A coyote emerged from the woods this morning—right from where we send the dog to poo—and then he played in the snow for about 10 minutes, running, leaping and doing a prancy-pounce thing.
I didn’t take a picture of him. I just wanted to watch him, as eerie as it was to have a coyote visible in the daylight. [Those if you who have coyotes around know that they are more often heard at night than seen in the day.]
I didn’t take a picture of him.
Does anyone else feel like we spend too much time instagramming our lives instead of enjoying the moments in the moment? I felt the temptation this morning, but didn’t give in. I just wanted to watch him, not photograph him.
This is the continuation of an earlier post about a Bible study in which I’m facilitating and participating.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9
The Comparison Trap: Week Four, Day Six… Some of my reminders and my takeaways from the daily devotional include:
We all have a story.
Our story matters.
It matters to God, and there are others who can learn from our story.
I feel like I say this to women all the time, because there are so many who are hesitant to share their story, thinking it means nothing, it’s full of shame, it’s full of mistakes, and that none of those things really matter… to anyone, but especially to God.
Sandra Stanley begins this devotional by telling us, “Comparison may be whispering to you the lie that those pieces of your story should be kept hidden—that admitting them out loud would be intentionally pointing out that you don’t measure up, that you aren’t perfect enough.”
His grace IS sufficient for us, and His power IS made perfect in my weaknesses. We struggle to believe this… and we struggle when we think we need to have no weaknesses to be used by Him… and that we must be perfect in order for His power to be made perfect. Stop it.
We’re so wrong when we allow those whispers to speak lies to us.
“God can leverage and use the unpolished, imperfect parts of your story.”
He will if you let him. It’s often in the shattered dreams that we find Him. It’s often in the broken bits that we discover more about Him. It’s often in the questions we ask where we’ll find hope. It’s often in hearing others’ stories where we’ll realize ours matters, too.
Whose unpolished and imperfect parts can be used?
It’s those of us who wonder from where our value comes.
It’s those of us who want to know how a broken heart can heal.
It’s those of us who are living in singleness.
It’s those of us who wonder who else cares.
It’s those of us who have watched our husbands die.
It’s those of us who cry in our quiet moments.
It’s those of us who feel the need to put on the smile mask.
It’s those of us who have watched our marriages fall apart.
It’s those of us who were violated.
It’s those of us who are lonely.
It’s those of us who wonder, “Why me?”
It’s those of us who have lost a child.
It’s those of us who have never been able to carry a child.
It’s those of us who have been cheated upon.
It’s those of us who feel lost.
It’s those of us who don’t know how to get through today.
It’s those of us who don’t know from where our hope comes.
Sandra walks us out of today’s devotional with a wonderful prayer:
“Heavenly Father, it seems a little crazy to me that you’re interested in taking the broken stuff of my life and using it for good. But since you say so, I’m offering all of it to you now. Please give me new eyes to see my story the way you do and to see how I can put it to good use.”
Amen. His grace is sufficient… even in our weaknesses. He uses every bit of it for His purpose, when we allow Christ’s power to rest on us.
The calendar tells us it is spring, but the reality is that the coldness and barrenness of winter still has its grip on us.
I awoke yesterday morning to snows swirling in the air… a flurry of winter still hanging on to the grips of a past season where frigidity is present and the warmth of new life seems absent.This morning is a new day. It’s one which we don’t define by the weather, but one… which dawns and opens up with new possibilities, new hopes, new dreams and new life. It’s not just about the new life to come, but about the new life given to us to grab ahold of right now.
His love… His redeeming love is worthy of our awe!
Put the emptiness, the barrenness, and the coldness of the past aside, for no matter what our circumstances may be, a new life is waiting for each of us in Christ.
Today is the day to embrace how He desires each of us to be made new in Him. Happy Resurrection Sunday!
Hope Surrendered 