Thursday, April 26, 2012

Faith...

So this week over at Written Inc., the theme for the thematic pictures is Faith. And here are my photos that remind me of this theme:


"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the staircase."-Martin Luther King Jr.


I love this picture because it reminds me that without fail, these tiny flowers bloom every spring. Even after a harsh winter, they are faithful to show up. It's a reminder that while we may be going through a winter, a hard time in our own lives, spring will come again. And it will be all the more beautiful.


Our God can paint beautiful masterpieces. Faith in Him that His love for us is shown in the beauty all around us.


We don't always know where this road in life is going to take us. There are twists and turns and surprises of every kind. But we can have a faith in the assurance that everything will turn out in the end.




Thursday, April 12, 2012

Stuck in Indecision

I read a blog post today that really got me thinking about decisions and choices, you can read it HERE. We make a lot of decisions in our life. Little decisions and big ones. Sometimes we make the right ones. But sometimes we make wrong ones too.

I’ve been known to be terrible at decision making. You give me a choice I will always answer with “I don’t know” or “It doesn’t matter” or something along those lines. People know that if they need a quick decision, then not to ask me!

When I’m faced with a decision, particularly a big one that involves my life or a choice that involves others, I freeze. I see the thousands of possibilities swirling around me and then I feel the fear of not making the right choice. I’m worried I will disappoint someone, I will make a fool of myself, or I will fail. I’m afraid of all these things happening to me. So I freeze. Stuck, paralyzed by indecision.

And that’s one of the worst places to be.

When you’re stuck or paralyzed, you don’t move forward or backwards. You’re in exactly the same place because you’re scared that that step forward you just took will take you two steps back. But even if it did take you two steps back, at least you would still be moving. And you would then know what you needed to change in order to go forward.

I’ve been stuck in the same place many times because I’m afraid to move. If I move, then I’m open, I’m vulnerable. If I move, the unknown awaits me. And that’s enough to keep my feet firmly planted.

But can I really afford not to move?

It may be scary, I may fall, I may even make the wrong decision. But I have to move forward.

"Go back?" He thought. "No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!" Bilbo from the Hobbit page 69.

We can only keep moving. We have to be wise about the decisions we make. Sometimes God tells us to stay where we are for a reason. But that reason is never fear. If the only reason you are not moving is because of your fear then maybe you are meant to move on.

I believe that God doesn’t want us to be afraid. We’re so scared of falling that we won’t even take a step. Like a baby learns to walk, so we learn to walk in faith. We may fall a few times but we have to get back up.

Philippians 3:13-14, “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

Let’s keep moving on. Moving ahead. Seeking God with everything we have. Don't let fear stop you from stepping out. We can't let our fear of making the wrong choice stop us from making choices at all.
Is the fear of the unknown water keeping us on the shore?



Monday, April 9, 2012

Waiting for the Son to rise

Some thoughts I was having on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday....

Holy Saturday. A day of reflecting on what happened and what will happen. A day of anticipation.

I can't help but think what that first Holy Saturday was like. I wonder what the disciples must have felt. They had just seen their very best friend and their Lord, brutally murdered before their very eyes. The shock and despair had to overwhelm them. They believed nothing could stop Him but He was laid dead in a tomb. He left them with a promise that He would rise and it was to this they had to be desperately clinging too. His promise. His Word.

I wonder if any of them faced doubt. Death looked like death. Death looked very final. They knew that they had targets on their backs. They were afraid, they were deathly scared so they hid in the Upper Room. They mourning, hiding....They had to wonder if the sun would ever shine again. I imagine that they didn't want to talk to each other much. Sifting through their thoughts, re-playing over and over their final conversation with Jesus. Looking for some hint of hope. I imagine them trying to fight off the guilt that laid so heavily on their hearts, because when Jesus faced death alone, they abandoned Him.  They ran. They hid for their own safety.

Where would they go from here? How did they approach that first day of waiting? I think maybe some were doubtful, some were afraid, but I bet they all had broken hearts. Maybe they wanted to full-heartily look towards Sunday and believe without a doubt that Jesus was coming. But maybe the questions hung too closely to see much else.

Can you imagine as they went to sleep that night before the most beautiful morning? They fell asleep with questions, despair hung close, but the sun rose in the morning; bringing with it hope. Bringing back their best friend.


The new day dawned, and the Savior was risen.