Embracing Farewell

Growing up I have always been shy, which didn’t lend itself to making large number of friends. Instead I chose to develop a small circle of friends. I have always envied my sibling’s outgoing personality but it just never came that easy for me. Letting someone new in is never easy for me. So you can imagine how difficult goodbye must be.

But as you know, God never leaves us in our places of comfort for too long. He nudges us and at times gives us a big push in order to produce growth in our lives. That’s what He has been doing for me in the past few months of this year. He’s taken me down new roads meeting new people and encountering new experiences. At times I have trodden  along timidly and other times a bit defiantly, kicking, screaming, and pleading that He give me a moment to catch my breath.

Once I have said hello to something new I long to cling to it but I have experienced quite a few exits that caused me to grieve and question why I had to go through the experience. But God in His kindness has been teaching me the true value of goodbye. When I clutch onto to the things in my life that He has chosen to usher out, I keep myself stuck and stunted. It is the farewells of life that makes room for new hellos.

Father help me (and others like me) to embrace what you’re doing now. Teach us how to mourn during the allotted time but not to get stuck there. Lord I thank you for the ability to move forward in You. Thank you that as we walk along life’s journey you are with us! We chose to place our confidence in You and in Your ability to guide us along the right paths for lives. In Jesus name, Amen.

Dinner for One

Today’s post picks up from the previous post entitled, Goodbye White Pages.  

 

I love reading inspirational posts, books, and devotionals but I cannot allow that to be my main source of nourishment. God is baking a fresh supply of His Word for us daily but we have to decide to take a seat at the table and when seated, eat. Jeremiah states he ate God’s word and it was sweet like honey. By all means, I have had periods of eating His Word and finding it bland. I could not make any sense of it and was unable to see how it applied to my life. If you’re in one of those periods, it’s important to not get up from the table. Even in those moments you are receiving vital nutrients.

 

In order to know God for myself, I have to step away from the leftovers others are serving and get alone and read His Word myself. Allowing the Holy Spirit to season my spirit man so that the Word becomes palatable to my daily life. Nothing wrong with leftovers but when we are getting second hand inspiration or revelation from others you only get the portion they are willing to share. It’s impossible to get all they receive. I know that I have a hard time remembering exactly how the Spirit uncovered a thing to me. So when I’m absent from this place and hadn’t stop in at yours, it’s not because I didn’t like what you were serving but I needed extra time with the master chef  Himself.

 

Have you been taking the time to receive nourishment from the Master Chef or have you been eating the crumbs from His servants?