Ocean of blessing

Take everything to the Lord.  The little.  The big.  The happy.  The sad.  Celebrate with Him.  Cry with Him.  Every decision.  Every thought.  “Lord, lead me today.  Guide me.  Purify me and set me on Your path.”  This testimony follows on the heels of my feeling hounded by decision-making.  I felt worn.  Unwanting of any more, I sensed my composure caving in.  And as the pressure of more decisions heaped on, I saw the Lord go to battle on my account.  The first involved my volunteer role with girls who have been abused.  I love these girls deeply.  I feel privileged and hugely blessed to serve them.  My difficulty lay among canceled appointments, rescheduling, extra phone calls, court dates, and longer driving distances.  I felt stretched on time and unsure of how everything could fit together.  I pleaded, "Lord, what is my role here?  Please make these decisions for me.”  Then in the midst of initiating one of those extra phone calls, I suddenly realized peace.  Anxiety floated away.  I smiled in quiet rejoice of knowing the Lord's presence.  Next was my job with theatre.  Staring at numerous rehearsal and performance changes, again I asked the Lord to walk with me.  “Lord, speak from my mouth when to say ‘yes’ and when to say ‘no.’”  Then as conversation commenced and carried on, I felt the stress in my shoulders dissipating.  The Lord had delivered me once again, dispelling my discouragement.  Next was our trip to Port Aransas.  For my husband especially, this weekend away was a welcome thought.  Such delight we took in imagining the ocean and a picturesque walk on the beach.  And then came a phone message from the condo office forewarning us about roof repairs and hammering noise and the possibility of the air conditioner turning off, and suddenly I’m screaming “Ahhhhhh!”  But my husband swoops in to tell me not to cancel the reservation because our room is on the first floor.  Hammering on the fifth-floor roof shouldn’t be burdensome down at the bottom.  And I then recalled praying all those weeks ago about which room to book.  The Lord in His omniscience knew all about these roof repairs, and He took care of us.  Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.”  And on this day these words lived out a depth of blessing.  With immense pleasure I paused to kneel, to bow, to raise my hands to celebrate His victory.  How precious is this freedom He gives that we may ask Him to take our anxieties.  Let Him shepherd us.  Let Him save us all over again each new day.

Lyrically stifled

Back in June, we had some curious musical things happen.  I remember connecting eyes with my husband as confusion whirled, and he knew I needed him to step in.  Why couldn’t I sing the next stanza?  This was a song we’ve led for years.  Yet he moved toward the mic and carried us into the chorus.  Guitar and song fell back into place, and we kept going.  But then it happened again, only in reverse.  This time it was my husband whose words fell unexpected.  He’s speaking between songs, and my heart begins to flutter.  Somehow the fluttering becomes panic, yet still I see no astonished faces in the congregation.  Perhaps the Lord is garnering only our attention.  But what’s going on?   Why wouldn’t my eyes let me move past that first stanza?  We were scheduled to sing again in 2 more weeks, and as that day approached and unfolded, the sequence of events proved similar.  What was it about Wednesdays?  Singing on Saturdays brought none of this awkwardness.  So I told our friend who schedules Wednesday music to hold off on scheduling us for a while.  We would finish out July as she had already included us, but for August onward, I wanted to be available to the Lord.  I needed Him to settle my heart.  And soon a very interesting conversation came.  As back in May a friend had posed the idea of conducting parenting classes to help some younger moms, and as weeks had passed since then, she wanted to know now if I could host the classes 4:00 – 6:00 on Wednesdays.  And right there I’m pretty sure I froze.  My ears, my brain, and my heart all took a sudden leap to rejoice.  Was this what the Lord was preparing me for?  Had He been clearing my music commitments on Wednesdays so I’d be available to conduct these classes?  It’s interesting that never again did we encounter any awkward musical moments.  Fulfilling our commitments for July, it seemed once I decided to decline any further music scheduling, the Lord had no need to garner my attention anymore.  He made His point.  And our parenting classes have been happening for 4 months now on different days of the week, but most consistently on Wednesdays.  And so I thank the Lord for those awkward moments back in June.  As His ways can be mysterious, they are perfect.  When we earnestly seek Him, He makes sure we find Him.  Second Corinthians 3:3 tells us we are letters from Christ “written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”  Each of our experiences with Him is uniquely fashioned.  Each translates to us and to the world His desire to supply for our every step.  What is the Holy Spirit writing on your heart?