Change can be hard.

Six years ago today changed our lives in a way that we would not have chosen.  When my father-in-law passed away we knew that the family dynamic would never be the same.  It was May of that year that I began to sense that it was time to do that thing that I had been wanting to do for a long time, but never had the nerve to get started.

Perspective changes everything.

Looking back to that first post (you can read it, here), I am reminded of why I began something completely new.  Watching his example, I knew that I wanted to use my voice to encourage others the way my father-in-law had.  While it is a noble thing to decide on a daily basis that you will seek opportunities to be a blessing to whomever God places in your path, I knew that the blogging world would open a door for me to share beyond my borders.  And so it began.

While in some ways it seems hard to believe it has been 6 years since that first blog post, I also struggle in the fact that it has been six years and there is still so much that I would like to see happen.  Caring for my grandchildren full-time for four of those years meant that writing was spontaneous and sporadic, but I have no regrets–I wouldn’t trade those years with those precious babies for anything!

But a new day has come.

Life continues to change, but one constant remains:

HE IS FAITHFUL.

“He who calls you is faithful, who will also do it.”  1 Thessalonians 5:24

At the beginning of this year I chose a verse to memorize that seemed to jump off the page and right into my heart.

I knew this would be a year of change.  Before we ever started having children, my husband and I made the decision that I would be a stay-at-home mom.  I raised four children and soon after the last one left the nest, I began providing care for grandchildren whose parents are both teachers.  Now I’m back to an empty nest, and so this fall will begin a new season for me.  I worked from high school until our first son was born, accumulating all but one credit necessary to qualify for social security benefits… and so I must find a job.  One with a paycheck.  At my age.  With lots of life experience but no degree.

So here I am again, asking one of the biggest questions that believers ask,

“What does God want me to do with my life?”.

Do you want to know what I’ve discovered through years of reading His Word?  The answer to this very important question can be summed up in these verses from 1 Thessalonians 5:

Rejoice always!
Pray constantly.
Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Don’t stifle the Spirit.
Don’t despise prophecies, but test all things.
Hold on to what is good.
Stay away from every kind of evil.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-22

Do you see It?  The question is not, “What does God want me to do with my life?”–but,

“What does God want to do in my life and through my life?”

This is a complete change of perspective.  It is not about me or my life.  It’s about a God who gave me life and created me for a purpose–and to fulfill that purpose I must choose every day to rejoice in Him, in what He is doing, and what He wants to do in me and through me.

Keeping our focus on Him through prayer and thankfulness, He will lead us to make right choices–not just for today, but for our future.

God alone can know what the future holds for you or for me. Trusting Him with this day, and with the next, and the next will ultimately lead to the life-long process of sanctification.

[Sanctification: To make productive of or conducive to spiritual blessing.]

In John 17, Jesus prayed for His disciples and all believers, “Sanctify them [set them apart for special use] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth.”

Staying in the Word is crucial.

It wasn’t coincidence that today I read verses in both Psalm 37 and 1 Thessalonians 5 that reminded me of God’s faithfulness.  Even when I can’t see what He’s doing, I can trust that He will lead me on this journey to something new–and it will be for a true purpose that only heaven will reveal.

Any job or occupation or role I fill becomes valuable only when and if I choose to see it as an opportunity to see God at work.

“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act, making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday.  Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him…”  Psalm 37:5-7

Wherever you are on this journey called life, won’t you join me in praying these verses?  When was the last time you were just silent before the Lord?  What are you waiting for?  Expecting God for?  Are you trusting in His faithfulness today?

If you read all the way to the end, I applaud you!  I know this was a long post, and I thank you for letting me share my heart.  I hope you are encouraged today to walk in obedience, trusting that God has giving you this day as a gift.  Don’t be afraid to do something new.

… Oh, and be sure to share a kind word with someone you meet today!

“A man’s steps are established by the Lord, and He takes pleasure in his way.  Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the Lord holds his hand.”  Psalm 37:23-24