Do you ever sit and reflect back across your life to see how
you arrived at this moment? I am compelled to do this during difficult times, but even more so in times like right now when I sense the Spirit of God moving
and bringing my dream into focus. If you have never dared to dream, take some
time, find an inspirational spot and ask God to help you dream about the
purpose he has planned for your unique life. He just might blow your mind! And
once he blows your mind, be brave enough to trust him and follow the path he
has laid out for you.
Think about Abram (We know him better as Abraham). He was
just chillin’ one day – at the age of 75 - when the God of the universe dropped
in and said I choose you. God said,
“I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all people on earth
will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2-3 (NIV)
Abram was a
regular guy. He did know God and desired to serve him. Genesis 15:6 says “Abram
believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Abram made
plenty of mistakes even after this declaration of Abram’s salvation by the
Lord, but it is clear he did love God and was willing to obey him even when it
didn’t make sense. God changed his name from “exalted father” to “father of
many”, and we are the product of the covenant God made with Abraham and Isaac
and Jacob – we, like them, are blessed to be a blessing.
I am closing
in on my 37th birthday and a few years ago I was concerned about
this aging thing. I was so impatient and scared. While still in my 20s I would
wonder why haven’t I “arrived” at the BIG thing I am supposed to be doing? I
would look at other women who were doing things I thought I should be doing and
asked why not me yet? I was jealous. I couldn’t really be happy for their
success at being a blessing because I was so concerned about my thing and why I
wasn’t being used in the gifts and talents God had clearly given me. We had a 4th
child and if I am honest, I was concerned that that would only set me back. As
my children get older we face challenges in parenting that on the surface are
just nuisances and bring out my insecurities and fears which I certainly don’t want
anyone to see.
Now here I
sit on my couch thousands of years after Abraham’s epic story, and I am
beginning to wrap my brain around how God is blessing me so I can be a blessing
to all nations. God has positioned our family here in Fayetteville, AR to
understand our place in His story and be completely sold out to it. My God
dream isn’t coming true on accident. It isn’t happening in spite of anything. It
is coming true because of His faithfulness and fierce love for me. It is all
coming together because of a clear choice to spend time with God developing a
relationship with him as he has designed. It is coming from the answered prayer
that God make me teachable and useable. It is born out of obedience and
learning to surrender to His will. It comes from an understanding that when I
die to myself and allow Christ to live, I am more me than I ever could be on my
own. It is happening through
transparency with our children and allowing God to refine me through parenting these
beautiful gifts he has entrusted to us. The dream is coming into clear view as
a result of being content with where I am and trusting that God will continue
to work out every detail.
This song
beautifully explains where I am right now and I couldn’t be more excited. I
have never been so happy to be patient and so giddy about the future. Every day
I am more alive thanks to God’s covenant with Abraham that he was blessed to be
a blessing so that I can now take my place in His story and be a blessing too.
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