I have been seeing posts about the 10 Year Challenge, seeing a photo of each individual 10 years ago and today.
As I thought about posting myself, a different challenge came to mind which I feel is really important in light of where I have been moving over the past 2 years. I have been investing in a lot of personal development.
I felt strongly as I looked at those posts that my 10 year challenge should be…when I look back to today (and on), in ten years what do I want my 10 year older self to say? Will I have made her proud? Will she say you followed those promptings, you were true to what you felt called to do…look what He’s done through you. You have allowed Him to work in and through you.
You stepped out of your comfort zone, time and time again. Look at how He used your willing heart…
Although you could only see the next step or two you were faithful to take them and move forward. You chose to no longer allow you, to stop, you…allow the negative self talk and thoughts to win. You chose to find truth and speak it when those thoughts tried to run you over and keep you down.
When the enemy thought he was winning, you kept your focus and looked to the Father. You kept your eyes on Him and saw through the enemy's schemes.
When you fell down you got back up. You surrounded yourself with people who helped you move forward and continued your journey from negative outlook to positive focus.
You allowed each encouraging word from one to count as many, knowing if someone shares how you touched their heart, there are likely more who did not tell you. Allowing yourself to see you have an important, even essential calling. He has called you and you are here to make an impact on those who will hear you. They may not be open to hear it from anyone else, so keep moving forward.
You are here for them and you should be obedient to the calling.
We are most effective and fulfilled as we walk in our purpose, the WHY we are here…you stepped out of your job and into your mission. It was like you were making your way back home. Moving from tired to rejuvenated and ready to take on the day.
What are you calling me to do today? What is the next step in my story? Who do I get to serve today and how?
As I drove to the appointment that had me riddled with fear, I was already feeling much more calm,(with the help of Claudette interceding for me) I saw something I don’t know that I have ever seen before in nature. A flock of Mourning doves flew overhead then switched direction and flew back, then switched direction one more time (ahead of and above my van) 3 times in all, then flew away. There were easily twenty of them. It was a magnificent sight, I saw blue grey to white then back to blue grey. It reminded me of the grace of a school of fish changing directions together and moving in unison. I believe this was all symbolism, the Father was showing me something…
When my appointment was done I returned home and quickly jumped onto CLubhouse, as Claudette was waiting for me to start the room. We opened the room in prayer and as we began the discussion we were searching for a scripture about wells springing up(the topic for our chat). I came across Numbers 21:17 on my phone. Claudette said "let me look at that in my Life Application Bible", as she searched, I grabbed mine which “happened” to be sitting right beside me. As I read through the description of the surrounding verses my eyes jumped to the middle of the page where the title, "The Bronze Snake" was written in bold print, the story is found earlier in that chapter. My eyes welled up with tears as I read and the Lord revealed what this story meant to me in the fear I was facing today. He made it even more clear that it was okay, I just had to keep my focus on Him and He had it covered. Another reminder to me that His word is alive, as relevant to us today in all that we encounter, as it was the day it was written.
It was amazing, as we continued to dive in, He revealed more and brought me to a point of peace in this whole situation. I had been fearful of several things, one being, possible disobedience and He lifted it all from me in a few moments.
I am so grateful for godly friends who are faithful to lift us up in prayer, stand with us in difficult times and rejoice with us as truth is revealed. I am also so thankful for the signs that the Lord puts in front of us if we only take the time to see them and ask for clarity on them when needed.
This story has several layers, some of which will likely remain to be seen but for now I rejoice in this freedom! There may be more to come on this one, stay tuned...
As I drove home from our Ladies Bible study wrap up(I was facilitating) last night, which was a series about taking our thoughts captive and replacing lies with truth. I felt fear closing in regarding something I had to face today. It seemed to come out of nowhere. I had been feeling fine about it a couple of hours earlier but on my quiet ride home it weighed on my mind.
When I arrived home the fear subsided for a little bit while I spent a few minutes with the family before bed. Once everyone was asleep, it started again. I saw online something that triggered the fear inside. It was no surprise that I didn’t see it until everyone else was sleeping so I felt alone and could not stop the thoughts from rolling around in my head. I allowed the spiral to take hold and was having difficulty focusing on what I was trying to do. I then paused to try to get a healthier perspective, pulled out my Bible, opened it up and began to read. I had landed on Isaiah 61 "Good News For the Oppressed", then continued on to chapter 62 "Isaiah's Prayer for Jerusalem". This caused my focus to shift but once I put my Bible down and I crawled back into bed that fear started to close in once again.
I had a bit of a rough sleep and woke up early. A dear friend of mine, Claudette, had already seen a message I sent her in the wee hours and sent me some encouragement in return. We chatted for a bit, she left me a voice message of one powerful prayer and a second that did not reach me. We believe the enemy did not want me to hear it BUT our Father heard it...
Will come back to this later but, we had planned to do a Clubhouse room later this morning and would be talking about “What type of water is in your well?”.
What happened from here was one sign after another, want to catch the rest of the story? Stay tuned...
