Tuesday, December 29, 2009

In all honesty, I’m a terrible dancer….
On my own, I am hopeless on a dance floor. I get nervous, and don’t know what to do. I feel like anything I could even think of doing, could be a failure. Everything ends up being quite choppy and uncoordinated. I’m missing the details that make great dancing so beautiful.
Ever since I was the 6-yr old flower girl in my big brother’s wedding, I have loved dancing with my dad. He takes the lead, so all I have to do is follow. I just let him guide me on the steps and turns. When I dance with him, I feel graceful. The dance looks poise, beautiful, and purposeful.

I've come to see my life as a continual dance.
I can be very stubborn in life. I always ‘need’ to know what I’m doing, when I’m doing it, where I’m doing it, and why I’m doing it. If I’m involved in something, I like to know the details.
I’m constantly trying to look ahead… Trying to figure out the next steps of the dance before I’ve been taught them. I try to figure out what’s, when’s, where’s, and why’s of my life. I want to be the one controlling those things.
But I get so stressed when I try to figure out every aspect of my life… by myself. I get nervous and worried. I don’t know what to do. I start thinking that anything I do could be a failure. I miss the simple joys that make life beautiful.

I know the peace that comes from letting God take the lead. I’ve experienced the beauty, the joy, and the purposefulness that comes from following Him.
And yet, I often find myself trying to lead and determine my own steps…
But when I look at my life… my dance is choppy when I’m in control, it’s stressful and far from beautiful. It lacks peace.
I need to let God take the lead, for then my dance has purpose. It has beauty. It has grace. It has poise. I need to stay in step in with the Lead, and turn as He guides me… I need to let God take the lead.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

What If.....

2 simple words....
....2 seemingly simple words....
........2 seemingly simple words that frequently have come out of my mouth....

What If...
In countless areas of life, these 2 words have begun many questions for me. Often, following the What if, comes the then...
What if (fill in the blank)? Then (fill in the blank).

In the Beth Moore Esther study that I'm going through right now, Beth talks about the "what if" question...

1) What if I choose a career I don't enjoy? Then I'd be depressed and would never want to go to work!
2) What if I get diagnosed with something terrible? Then I'd be devastated and life would lose some of its joy!
3) What if I don't get in to the college I want, or don't get good scholarships? Then, I'll have to go somewhere I really don't want to go, and can't enjoy..
4) What if "the right one" doesn't like me? Then I may be stuck an old maid... forever!

and the questions go on and on... we all ask different what ifs...

Beth Moore stresses that we need to give a new "then" to our "what ifs.."
No matter the "what if," God will still be good, and still be faithful...
We should answer our "what if this," with "then GOD.."

What if I make a bad decision? Then God is still faithful, and still good...
What if a relationship doesn't go the way I hoped? Then God is still faithful, and still good...
What if? Then God...
What if? Then God...
What if? Then God...
What if? Then God!!!

This was a huge encouragement for me!
We may fall on our knees sometimes in life, and not understand why things happen, but God is still good. When we're on our knees, we're in the perfect position to pray..
We all have fears. We've all asked What if.. It's not wrong to have fears...
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear." ~Ambrose Redmoon