Don't hold out for someday

Everyday starts the same.  

She just wonders if this is all there is to living a life of joy or happiness.  It seems like the list of opportunities have passed her by.  Do you ever get that feeling too?  All she ever wanted in life was to make a difference, to be a part of something larger than herself.

Do you have dreams?  Do you longingly look out the window over your kitchen sink and wonder if it will ever be your turn?

If only....then...

Regret hits her heart as she tackles that stack of dirty dishes.  For some mysterious reason the laundry mounds are higher than her normal mundane day.  And she knows better than go near that room at the end of the hall, that wafts the aroma of a locker-room.  She sure wishes her heart could find it's way back to her first dream.

How did she get so far away from that?  How can she be happy if everyday she looks to the same mundane chores of her day?  

These are times when she feels so alone.  The overwhelming pressure to measure up with the other ladies at church are crushing.  So it seems this day she bellied up to the sink with a bubble of trouble brewing the size of Texas, and her dreams were just afloat and drifting.

Do you ever feel stuck?  Has your heart has calloused to the pain of unfulfilled dreams?  

Her 1-year-old cries as he wakes up from his afternoon nap.  Time had quickly escaped as she quickly packed her protected heart in her someday vault.  Her little baby cries again, and something deep inside of her just ripped a little more, while everything else looked a little more gray. 

I didn't think it would be like this.
Maybe I am just a bit too sensitive to dreams these days.  Who hasn't waited for that "someday" arrival?  Who dosen't want the mundane feeling to be swept away from our heart corners?   How many times do we find ourselves in this familiar place of feeling stuck?  

To give yourself fully to the work of the Lord you have to give yourself fully to the Lord first.

God isn't waiting for you to arrive on His "someday" horizon.  He can use you to make a difference today.  If you feel like you are not qualified well that is just about enough room for God to work in you what He whats to do through you.

Maybe God wants you to trust Him today while he is working on your someday. 

There's not much written about his first 30 years, but Jesus was glad in the mundane for sure.  I am not a carpenter but I would guess there was plenty of boring and other insignificant duties to attend to in that occupation.  What we do know is that Jesus was faithful in the ordinary.  Once he arrived on the scene, Jesus reached out to the ordinary, the mundane, on His way to someday.  

His one significant day.  

He gave himself fully to the business of His Father.   His obedience didn't wait for the day His dreams were in full view.     

"When we surrender ourselves to be used by God, we don't always get to the pick the time, the method or the place of ministry.  Serve in love where you are right now."  Joanna Weaver.  

The key is not in our doing but in our being.  Our willingness to be used by God is known to Him and you are known to God.  That's submitting to a Holy God, instead of feeling stuck in this day.  Serve in love, enjoy the in-between now and your someday.

"Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."  ~ 1 Corinthians 15:58

Someone Throw This Dog A Bone

Wilson needs a friend and a bone.

Have you ever lost a good friend?  Lately, it seems that God is calling some of mine to different seasons in their life. And honestly...it feels like giant, huge, chasm-like void since they have left because I connected with each of them on a more significant level of friendship. 

Friendships are something that have to be built. Companionship is built on trust. That inner-circle-trust-type-of-bond through adversity junky stuff that sticks with you closer than a brother type of friendship. I have the comfort in knowing that a listening ear is just a call or text away.  That really helps as I try not to think about the distance their move has caused.

These shifts have caused me to think about what I value in relationships.  Making friends doesn't come so easy as it looks for me, so that's why I need to pray for godly relationships so that God will surround my heart with His goodness, ones that will encourage, build up and not tear down, and will love me like I am.  

Are long distance friendships or relationships easy for anyone? 

It's tough when you have to bridge friendships over miles. There are some lonely dog-day times.  There are those days when you feel left out and excluded from every great friendship in the world, or at least feel like the last dog sitting alone in your living room with no one else around.  So empty inside.  Bewildered and overwhelmed and not to mention....lonely and you can't remember where you buried your best dog bone either.

I am not friendless but I will only confide in a few. For me, there has to be a certain level of protection to my private stuff. I will share in the most personal way, but you don't need to know everything about me. I tell God most of my secrets. It's a blessing to have friends, those that wear the skin of Jesus.

So look around and count your friends. And then thank them for being one to you. Think about this...you could die your whole life alone with um...say 21 cats and no friends. That is a mental image I just soon forget. And what about those feelings of loneliness?  God didn't create us to be alone or to be friendless. He created us to need each other. He has given us each different friend skills. To one of my best friends, He gave her the gift of listening. That's a great thing...because every time we are together she gets an ear full from me. Another friend has the uncanny gift of prayer and encouragement...yup, guess what I heepin' dose of...those attributes too.

See how this works? If you want friends you have to be a friend. And to maintain friendships you have to work hard through the tough rough adversity times when you won't agree, or see issues the same. And you have to build the bridge of relationships that matter and choose godly ones that will edify the body of Christ in the process.  Ask God to show you the trusty and friendly bonds He would have for you because you need friends you can depend on.  There are some deep-seated and godly relationships and friendships waiting for you.

Be willing to go the extra mile for them.  Be an investor in relationships.  It's the one of the unspoken need of most humans.  One day...you will need them to span the miles for you. Make time investments in building long lasting community. Be real, be a real friend that brings love to their troubled waters.  Love....them like they are, so they will love you like you are.

Believe me...it's hard work but worth it. The next time you need a kleenex because life slapped you hard in the face, you will wish you would have a few more friends. They will come running with their hands open wide,  carrying coffee and a muffin to make things better.  They are willing to help you get back up, and dust the dirt off.  It's nice to have a hand up out of the pits of life.  And then extend the hand of friendship to the lonely, the alone, the needy, the afflicted, the journeyman, the watchman at the gates, the missionaries, the concert-lovers, the life givers.  Surround yourself with those who will follow you to the mission field and back.  

Explore the gift of friendships, of investing in community. Befriend, be a broken vessel for God's friendship to flow through. Listen, be patient, love. It's needed and wanted. By each and every person you meet.

Be the friend you want to meet, be the friend you need in your own life.