Tag: #peace

The burden of the busy

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” John 14: 1

I am trying not to let my heart be troubled. I have been doing a lot of stuff to avoid being troubled, actually; keeping myself so busy to try to regain control and the state of balance (which I have decided is a figment of my imagination during this life season).

I feel like a hamster on his wheel. Running in place. Making gains, only to look up and see how much more there is to do.

In my last post, I referenced changes that were necessary for my family. Well, the decisions have been made and we are embracing the changes. These consist of me going back to work full-time and an impending move for my whole family.

I stopped working full-time a few months back for my own health. Mental and physical. I got to a rough place, and instead of tending to that, I kept powering through. This affected my education (I am currently attaining a MSW), my marriage and my social connections as well as my own health. I have healed a lot in the last couple of months, but since realizing I had to go back full-time, I have had this little nagging thought, “What if it happens again? What if I am not ready?” This particular job that I will be doing, though I am SO thankful for the opportunity, comes with an additional time sacrifice from my son that I have not yet had to make to this extent since he has been born. I know how fortunate I am to be able to say that, but I am still nervous about how it will impact us both (that #momlife). Then of course, the aforementioned move. I think most of you know all the fear that goes into that.

So, to prepare for the coming changes, I have set out to do everything. Literally. Prepare, prepare, prepare. I have completely idolized the busy. Reflecting this morning, I see it. It is like I reverted right back to that state of busy that made this last year so difficult on me and my family. I have traded peace for the possibility of control. Knowing, the concept of having control is impossible, considering I lack to power to do so. Why? What is peace worth?

It is priceless.

Peace is certainly worth more than fake control. What am I doing? Conviction is raining heavy this morning, friends.

I kept reading John chapter 14, where Jesus is comforting his disciples. You can find this conversation in John 14:1-14. I noticed after reading, I noted these two things in my journal: John 14:1: “Trust me.” John 14:6: “I am the way.”

Jesus is telling me this morning, “Trust me because I am the way.”

The way to a fulfilling marriage. The way to a healthy home. The way to close communion. The way to peace.

I cannot attain these things with the busy. I cannot infuse peace in my own life. I can only seek it out from the source. That is not the busy, friends. It is Jesus.

Lord, thank you for this word of comfort and help remind me every moment of every day that this is the goodness you offer in accepting you. I can trust you because you are the way. You are I AM.

Faithful

Good morning, friends. Today, I am sharing a short sentiment with you instead of unpacking the Word of God. It isn’t necessarily what I aim to do here; but I imagine you guys have days and seasons just like this one that I am in. So, this statement I shared with my husband, Josh, yesterday may benefit you as well and I want to share it just in case. Friend to friend, like we are chatting over coffee (which I would love to do, by the way).

We are in a season of change. We know one is coming. One is necessary, actually. But we don’t know what it will be. From my point of reference today, most of our options kind of look like they will suck. Some worse than others; but a lot of unknowns either way. Have you been there?

What. A. Year. I know, Covid, right? Honestly though, that is only the half of it. This year has brought on battle after battle for Josh and me. We felt like we finally got our head above water, then just realized we were drowning in other areas that we weren’t really giving our attention to.

This particular moment in time is a little different, though. These last couple of months I have been intentionally re-connecting with Jesus. I wish that meant days like this didn’t happen. But, it doesn’t. It does mean I can walk it with peace.

I saw a meme the other day that said something along the lines of, “God parted the Red Sea, he didn’t remove it. He may not take away a tough situation but he will see us through it.” I love that imagery.

So, that brings me to what I shared with Josh. I texted him the following:

“God has only been faithful to us. He has never left us desolate and has brought us goodness in every challenge we’ve faced since we have been together. This time will be no different because it is who he is; and we are his.”

This is truth, friends. I have shared some before, and I imagine I will share more at some point; but since Josh and I got together we have basically walked through one storm after another. I mean, the entire time we have been together. But, God. I can look back and really see the hand of God all over our journey. I do not understand many of the ‘whys’, but I still see goodness that he has brought. That deep goodness; the kind that rests in your bones.

Now, do I feel this statement at this time? It literally depends on what minute of the day you ask me. I am kind of all over the place with it. But, when I place aside what I feel and focus on what I know, it is that. I don’t understand all the ways of God, and I certainly would not orchestrate things like he often does. But that is what is so incredible about him; he always does it for good. Real goodness; not good for the moment. There is a difference.

Friends, I love you. I don’t know many of you first hand. But I do truly appreciate you for sharing this with me, I pray for you and I do feel connected to you through our spiritual kinship. Thank you.

God has only been faithful to us.

Bread for all

Good morning, friends. Its Monday, and though these are often tough to get through, I hope you enjoy yours!

“For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” John 6:33

This morning, I read about Jesus feeding the five thousand people (plus some according to Matthew 14:21) on the mountainside in John chapter 6. Following this miracle, Jesus and the disciples headed out for Capernaum. Many followers met Jesus on the other side of the lake and began to engage with him about the feeding miracle and other miraculous signs. This exchange is what we are going to unpack together today.

Inclusivity. According to Oxford Languages Dictionary, it means “the practice or policy of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized.” God has been laying this concept in my heart lately; the idea that he is an inclusive Father, calling all people to know him. This seems like such a simple concept, and in many ways, it is. However, it seems that our Christian culture often forgets this truth. I believe the enemy uses division to distract the church more often than any other tool. We were created to connect with God and with each other, so what better way to deceive us from our purpose and God’s character than to separate us from both.

In John 6:35, Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” So, to set the stage, during this conversation among Jesus and the followers, he explains to them that he is the bread of life, given by God to man. Jesus is speaking figuratively here. We are physical creatures, and our physical bodies need to eat and drink regularly to survive. Likewise, we are spiritual creatures, and our spirit requires nourishment. This is what Jesus is referencing here when he claims that he can satisfy that spiritual need for nourishment. And oh, how he can my friends!

Verse 57 reads, “Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.” Jesus came to give us life. Eternal life with the Father, yes; but also, life here on earth. When I say life, I don’t mean this by the definition, the opposite of death. I mean the difference in the notion of ‘being alive’ and really living. Jesus wants to share the goodness of this life with us here on earth as well. He wants to share peace, love, forgiveness and acceptance. Romans chapter eight talks about how God’s intention for us is “good”. Genesis 1:31 tells us that our Creator called us “good”.

So, in summary, Jesus is life and brings life to us. This life that he brings nourishes our spirit and produces love, peace, redemption and acceptance. These products of life through Jesus are good.

Now, where does this idea of inclusivity come in?

In verse 37, Jesus said “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” Never drive away. Jesus does not reject us when we seek to connect with him. He said whoever comes to him is offered this message of acceptance. Notice the only stipulation here is our desire to connect with him. Not whoever comes to me without sin, or whoever comes to me with it all figured out. Nope, just whoever comes.

Why? Well, Jesus tells us in verse 40, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” There is that word I love so much: everyone.

Think back to the story I referenced in the beginning of this post when Jesus fed the five thousand plus. It was miraculous because he did so with five loaves of bread and two fish. Another message I believe he is sharing here, though, is that they all ate. He provided enough for all of them. Not only the men, who were the only ones counted, but the women and children in attendance as well. Meaning, those that man (as in mankind) merited worth counting and those that man did not were all fed.

The Bread of Life can feed us all. We serve an inclusive, loving God who is relentless in reaching for us. For all of us. The only credentialing we need to seek and be found by Jesus is simply being.

Thank you Jesus for grace, love and your seal of ownership on us all.