Yesterday morning I was going about my usual routine before heading off to work. Routines can be super helpful but can easily become a bit too robotic as well. Instead of utilizing our quiet time before the day begins, the clock decides to tell you that it's time to go, go, go! I totally understand the feeling that your clock is some kind of drill sergeant, however, it's important to recognize just how necessary our quiet time with the Lord is. It is in that divine appointment where God will really pour into your heart.
Up in the northeast, we were experiencing a bit of snowfall. Instead of going about my usual routine, I decided to take a peak outside my window. And to my expectation, I witnessed the powdery white snow gracefully falling to the ground; resting peacefully in collections upon the branches on barren trees and the piles of dirt beside the road.
It was in that moment I recognized just how peaceful and quiet it was outside. Everything seemed to have been muted with different hues of gray. The messy piles of rubble as well as the ragged tree branches were covered in such a gentle and white veil.
It seemed so simple how a single layer of snow can make something that was so unpleasant to look at into something so glorious and pure.
Snow is beautiful, but I understand how it can easily be looked at like a burden in many different variations.
For example, you can look back and ponder about how unpleasant that pile of dirt was on the road in your front yard. Or maybe how patchy and uneven your grass was.
Or you can even fixate your mind on how much your back is going to hurt after shoveling that dense snow.
Or... you can decide to be present in that very moment as you glance outside your window. Take away any regrets or future concerns and soak in that moment as you witness God's reflection of what it really means to be still before Him.
The bible talks about how our call to action is now.
The word of God doesn't tell us to look in our past and envision what we could have done differently. The word of God doesn't tell us to worry about where we will be in the next year, the next 5 years... heck, it doesn't even tell us to worry about what tomorrow holds!
Don't worry about what you wish you did or what your future is going to look like. Trust me, I get it. These are the same reoccurring thoughts that tempt me everyday. It's easy to wish for something, but it's better to change that unstable state wishing for something to a steadfast faith and hope in the Lord.
Only He can redeem our past. Only He can make our paths straight as we take steps walking forward into our future.
"I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the pat and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Jesus, is calling us." Philippians 3:12-14 [NLT]
I know it's tempting to worry and regret, but that is all apart of the daily surrender to Jesus. Laying all of that anxiety and worry into His hands and being still in His presence. It is through that quiet time we give to the Lord where our thoughts and hearts are being renewed and transformed. Wherever you are at in life, take a moment and invite His presence in. Whether it's in your bedroom, at the office, in a coffee shop- it doesn't matter, He will meet you anywhere. His gentle spirit can change even the most hectic of atmospheres.
Every time you see the ragged edges of the trees and the piles of dirt on the side of the road covered in snow and suddenly made beautiful; may it be a reminder with how Jesus covers our seemingly ugly past in the fullness of His never ending grace and love. There is nothing you could have done to make Jesus love you less. No matter what the world may lead you to believe, just know that You are so valued and so loved by savior of the world.
"Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him." Psalm 62:5 [NLT]
Up in the northeast, we were experiencing a bit of snowfall. Instead of going about my usual routine, I decided to take a peak outside my window. And to my expectation, I witnessed the powdery white snow gracefully falling to the ground; resting peacefully in collections upon the branches on barren trees and the piles of dirt beside the road.It was in that moment I recognized just how peaceful and quiet it was outside. Everything seemed to have been muted with different hues of gray. The messy piles of rubble as well as the ragged tree branches were covered in such a gentle and white veil.
It seemed so simple how a single layer of snow can make something that was so unpleasant to look at into something so glorious and pure.
Snow is beautiful, but I understand how it can easily be looked at like a burden in many different variations.
For example, you can look back and ponder about how unpleasant that pile of dirt was on the road in your front yard. Or maybe how patchy and uneven your grass was.
Or you can even fixate your mind on how much your back is going to hurt after shoveling that dense snow.
Or... you can decide to be present in that very moment as you glance outside your window. Take away any regrets or future concerns and soak in that moment as you witness God's reflection of what it really means to be still before Him.
The bible talks about how our call to action is now.
The word of God doesn't tell us to look in our past and envision what we could have done differently. The word of God doesn't tell us to worry about where we will be in the next year, the next 5 years... heck, it doesn't even tell us to worry about what tomorrow holds!
Don't worry about what you wish you did or what your future is going to look like. Trust me, I get it. These are the same reoccurring thoughts that tempt me everyday. It's easy to wish for something, but it's better to change that unstable state wishing for something to a steadfast faith and hope in the Lord.
Only He can redeem our past. Only He can make our paths straight as we take steps walking forward into our future.
"I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the pat and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Jesus, is calling us." Philippians 3:12-14 [NLT]
I know it's tempting to worry and regret, but that is all apart of the daily surrender to Jesus. Laying all of that anxiety and worry into His hands and being still in His presence. It is through that quiet time we give to the Lord where our thoughts and hearts are being renewed and transformed. Wherever you are at in life, take a moment and invite His presence in. Whether it's in your bedroom, at the office, in a coffee shop- it doesn't matter, He will meet you anywhere. His gentle spirit can change even the most hectic of atmospheres.
:) Soooo good! Thanks for sharing sis
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