Wednesday, August 28, 2013

As Soon As I Can Get It Together....

This month my calendar says “Begin Anywhere.  Just begin.”

So true and something we seem to resist often!  I know I always want a beginning and an end. Something neater and tidier than my life usually appears.  


photo credit: Myxi via photopin cc

Today I’m going to clean the living room.  I’ll start at __ time and and end at __ time.  
Ha!
This week we are going to potty train.  By next week we will be done.
Ha!
When we have enough money, then we can start our family.
Ha!

Reminds me of a state-of-mind I once had:
Lord, as soon as I get myself together I will be ready to approach you with the good solid relationship we can have

All of these things are somewhat ridiculous.  As soon as I start cleaning I will be interrupted.  If I am not interrupted I will be followed around by the “whirlwind” of 3 children who live here. Potty training does not only take one week.  (No one wants to hear about your done-in-1-day child. ;)  And no one ever has enough money to have a baby. 

Also, there is no such thing as me “preparing” myself for God, or becoming something that will be good enough for him.  

I remember clearly thinking that as soon as I made more time to pray, 
or quit that one bad habit, 
or spent 20 minutes each morning before 7 AM studying scripture... 
then I would be able to come to God with a real commitment. But I wasn’t going to set myself up for failure by really committing to Him before I had the right habits in place.  I’d hate to fail at such an important undertaking. 

Did you catch that?  “I’d hate to fail at such an important undertaking.”

Let’s straighten my old-self out, here. 

Hebrews 12:2 - Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith

Who is the one undertaking this relationship?  Who is the one creating it and nurturing it?  Who is the one making it happen?
Not me

JESUS is the author and perfecter of my faith. 

There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.” (Romans 3:10,11)

HE has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves..” (Colossians 1:13)

I like a clear beginning.  Today I’m going to….  But a daily life with Christ begins right in the middle of now.  

This miracle of grace and mercy - it’s like a river flowing.  You just jump right into the middle of it.  You don’t wait until it stops.  You don’t wait until the right time.  The right time is now. 

The time for earnest prayer is now.  
The time for blatant confession is now.  
The time for diving into the scriptures and finding out more is now.
The time for being filled up with the Holy Spirit is now.

Stop resisting.  That’s you. 

God is welcoming.  That’s Him.  

Begin Anywhere.  Just Begin. 

What's holding you back from starting something new? Something you know is good for you? Why do we resist?


4 comments :

  1. For the record I had the done in 1 day potty trained kid...wanna hear more about it? **wink**

    Again you got me. I really feel like everytime I read a new post you are reading my mind! This applies to so many things in life, no matter if it is dieting, cleaning your house or getting closer to God. Begin in the middle if you have too!!

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  2. another great post so hits home

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  3. Why did I never respond to these comments? Ridiculous!
    Thanks so much! I'm glad you can relate. That's the best part of this blogging deal - finding connections with people. So thankful!

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