This world is like a rushing river, ferociously racing by. Some of us cling onto a branch for dear life, some of us try with all our might to swim against the stream, and others of us give into the current, getting swept down river. God has been breaking my heart for women who think they have to live a certain way or keep up with the way the world is telling them to be. Friends are having lavish weddings, buying luxury cars, purchasing their first home, maybe even talking about their latest vacation or trip to the cabin. We can get caught up in this rushing stream, we can get swept up in a 40+ hour job we probably don't enjoy all so we can build toward this unattainable cushy life, meanwhile, spinning our wheels trying to pay off debt from this fancy college degree we were expected to achieve. Deep down we don't truly want to. We don't fit this mold. We can't put our finger on it, but we know there's something more to this life.
We become mindless and numb to our surroundings, and after a little while of fighting the current, we stop long enough to question what this is all for, why are we trying so hard, what is the meaning of all this, nothing of true value has been accomplished.
My dearest friend, this is not God's heart for you.
God is an emotional God. He feels deeply, He loves richly and He created us to reflect that love and emotion to those around us. If we're trying to go by what the world is telling us, we're going to feel squashed and squelched, never to discover our true potential or let our true beauty blossom.
My story: I've been home for 2 years now. I've tried getting a job but every door closes. I prayed desperately asking the Lord to give me something to do but He kept saying No. I felt this overwhelming guilt that I wasn't contributing to the family savings or helping pay off MY student loans. I spent my days replaying the broken record that I wasn't doing what was expected of me, I wasn't normal, I wasn't good enough. Everyone I know is working or building toward something.
In those 2 years the Lord had much, much different plans for me.
I wasn't caught up in the rushing current. My mind wasn't clouded by the busyness of a job.
I was home in the quiet and spending my time in the Bible. This was not normal or even accepted. I couldn't find any value in myself or in my life. I didn't have this great job, my online business was not thriving, I wasn't leading some glamorous ministry, I was just a "nobody" (by worldy standards) sitting at home and I . . .felt. . .insignificant and pointless.
But you know what, I wouldn't take those 2 years back for anything. I don't care what the world says or how they made me feel. I was home learning the value of being a wife and cultivating qualities of a honorable wife.
All my ideas of what my life was supposed to look like were being washed away in the current and the Lord was showing me what He thinks is valuable. I could've got swept up in what the world expected of me, but God wanted to take me on His path. He would get my attention and remind me not to get distracted.
We've never had much or been rich by worldly standards, but we have been faithful and we have always been blessed. We live a simple life in a rental apartment. When my hubs is home from work, he spends quality time with our family. I drive a happy little yellow Beetle, but that's only because I was blessed with a super deal 5 years ago. We don't go on these luxury vacations, but we do get blessed with vacations. Everything we have is only because God has blessed us, not because we have put in the hours at work and got anything out of our own efforts and achievements.
The point is God has been peeling away my grip on life and teaching me to relinquish my control. Believe me I've tried to get things in my own control, but God wants to show He is in control and it's our faithfulness and obedience He cares about. The world tells us we have to work and achieve but God sees it in a very different light.
Every time I let go a little bit more, God blesses us with something else.
I've learned there is NOTHING more valuable than being a wife, a mom and more important above those, being a woman of God.
I could sit on my couch, take care of my son, fold laundry, cook dinner for my husband and praise the Lord for His goodness everyday for the rest of my life, and that would be ENOUGH.
The Lord wants women to cultivate their beauty and be the reflection of His beauty the way He intended.
He doesn't care if we work another day in our lives.
He wants us to love others deeply and bless others richly.
If we can do that at a job then great, enjoy the job.
If we can't do that at a job then He wants us home cultivating those qualities.
If we need to work then by all means be faithful in your work.
There is NOTHING that PLEASES Him more than our OBEDIENCE to listen to what HE is asking us to do or to love people He is asking us to love.
We've had our struggles these last 2 years. We've dipped into savings to pay bills. We got pregnant with only pennies to our name. We didn't know how we would get through. So you can imagine the guilt I was putting on myself for not having any part in contributing. ME. Me controlling how we get through. Not God. And God continued to peel away my control so He could continue to show His provision. We have always been faithful in opening our home, providing meals for people, giving money when we see a need, tithing no matter what financial stress we were under and God has ALWAYS blessed us. Always.
I recently tried to take a job offer but just couldn't find peace with it and turned it down. (Oh, it killed me to say no!) A few weeks later, Sam got a raise for the exact amount of money I would've been making. God relinquishing my control again and showing me the value of being home. It's the world that tells us we need to work and to achieve.
See, God cares more about our faithfulness and our obedience.
Jobs, lake houses, fine linen all fade away and what's left is our faithfulness and obedience.
There were hundreds of people to heal, work the disciples thought needed to be done, but Jesus listened to God's voice and obeyed God's voice. Jesus was never swept away in the current of what the world was telling him to do.
If we live according to what God is asking of us then we are free to fill our days with loving others and that, my friend, is what brings joy.
I am chosen, I am free
I am living for eternity
Free now forever
I am living for eternity
Free now forever
Take a minute and take a listen. Be encouraged today my lovely.
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