Show and Tell

I'm blown away sitting here with a dancing heart and crying happy tears. I am literally overflowing and I can’t help but share some encouragement in what God has been doing.

This year was so hard on so many levels especially in the waiting. One of those areas, closing on this house, seemed near impossible after 9 months of battling and waiting and biting our fingernails. I felt like every obstacle that could be in the way was in the way. Every time we’d clear a hurdle in the nick of time we’d be met with another seemingly even bigger than the last. It seemed there was no end to them and no moment to catch a breath. Yet God was right there swooping in at the right moment every time and giving us enough strength for each day and just enough light for us to see the next step. Today we have our house...almost an acre of property in NJ, near our jobs, with a giant garage and in one of the best school districts around, in a place we could never dream to afford. Sometimes I still can’t believe it’s real. 

I feel like the day we closed on this house God unleashed his storehouse of blessing on us, reminding us how He is true to His promises, and teaching us pursuing the will of God in faith even when it seems impossible is rewarded. As my devotional this morning reminded me, pain, hardship, and tough times are always followed with growth, and reward. It’s worth it to see it through to the other side. This house certainly has been a lot of work and there’s much more to do, but I feel like we’ve had one blessing after another after another since we’ve closed. In less than a month of getting this house we’ve gotten a free riding mower on the side of the road a mile from our house, a backhoe in our driveway to use the day we were gonna rent one for $1,000, free flooring in our bedroom because the wrong one was shipped, a top of the line matching fridge, microwave, and gas stove from different sellers (basically brand new for $1,000 as opposed to the $8,000 it should have cost us), 75% off tile the day we went to restore to find and purchase our bathroom tile, and today this story. 

So this week we have our fireplace inspected to find it’s unusable and we need to rebuild it for $8,000 or put in an insert for $5,000 best price. Of course that wasn’t in our budget and we already had cut out getting the kitchen done cuz of unexpected costs. I was literally just saying yesterday, “I don’t know where we are going to find $5,000 for this. I’m not working because Sy only has half days of school so what we saved to fix this house is all we have. Not gonna happen.” Not having the fireplace is a big deal as that fireplace is gonna be our main source of heat until we can get our heating/air system installed in December. Then today I wake up to this...almost $5,000 in my unemployment account from my claim that was on hold for no apparent reason and unpaid since July. I must have sent 25 emails and made 100 calls about this since March...even wrote the governor with no response on anything.  But don’t you know THE DAY AFTER I need to “find” $5,000 so we have heat this winter it magically arrives in my account. You can’t tell me there isn’t a God! This is bananas! And these are how the stories have gone for us day after day since we closed. Blessings upon blessings. It’s literally exciting to wake up in the morning and see what God is gonna do next. 

Funny enough this isn’t even a 1/4 of the story of this house and the miracles we’ve experienced. I hope one day I get to share the full story with every one of you. But just know this...God is good. His timing is perfect. He can do the impossible. Pain is not wasted and it produces growth if we see it through. And He cares not only about our needs but blesses us beyond what we think is possible if we just put our trust in Him. 

A Domino Kinda Life

If your life doesn’t look like this https://youtu.be/gbHGFX9E2P0
you’re doing it wrong.

Above is a clip of the superhero known as Domino from the DeadPool movies. She has the gift of...you guessed it...luck. No matter the close calls, chaos that surrounds her, or what comes her way things always seem to work out for her. She walks around confident in this fact that everything is going to turn out ok. Most times she doesn't even bat an eye or give the madness the time of day. She just stays on mission with an occasional battle here and there and rolls with the twists and turns in which she always comes out on top. Sure if you took a snapshot of a moment in the reel, say when the car is flipping in the air above her head about to crush her, or she's got a gun pointed at her with no defense, or when she is clearly outnumbered, one might cringe a bit for the impending doom. But if you let it play out, the end always works out for good. Granted getting there doesn't always FEEL good, but it does not discount that it is still good in the end. Sounds a bit like life huh? (I mean logically it always has to work out right? Otherwise you die. And honestly death isn't such a bad gig being a Christian...no more pain, sorrow, heartache and all sounds pretty enticing to me. So technically it works out in death too. Just food for thought.)

Anyway, being a Christian should look like that video clip (minus the cursing and narration of course). I can't take the credit for this visual as I owe the connection to my husband's imagination. But he is certainly right. Domino's confidence is commanding, much like the stories I read in the Bible of real life superheros. I mean have you ever read the stories of the apostles? Their lives were just as unbelievable...seeing angels and mind blowing visions, being healed from blindness, prison doors just opening before them, a woman brought back from the dead, being bit by a venomous snake with no repercussions, an earthquake loosing their prison chains, and the list goes on and on. And that's just what they happened to write down! I mean the cajones on these guys, who I must add were pretty scared and pathetic dudes beforehand, can only speak to meeting and being transformed by the life altering power of Jesus. My point being, the Creator of the universe has endless creativity and resources to "make a way" for His people. We should seriously be walking around with Domino like confidence. So why don't we?

When thinking about this question I'm reminded of Job 38-39, where good ol' Job questions God why everything was happening to him and God lays the smack down on him. In my paraphrasing, God's response went something like this: 

“Were you around when I hung the stars or set the earth in motion? Do you know how big the universe is or how the sea is held back to stay in its boundaries? (Insert 20 rounds of 'Are you Smarter than the Creator" unanswerable game show questions ending with...) Oh you DON'T know all these things as you were NOT there for the start of it all. Please! Know your roll Job." Lol

I can only speak for myself here, but I am often a Job, questioning the now and thinking my brain can figure out the full picture ahead. But in reality that's a losing battle as I'm trying to understand something I literally can not comprehend as God's monologue clearly proves. In fact thinking I know more than I do does more harm than good because it creates circular thinking which produces worry and anxiety because I'm trying to do something I wasn't designed to do. I'm trying to figure out something I wasn't designed to figure out. It's literally impossible. Of course that's why I'm frustrated. I'm assuming I'm not the only one in this boat. Why can't we just trust and put one foot in front of the other knowing He will come through and live out what we say we believe? Sadly it's easier to trust what we see, feel, and think we know, more than someone else who DOES know the actual Truth, our infinitely powerful and creative God. To hit the nail on the head, I think we don't like giving up the illusion of control. This of course is a real bummer because when we don't learn to trust Him, we miss out on the excitement and superpowers we have access to and pure freedom it brings.

But what if we were to live life out to mirror what we say we believe? What if our lives resembled a Domino like security when the hard things of life came up? Does that mean we walk around in endless bliss? Of course not. Bad things, situations, disappointments, heartache, life etc. happen to everyone. Sometimes we get kicked and punched and life just hurts. The difference is not actually found in the changing of circumstances but in our disposition while in the circumstance. We are defined with peace and fearlessness that remains with us while waiting for the good to come, and knowing that it will come. All it takes is simply believing the promise that it will work out for good, somehow-sometime-in some way, simply because God promises so if you walk this life out with Him. And that my friends makes all the difference in the world. It changes the way you think and thus changes the way you act. Our lives were always meant to be lived outside the box of "normal'. That's why we are still unfulfilled even when we have all the boxes checked off the list. You see, the Bible says without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God. Newsflash: Faith is only required for things that are bigger than you and out of your realm of possible. That's the kind of life we were meant to be living. 

So here's the challenge:
-If you are a Christian and you haven’t seen the breakthrough yet...know that you’re somewhere in the middle of your story. And the good news is your story isn't over yet. Hang on and stay strong holding onto the promises of God! It's not over until it's good!
-If your life story is fairly boring or easy breezy, sorry hunny but you aren't living at your God given potential. There’s soooo much more God has for you. Start living what you say you believe, and watch God blow your mind!
-If you have no idea what this God stuff is all about but living like Domino sounds cool...start by accepting Jesus and hold on for the ride of your life.  He'll take you to places you never dreamed you could go, and you will do things your wildest imagination couldn't come up with. You will feel purpose and fulfillment like you never have before. Wanna give it a try and join my team? We could use someone just like you.

There’s More Than Meets the Eye

“We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself.” -Oswald Chambers “My Utmost for His Highest”

Waiting is hard. It’s seems God’s timing is never aligned with my own and it often leaves (no pun intended) me in the wait. Not that He’s ever late...more like right on time...it’s just me who would prefer not to wait. I’m not positive if it’s the waiting or the giving up my control of the situation that’s harder here. One thing is for sure though, waiting is necessary because in the wait, things grow. 

There’s always this work going on underneath the surface that I can’t see. In a world so vast and complex, how foolish am I to even think I can see or understand it all and then attempt to have control over it? Sounds pretty silly saying it out loud. In training myself to respond and not react, I must remind myself here that though my eyes do not see it yet, does not mean it’s not on the way; and though my hands are not a part of it, does not mean it’s not being worked on. There’s more than meets the eye in this world. 

Do you know how I know this? Exhibit A: Logically looking back on my life, every problem I’ve had and thought I’d never get through always worked itself out...rarely how I expected, but always worked out none the less. Fact is, life keeps moving and to do so, things must change. My catch phrase is “It will work out. It has to.” The fact that I’m still standing here today and thousands, if not millions of my problems have resolved themselves is the proof. 

Exhibit B: Spiritually I know this because of faith (the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen). It’s the word that pleases God and calls Him to work. And every time I put it in action, it grows because God does not disappoint.  

Whichever way you slice it....something is always being worked on, something is always being done. Though I’m not the one growing the seed, I can surely rely on the One who is. In the wait I can remind myself things ARE happening even when it looks changeless on the surface. 

Then, as if suddenly and without warning, the plant leaf pops up through the ground, the answer comes, the breakthrough happens. But it wasn’t REALLY suddenly, was it? It just seems that way with my limited perception. Peer below the surface a moment and you see the reality all along. Something was happening, I just didn’t look beyond the surface to see it. I want to remember to pause here in that moment...the moment of “suddenly”. Too quick I sigh a breath of relief, check that one off the list and move onto the next problem in line. But I need to take more time imprinting the suddenly moment so when in the waiting, I learn to live expectantly knowing that suddenly is on its way. 

So, it seems I‘m left with only one leaf to turn over (pun intended). Now knowing the process and the end result and seeing this played out over and over in my life, my question is this. What sense does it make to worry and strive to make something happen (that I really can’t control anyway) when I can just have the faith, live in peace, and trust God’s got it from the start? None as far as I can now see. 

Perception Changes Everything

This is what happens when you pull up the weather app and view today’s forecast but fail to scroll down further to see the details in the hourly forecast. I found out today that 90% rain can mean sunny skies all day but rain in the evening...and result in looking pretty funny walking around in rain boots on a bright and sunny day. 

I can’t help but connect the dots of this humorous moment to a life lesson. Perception changes everything. It has the power to alter life...most influentially, our choices. Believe me, had I known it was going to rain this EVENING, I would have left the rain boots home. A little extra information really goes a long way. 

In thinking about this reality, I’m reminded of a sermon I heard recently highlighting the difference between a snapshot and a movie. When you take the time to see a story play out, you often get a better understanding of a single moment. And similarly, looking at a single moment is not equivalent to knowing the whole tale. The picture we now see will lead to another picture that will lead to another, that when put together will be something far different from a single moment’s story. 

This mindset can be extremely helpful in learning the important skill of grace. It can be the reason we give people who might be having a bad day/week/month/year some slack as we remind ourselves the story of their life has not been so kind and today is not necessarily the full picture of how it will unfold. It can be what reminds us to forgive those who hurt us, as we’ve hurt people too. It might be a gentle nudge to lighten up on our kids when they err. Or it could be the connection we need to choose to let it go when a stranger acts selfishly. Maybe it’s stepping into our boss’ or leader’s shoes for a moment and realizing we wouldn’t want to be the one making the decisions that affect many. Or could it be that we ourselves need the grace most sometimes? This simple mindset might even help in situations like we are facing in our world currently. We can choose to remain calm as we remember our right now is not our forever. Whatever way makes sense to you one fact remains, we are all part of a bigger story that’s playing out in our lives, families, communities, country, and world and it’s helpful to remember to pause and take a birds eye view. Maybe from way up there we’ll see the problem really isn’t that big at all. 

They say a picture is worth 1000 words so then that means a movie would be worth 1000 pictures (probably more). 

 Let’s keep that in mind as we live this life out day by day and give grace for the moments, situations, and people (including ourselves) that might need just a little extra in this season. And if you see a lady walking around in rain boots on a sunny day, remind yourself that if you zoom out on a google map I bet it’s raining somewhere nearby and she probably is dressed appropriately for that perspective.