Joining in with Five Minute Friday and Lisa-Jo Baker's blog today. Today's word is "after."
After . . .
It's a word we use to delay pursuing something in our lives.
I'll do that after I . . .
. . . finish my degree
. . . get married
. . . get a better job
. . . have enough money in the bank.
We can give a list of excuses for what we're waiting for before we pursue something. We often say we'll do something after we meet a certain requirement of some kind.
There's always something we have to do before we get to pursuing that dream. The dream comes after all sorts of other things.
But there's something we miss when we continually put those dreams off until after.
We miss the joy and fear of trusting God as we step out into the unknown.
If we wait until after we've achieved the great life and the financial security we claim we need to pursue a dream, we miss out on that. And often we miss out on the dream no matter what.
Because we can always find something more we have to achieve or acquire first. The after holds us back.
One little word . . . five letters . . . and the potential to impact our lives in huge ways.
What are you waiting for before you pursue something? What is your after?
Are you willing to take a chance now and take a step towards that dream before you reach your after?
Friday, April 5, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Doing Good Without Knowing How it Turns Out
"You do something good. You're not always around to see how it turns out."
That's a line from an episode of one of my favourite TV shows. I was watching NCIS a couple days ago when those words were spoken. They were spoken as encouragement to someone who was feeling like they weren't doing enough good in what they did.
"You do something good. You're not always around to see how it turns out."
I think there's a lot of truth in those words. And they can apply to many aspects of life.
We can spend time doing good. Helping people in many ways. And then they're gone from our lives and we don't know the outcome of what we did.
It's frustrating. Maybe even depressing.
Especially when we're trying to help people. We want to know how what we did turned out.
But, sometimes we're just not going to see how the good we did turned out. We can't get caught up in that. We have to instead, focus on the good we did - regardless of whether we know how it turned out or not.
Ultimately, we're not responsible for how things turn out for the other person - the one we try to help. We're just responsible for what we do. For the good we are compelled to do.
That's a line from an episode of one of my favourite TV shows. I was watching NCIS a couple days ago when those words were spoken. They were spoken as encouragement to someone who was feeling like they weren't doing enough good in what they did.
"You do something good. You're not always around to see how it turns out."
I think there's a lot of truth in those words. And they can apply to many aspects of life.
We can spend time doing good. Helping people in many ways. And then they're gone from our lives and we don't know the outcome of what we did.
It's frustrating. Maybe even depressing.
Especially when we're trying to help people. We want to know how what we did turned out.
But, sometimes we're just not going to see how the good we did turned out. We can't get caught up in that. We have to instead, focus on the good we did - regardless of whether we know how it turned out or not.
Ultimately, we're not responsible for how things turn out for the other person - the one we try to help. We're just responsible for what we do. For the good we are compelled to do.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Beautifully Broken
Jagged shards of glass covered the floor around me.
I was trapped by the broken vase. No where to step next without stepping on the broken glass. The broken pieces kept me stuck.
Often that's how I've felt about the brokenness in my life. I look around and all I see if the brokenness in me. And I end up feeling trapped by it.
Held back.
Kept from doing many things.
Trapped. Captive.
Slowly. Carefully.
I begin to gather the glass off the floor around me and piece it back together. The vase was a favourite. I didn't want to lose it.
So I began the difficult and sometimes painful work of putting the broken pieces back together again.
God wants to do the same with our lives. He wants to put the brokenness in our lives back together. He takes on the task of putting them back together if we allow Him to.
A slow and sometimes painful process as God puts lives and hearts back to how they should be - the way He created them to be. But He has the patience and the love to do the work. If only we allow Him.
I knew the vase wouldn't be perfect any longer.
There were gaps in it that allowed the water to pour through.
But it was still beautiful.
More beautiful than before it had been broken.
Our lives are that way too. When we allow God to put our broken pieces back together, we're more beautiful than we were before.
And the cracks that comes from putting the broken pieces back together allow God's love to pour through us to the people around us.
I was trapped by the broken vase. No where to step next without stepping on the broken glass. The broken pieces kept me stuck.
Often that's how I've felt about the brokenness in my life. I look around and all I see if the brokenness in me. And I end up feeling trapped by it.
Held back.
Kept from doing many things.
Trapped. Captive.
Slowly. Carefully.
I begin to gather the glass off the floor around me and piece it back together. The vase was a favourite. I didn't want to lose it.
So I began the difficult and sometimes painful work of putting the broken pieces back together again.
God wants to do the same with our lives. He wants to put the brokenness in our lives back together. He takes on the task of putting them back together if we allow Him to.
A slow and sometimes painful process as God puts lives and hearts back to how they should be - the way He created them to be. But He has the patience and the love to do the work. If only we allow Him.
I knew the vase wouldn't be perfect any longer.
There were gaps in it that allowed the water to pour through.
But it was still beautiful.
More beautiful than before it had been broken.
Our lives are that way too. When we allow God to put our broken pieces back together, we're more beautiful than we were before.
And the cracks that comes from putting the broken pieces back together allow God's love to pour through us to the people around us.
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay
to show that this all-surpassing power
is from God and not from us."
2 Corinthians 4:7
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