I think i'm learning that life gets difficult sometimes to help us make the transition to something new and better.
When we are uncomfortable where we are at it's not because we need to get used to it. (I used to believe that).
When we are uncomfortable it's a sign that something needs to change.
But in that time he did not leave us completely comfortless... in many ways God took over and said
"I will carry you."
A year later he says to us:
"I have fed and nourished you back to emotional, physical and mental health. Even though you are not completely healed, I am going to leave you here now to figure out how to do this on your own."
He says, "it's time my daughter, my son, to learn to walk again.
It is time again for your faith to be tested".
What I am learning is that God doesn't push us to make a leap of faith into darkness, misery or wo. He pushes us to make the leap of faith into greater joy, peace, and love. Don't be deceived!
God isn't the author of misery, he's the author of joy and happiness.
The key is understanding that the initial step of faith requires us to step into the dark unknown. Because it is IN the dark (lack of understanding) that we gain understanding. It is in the losing that we gain. It is in the uncertainty that we learn faith, in the fear that we learn trust, in doing what is uncomfortable that we learn to be comforted.
If you think that gospel of faith is all about easiness, and peace (without the dis- ease) then you are sorely mistaking! Peace without a knowledge of it's opposite would not be peace at all
Even if you feel you are in an impossible situation and that peace, love or joy seems like an unrealistic ideal...(your credit has plummeted and your choices have been sorely limited, you can't get a loan for college education, your employment is not providing enough money to pay for your rent, your food, or your children's basic necessities. If you are dealing with death of a loved one, and unable to cope with the grief. If you are dealing with a weaknesses that you just never seem to be able to overcome.) IF you put your trust in him and believe that there is a way even though none can be seen yet, there WILL BE!
But you have to distinguish between the false voices and the true ones. The false ones keep you stuck in old habits and old ways. The only limits depend on what voice you listen to.
I've seen it happen a few times now in my life. Crazy awesome things. Doors will open that were previously shut. New opportunities will come to you, or coincidence will bring them to you.
People will come into your life. Prayers will be answered, in almost humorous ways.
Connections in your own brain will be made. Aha moments will be more common.
The hard thing to remember in learning to transition from a place of discomfort to a place of peace is that there are seasons of ebbs and seasons of flows.
The ebbs cause is to stop, rethink our lives, ponder what we can do better, motivate us to plan and strategize.
Flows are the natural response to our ebbs. What we ebb we flow. If I use the quiet moments of pondering and reflecting wisely, I will be able to flow more easily. If I try to go against the natural current of life (resist the ebb) then I stop flowing and I become stagnant andORtumultuous. Unpredictable and uneasy.
I need to learn how to respond better to the ebbs in my life - the let downs, the disappointments, the witholding, the losing. When these things happen to me instead of reacting unpredictably and irrationally, I need to use this moment to reflect and think and then I can respond with the natural current and flow peacefully forward when the time calls me to move forward again.
Most of all, and this is probably the MOST important part: learning to enjoy the ride. Learning to be okay with the ebbing phases of my life without getting mad.
Thinking about my day to day life - I realize that ebbing and flowing is constant. One moment is great. I am sleeping like a baby for the first time in a very long time. The next moment my 2 year old starts crying and wakes me up around 4 in the morning from a very peaceful sleep. How do I respond? Pause and think. I feel my body tensing up and I feel myself getting frusterated. I start to feel all my aches and pains and noticing all the negative. Then I respond from a place of fear and anger instead of from a place of neutrality and acceptance. When I respond in the negative frame of mind I cannot observe the subtleties. I am not pausing to reflect or to feel. I am simply reacting. Then I no longer flow, my energy hardens and I get stuck.
You can try to schedule your life out, you can try and envision the day ahead before it is here. You can do that, and you should. But always make room in your heart for the unexpected, don't be surprised when things go better than you thought. Don't be surprised if something unexpected happens that changes things.
Make room in your heart for God and HIS ways. His ways are not our ways. Remember that we are all co-creators with him. We signed up to do this with him. So we need to remember to give place in our hearts for him and be willing to sacrifice your plan for his. When you learn to work alongside of God you will free yourself from the chaos that comes from holding on too tightly to your own ideas.
When you do as much as you can and realize, you've come to the end, and you no longer know what to do. Take that as a sign that it's because it's not you who is supposed to play this next solo piece. It is not you who can possibly figure out the next step. That is the perfect opening for God and his designs. Learn to celebrate "The End" because what the end really is is a beginning to witnessing a miracle. Let the disappointment disappoint, let yourself work through it, but know that when you reach the end of disappointment you will either go off of the deep end trying to find the end, or you will admit the truth to yourself - you don't know where to go from here. Then call upon God to fill in the gaps and missing pieces and he WILL.
HOPE! Is everything.
BELIEVE Believe!
Share YOUR light.
Love
Rachel
