scripture that spoke to my heart louder than my ears could ever hear, and the message that Pastor preached brought me to the following question. Is it possible to shift our perspective from just getting through these transitions to making the most of them because we can fully trust that God has our best interest in mind? He says in Romans 8:28 that He works all things together for good to those who love the Lord. He also says in Philippians 1:6 that He who began a good work in us will carry it on in completion. 

Does this mean that I will never get frustrated? Nope. I'm human, but through my frustrations I can be assured that God knows the plans He has for me, plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).  I can rest easy knowing that He is my ever present help in time of need (Psalm 46:1). 

It's in the middle where growth happens, it's where we learn to appreciate the good times, it's where we connect to people, and it's where we learn to trust God at a deeper level. We may as well make the most of the middle because as long as we're alive we will be in the middle of something. 

Here's to trusting God in transition!

Just Start

Ever since I was young I loved to write. There's something about getting my thoughts and ideas down on paper that is therapeutic to me. Writing helps me process. It helps me see beyond myself and get to the source of my thoughts and actions. 

Since I love writing, I started a blog a couple of years ago. My blog was almost like a journal of the things that I was learning through the journey that the Lord had our family on. Sometimes it was practical, sometimes it was emotional, and other times it seemed kind of pointless, but I enjoyed it.

Somewhere along the way though, I quit blogging. It almost got frustrating because I could never get it perfect enough. I didn't have enough time in my life with 4 small kids and a business to sit down, proof-read, and edit it to perfection. It was never good enough and there were too many things in my life that I felt like I already wasn't doing perfectly that I couldn't add another one. 

Despite my love for writing, and the positive feedback that I was getting from people who did read my blog, my fear of it not being perfect caused me to not even try. 

Blogging is not the only area of my life where this has been the case. There have been instances in my marriage, being a mom, my business and even my friendships where I have let perfect be the enemy of good. 

With that said, I'm jumping back in the saddle, and I'm not going to let perfectionism keep me in fear or stop me from what I feel God has called me to do. I'm learning how to go for it even if it's not perfect because at least it's progress. And progress is something that should be celebrated.

I am so excited to share with you our journey and the ways that God is growing me. There is no way that I can adequately describe it. It's as if my spirit is experiencing growing pains. Sure, it's painful, but the results that I see in my life are incredible. Since I can't perfectly articulate these things it's tempting for me to not even try. But if I just start, if I just try to connect people to my journey, even if it's not perfect, someone might be able to relate, she might understand my struggle, and just maybe she'll start her own journey. 

In Matthew 25:14 we hear Jesus tell 'The Parable of the Talents'. This is one of my favorite bible stories because even though He was referring to a talent as a type of currency, I believe that Jesus is also referring to the talents that he places on the inside of us. I believe as we invest our talents into the kingdom of God; whether it's by being a greeter at church, by feeding the homeless, by preaching, or even by blogging that He sees us being faithful with what He entrusted us and in turn will multiply those talents. 

Even though our talents are multiplied, I don't think the feeling of us not being good enough ever goes away. My husband and I had the privilege of sitting in an intimate teaching session with Pastor Steven Furtick where he helped us understand why we always feel like we're not good enough. He communicated that as our ability grows, our capacity grows. This is why it feels like we are not making the type of progress we want to. It is only when we look back and examine what we have accomplished that we see the growth. Think of it as having 4 ounces of water in an 8 oz cup. If we pour more water into the cup we're going to need a new cup. We then have 8 ounces of water in a 16 oz cup. We actually have more, but we still feel half empty. 

Don't wait until your situation is perfect to get started. It will never be perfect. No matter where you are on your journey, there is always room for growth. Change your perspective from discouragement to celebration. Learn to celebrate the process. 

Maybe it's a relationship with Jesus Christ. Maybe it's a lifestyle change or a fitness journey. Maybe it's starting a family. Maybe it's jumping into a business venture. Just start. Whatever it is, trust the process, give into it, celebrate it. Fail forward. Be excited about the ways that God will grow you. Be excited to see all that God can do through you. If you don't start, you'll never know.