One of my favorite Bible verses in Habakkuk, "Write my answer on a billboard, large and clear, so that it can read at a glance and tell everyone rush to the others."
As a young girl I loved working with words and stories to tell, and I have given my life to Jesus to be his servant in any way. I had thought that God would truthfully the two together. Paul writes in Galatians 6:4 (and this is the message from the Bible by Eugene Peterson), "A careful exploration of who you areand the work that you have given, and then himself in the sink. "Those were my goals.
But one day a few years ago when I was "before the Lord, wait patiently for Him" (Psalm 37:7), I realized I would never be the person that I wanted! I would never be that magazine editor and forth between Carol Stream and at home. It was as if a giant had struck his huge hand on my cheek. And I felt like I had not God.
After my surgery, and in the last ten years, myspiritual temperature had dropped below zero. I called myself and wrote in my diary, "My name is Sorrow. I am nothing."
Define through your work, your career, what if you never came to your work? Housewife, teacher, entrepreneur, professor, salesman, janitor, pastor, musician, psychotherapist, whatever.
When we introduced the man, what's the first thing you say after the name? (WAIT) What is your profession? Where do you work?
When my healthCondition stabilized, I wanted to move in life. I knew I was of use to God, but I could not move my mind until a few answers.
The best thing was to identify with Jesus praying in the garden. It was agonizing hours for him. Even his disciples denied him when he hit bad times. And were Jesus' last words of his prayer in the garden "not my will but Thine be done." To have a fulfilling life as Christ, at least for me, I had identified with so badly.
I knew, as Paultells us that I had to make "to run the race" because we are told that Matthew (6:33), he won first place in our lives and live as he wants us.
So I kept writing. I told God, I'll do what he asked of me. Be gopher God. We are told in Philippians (4:19) that God fulfill all our needs. Editing was a need or a deficiency? Who cared? Let go and let God.
Another favorite verse is: "Everything is possible with God."
One day on the Internet, I answered an ad for a freelanceEditor. I have stopped! And I love the work! Last year some of my editorial assistance, Susan Krauser's Children's picture book was published. So Ethan Henderson's Why Kids was not a heart attack. And edited more and more of my books have been published. I was so happy for the authors, especially when Nancy Mur CD's book for Today's Top Ten list was selected children for Christmas gifts under $ 10.
My vision for my life I had. And Jesus is so often taught that one would think Iknow that God is never my visualization of his way. "If you are weakest, I am my strongest," said Jesus.
I'm still nothing. . . nothing but God's child, that's still gotta learn a lot.
I urge you to identify with Christ, not with your work. Just be. And if you introduced to someone, they ask about their hobbies. They fix their own cars? What was the last movie you have seen them? Forget the professions for a while.
As Maya Angelou writes: "Life is a pureAdventure, and the sooner we realize that the sooner we will be able to treat life as art. "