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What Root Are You Tripping Over?

06.04.2019 by Tracy Stella //

The FACETS of Faith team is excited to share what God placed on our hearts for this month’s topic. Why? Because we believe God’s kids are going to get some freedom! That’s our prayer: freedom and fullness of life for all who read and engage with what God inspired us to write. Thanks for stopping by. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule. Snuggle up. Settle in. And let’s see what He has to say to us all. He’s given Kim, Jen, and our guest writer a voice in this as well. Can’t wait to see what God has to say through them too!

Life is full of moments, some of them defining. Choosing to forgive is one of them. I know forgiveness is complicated and getting to that place isn’t always easy. Forgiveness has its roots in love. Our lives are better for it.  When we invest ourselves in the conscious choice to choose love, we win.

We can’t choose love if we don’t know who He is. Love is sacrificial like Jesus.

“If you have experienced the power of love and forgiveness in your life, you’ll probably give away a lot of both. …. We can reflect the angst we felt or the grace we’ve received.”1

What root are you tripping over? (Tracy Stella)At this point in my life, I’ve experienced God’s love in profound and deep ways. That wasn’t always the case. I didn’t always know His love for me.  It was always there waiting. It just took me awhile to be ready to receive it.  I pray you have encountered this love, a well so deep, a knowing so intimate and personal, and safe. Jesus, He’s safe.  (I feel like someone needs to know that right here, right now.)  If that’s you, you need to know Jesus is SAFE.  I get that.  And He is!

I’ve experienced deep violations in my life. Maybe you have too.  The ones they write trauma recovery books about.  If that’s you, I pray you open your heart to the safety who is Jesus. Let Him into your life. I promise, sweet one, He is safe, true, loving and kind.  In fact, I just read this today. Perhaps, it’s for you.

The LORD is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made.─Psalm 145:9

Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous─how well I know it.─Psalm 139:14

God made you. He thinks you’re marvelous! And He has compassion for you.  He’s not looking at your situation through blind eyes. He knows you. He knows what hurts you. He knows what He has for you, and it’s so much greater than unforgiveness.  He knows it will be hard, but He’s not asking you to do anything He wasn’t willing to do Himself.

Jesus forgave many who betrayed Him, belittled Him, and took advantage of Him when all He wanted to do was make this world and the people in it better, good.

Yes, He’s God. But He was also fully man. I’m grateful for that truth, because it helps me to know He understands.  He understands, sweet one!

Forgiveness Frees Us from Tripping Over Pride’s Root

Unforgiveness has its roots in pride.  How’s that, you ask?

If I choose not to forgive, it’s as if I’m saying my problem is bigger than my God. It’s as if I’m saying my thoughts are higher than His thoughts.  It’s as if I’m saying I know more about what’s good for me than God does.  The problem, the violation wasn’t good, but where God desires to bring us is good.

He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.─Psalm 18:19 NIV

Forgiveness is the spacious place God desires to bring us to.  It’s a peaceful place, one where we can breathe freely. Fully.

Does God have great grace for us on our journey toward forgiveness? You bet He does!  And when we need to travel that path again, He’ll walk with us. Sometimes, it’s not as simple as merely saying, “I forgive you.”  But it’s a good place to start.

Forgiveness is like a decadent wedding cake. There are many layers to it. God gets that, because He gets us. All He’s asking for us to do is bite into it. His promise is that we’ll taste His goodness when we do.

The thing that happened to us isn’t good, but God is.  His desire is to set captives free.  Forgiveness is a giant key that opens the door to our freedom.

Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.─Proverbs 16:18 NASB

Pride trips us up with a knotted root of unforgiveness.

On the other hand, forgiveness elevates us.

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive any complaint you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.─Colossians 3:12-13 BSB

If you have accepted Christ into your heart, you ARE one of His elect, holy and beloved. Stop right there. You are holy. You are beloved.

From that position, clothe yourself with compassion and humility.

Forgive ANY complaint you have against one another.

Any.

(I know. I know. Sometimes, that’s hard. Don’t do it in your own strength. Do it in HIS.)

I’m forever taking the pressure off myself. There’s just too much in the world. A lot could weigh us down.  We can’t get to where God is taking us if we let that happen. Choose to seek Him as you take a bite out of unforgiveness.  Here’s a prayer to start:

Lord, You know my heart and You know every act committed against me. You also know the things I have done to hurt others. Thank You for Your gift of forgiveness to me, so that I don’t need to wear the weight of that burden. Help me, instead, Lord to put on your righteousness and holiness. Clothe me in Your love, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. I can forgive if you help me to get there, Lord. Please bring me to that spacious place. Help me to bask in Your love and peace as I do so, Lord. In Jesus’ precious name, amen!

Forgiveness Frees Us to Receive God’s Abundance

When God knows He can trust us to forgive, He can trust us with more.

To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.─Matthew 13:12 NLT

Joseph comes to mind. He was deeply betrayed by his brothers. He was put in a well and left for dead, all because they were jealous and annoyed with their baby brother who had a God-given dream and needed some growing up to do as to how he shared it.  He suffered and was estranged from his family, even his brother Ben (because I like to imagine Joseph called him that versus Benjamin).  I drop syllables on people’s names whom I’m close to.  Jennifer becomes Jen. Samuel becomes Sam. So in my mind, Benjamin is Ben to Joseph.

Joseph also lost time with his father who deeply loved him.  He didn’t get to make the memories with his father that his other siblings did.

We’d understand if Joseph let a bitter root of unforgiveness take over like vines that cling to a brick façade.  The vines eventually tear down the structure by weakening it.

Have you ever seen a home unattended to? After awhile things deteriorate. Go back decades later and its almost unrecognizable. Overgrown and in disrepair, its former beauty and purpose hidden.

That’s what can happen to people once happy, who get wounded by other broken people when we choose not to live in the freedom of forgiveness.

Talk about clothing himself in kindness, Joseph did that!

He could have turned his brothers away when they needed food. Instead he used wisdom to test their heart. And he blessed them greatly.

Notice what I wrote above. Joseph tested their motives. Sometimes, people still aren’t safe for us. Forgive them and move on.

But sometimes it’s safe to let people stay (or to let them back in). Pray on this. Ask for God’s wisdom and discernment.  And if you’ve never read the story of Joseph, I encourage you to do so. If you have, maybe God is calling you to read it again. This time through the lens of forgiveness.

Joseph rose above circumstances and was given a position of honor and authority. Nothing could thwart God’s plan for Joseph’s life.  To fulfill His plan for Joseph, it did require his obedience.

Remember, when God knows He can trust us with a little, He’ll give us more.  I’m not saying it will be easy, but start with small acts toward forgiveness.

Practically, what does that look like?

First, ask God to fill you with His love. It’s only out of His overflow that we can sacrificially love. Not out of a place of lack, but of much love.

Second, you could go back up and pray the prayer if you didn’t earlier.

Third, you could ask God for His wisdom and discernment as to whom is safe for you and who is not.

Fourth, pray for the person, especially if he or she is still living. No one is beyond God’s reach. No one.

Fifth, remember, just because we’re supposed to forgive those who trespass against us doesn’t mean we give them full access to tramp upon our hearts. God will show you who and how much access to give.

Lastly, ask God if there is a tangible way you can demonstrate forgiveness.

Maybe there is an act of “releasing” that you can do, ceremonially, that releases that person or circumstance to God.  Like planting a flower (a bulb) that symbolizes forgiveness coming up from the darkness.  In the future, whenever you see the flower come up each spring, you’ll be reminded of the fresh renewal forgiveness brings.

Maybe it’s placing lights along your sidewalk as a reminder that God’s path is well lit and He’s leading you on a journey toward forgiveness. Every time you see the light, be reminded of Christ’s light and love for you as He leads you on the narrow path. But the path of forgiveness leads to goodness, peace, and truth. The one that leads you to Him.

For me I have another bite of wedding cake God is calling me to take. It’s an easier bite than those I took earlier. The lump in my throat from the pain of the situation made the first bites of forgiveness hard to swallow. That’s how it often is, but if we choose to chew the pain and let Christ help us, we’ll live vibrantly again. Fully. Wholly. Completely.

I don’t want to live a half-eaten life. I don’t only want the leftovers. I want a full plate of God’s goodness.  So I’ll chew, even when it’s hard.

The person I’m feeling called to bless didn’t directly hurt me, but a shared circumstance did (kind of – it’s complicated – it’s life, after all).   I’ve felt led to pray for this person, so I have. And now I am feeling led to bless the person, which I will do.  I’ve been praying about how God would want me to bless this person. He’s given me a few ideas, and we’re still working out the details.

He just kind of dropped the idea in my brain yesterday while I was out on a motorcycle ride.  (Because that’s one of the spacious places He brings me to where I find peace. The open road, the more winding the better.)

I cried a little underneath my helmet, not because I’m mad or upset anymore. I cried at God’s goodness. I knew I would never have been able to easily accept His idea to bless a person involved with a circumstance that had wounded me deeply if it hadn’t been for Him. They were kind of celebratory tears of sorts.  The deep pain had turned to a “small scar”.

What happened didn’t go away, but the excruciating pain had. In its place was God’s love and peace and the ability to bless.

If that’s not a spacious place, I don’t know what is.

Forgiveness Frees Us to Take Up Great Causes

There’s a song by Francesca Battistelli that keeps going through my brain. The lyric is this:

“It’s your life–what you gonna do? The world is watching you
Every day the choices you make
Say what you are and who your heart beats for
It’s an open door”2

Life is full of moments, some of them defining. Choosing to forgive is one of them. I know forgiveness is complicated and getting to that place isn’t always easy. Forgiveness has its roots in love. Our lives are better for it.  When we invest ourselves in the conscious choice to choose love, we win.

I want to win. Don’t you?

One of the ways we win is when we take our deepest tragedies and turn them into triumphs.

I think of the mom who lost her son in a terrible tragedy. MADD was started because a mom chose to do something worthy and worthwhile with her pain. She chose to invest in forgiveness and used that horrific event as a platform to make the world a better place.

I want that for us. I want each of us to have the courage to take some of the darkest moments of our lives and turn them into something beautiful with Christ’s help. That is my prayer for all who are reading this.

How that looks for you will be dramatically different than how it looks for me. We don’t need any copycats. We are all originals, made in God’s image, but with a specific plan and purpose.  I pray God shows you what that is and how to take the dark moments of your life and turn them into something beautiful.  Only He has the power to do that, to transform our thinking (and our theology). Forgive. Love. Live. Go on vacation from the enemy’s tricks and choose God’s way.

If you’ve ever been to Hawaii, you know how breathtaking it is. I’ve visited the island of Kawaii a few times. It’s nothing short of paradise. (And it always reminds me of Fantasy Island since the opening scene was shot there.)  You may already know this, but for those of you who don’t, the islands were formed from volcanic eruptions.  From something cataclysmic, beauty emerged.  When the lava cooled, it left something to build upon.

“Somewhere along the way, a lot of us misplaced our childlike imaginations and stopped believing we could either get around the lava or build something beautiful on top of it when it cooled. We began to question what was possible and what we’re actually capable of. We ran and fell, or tried and failed, or risked and lost.  … Don’t let what’s happened in your past stop you from moving forward with your future. Give it some time. We can find our way around the lava where it flowed and build something beautiful on it when it cools. … We don’t need to run from the lava anymore, but instead imagine what it might become in time.”1

Isn’t that beautiful?  I’ve been very touched by the book Love Lives Here.  If you’re looking for your next book, this is a good one!

There was a dream I had. It got scorched. I could relate to the lava metaphor. It was like I had something – a dream God had given me – and it was burned to the ground. All that was left were ashes and a broken heart.  The lava flowed and consumed it. It oozed and clung, ember red, everything up in flames. Then fear that hadn’t been there before set in. Fear interfered like an intruder. The scars limited my mobility. My imagination wasn’t able to stretch as far as it once had.

But rather than letting the lava scare me, I feel God calling me to rebuild upon the ashes. To let any little embers remaining spark something good and beautiful, something purposeful.

God is calling me to imagine again.

I wrote in my journal, “Lord, if I imagined, what? What then?”

As I did so, tears quickly slipped down my face. They poured. Not anything like lava. Like a rush.

“What then? I do not know. I don’t know how. I don’t know when. I don’t know even if I can. What, Lord? What then? What do You have to say about this? What does the still, small voice say?”

And do you know what? He “spoke”. He cast vision afresh.  He knows I’m afraid. I don’t want to get hurt again. I wasn’t afraid the first time, but sometimes the second time around makes our knees knock a bit.  (At least mine.)

It takes more courage to do something twice.

We know more. We know the cost.  We’re definitely counting it.

Without forgiveness, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. God helped me to forgive. He helped me to heal. And He’s helping me to rise up out of the ashes. There’s still some ash, but I see hibiscus rising up out of the ground. The colors are bright and their smell is sweet.

We’re back to where we started.

Life is full of moments, some of them defining. Choosing to forgive is one of them. I know forgiveness is complicated and getting to that place isn’t always easy. Forgiveness has its roots in love. Our lives are better for it.  When we invest ourselves in the conscious choice to choose love, we win.

Let’s pick up our feet and step over the tangled root of unforgiveness. God’s got places He wants to take us to.

Join the conversation here or on our Facebook page.

Signature Image: Tracy Stella

1 Goff, Maria. Love Lives Here: Finding What You Need In A World Telling You What You Want. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2017.

2 Battistelli, Francesca. “It’s Your Life,” track #4 on  My Paper Heart. Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, CAPITOL CHRISTIAN MUSIC GROUP, 2008.

Categories // Faith, Forgiveness, Freedom, Tracy Stella's Perspective Tags // abundance, Betrayal, Calling, causes, choices, Colossians 3:12-13, Courage, Dream, forgiveness, Humility, It's Your Life, Joseph, Life Moments, Love, Love Lives Here, prayer, pride, Proverbs 16:18, Psalm 145:9, Psalm 18:19, tragedy, triumph

What Does it Mean to be a Woman of God?

05.07.2019 by Tracy Stella //

Welcome friends! FACETS of Faith is delighted you could join us as we explore this woman of God thing. How does one do it when the world tugs this way and that? Tune in each week in May as we explore what it means to be a woman of God. We pray you’ll be blessed with freedom to explore who you are in Christ as you journey along with us.

What does it mean to be a woman of God?Don’t worry! I’m not going to break out the Proverbs 31 woman on you. We women (or at least this woman) already feel enough pressure to perform, to get it right, or just plain ole get it together.

Maybe we’re in a wrestling match with God. Maybe we’re wrapped up in a scratchy, wooly blanket called worry.  Maybe we wouldn’t want people to see what’s hiding in our closet, crumpled on the floor. Heck, it might be us crumpled on the floor!  Maybe just maybe things are unravelling faster than we can stitch them back together.

As a woman of God, I’ve been this woman. Not always shining. Sometimes struggling. You too? (Shhh, it’ll be our secret.)

We’re not less saved. We’re more human.  Proof we need Jesus. Oh boy do we!

Even those of us who may look like we have it together (momentarily) have melt downs we wouldn’t want anyone to see.  But Jesus does. He sees us in the midst of our muddy mess called life, and I believe He smiles, not because of the mess, but in spite of it. He looks at us through eyes of Love.

God doesn’t see the mud.  He sees what He is making ─righteous, holy, pure, clean women of God.

We need to take the pressure off ourselves. Way, way off ourselves. We don’t have enough Clorox® wipes to clean up the muddy places in our hearts, thoughts, words, actions, inaction, and disobedience (and I could go on).

None of us is immune from needing God’s cleansing. No immunity for the pulpit. No immunity for the most pious. No immunity for the amount of pride God’s kids can possess. No immunity for you. No immunity for me.

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.─John 14:26  NKJV

Ladies, we have a Helper! The Holy Spirit was sent in Jesus’ name. And our compassionate, loving Jesus wanted to make sure we would know it.

Is there something even now, woman of God, that you need His help with?

Stop. Ask the Helper. Ask Him. He is faithful.

Holy Spirit, God’s Word says you are my Helper. I need your help. Please help me with ________. I have faith enough to trust You at Your Word.

I’m reading a book about the Holy Spirit right now. He’s fine tuning my ability to hear His voice (again). I love that He’s always teaching, always transforming.

Spoiler alert. I’m going to give away the answer to the question much earlier than I normally do in a piece.

What does it mean to be a woman of God?

It means we are women willing to seek after God. He’ll always honor any effort toward that.

He’ll show us who He is, who we are to Him, who others are to Him, and what He wants from and for us.

If we seek God, we’re going to get this “woman of God thing” right after all, and overall, even if we sometimes get a thing or two wrong along the way.

Can I get an amen for grace?

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.─Matthew 6:33  NKJV

Did you catch what the Scripture said?

As we seek God’s kingdom, His kingdom shall be added to us. More of His presence. More of His purpose. More of His power. More of His peace. More of His love. More, more, more. More kingdom.

As we seek God’s kingdom, His righteousness shall be added to us. Like a dash of salt added to a recipe, little by little we grow more flavorful. We taste a bit more like Jesus each bite. Salt has purpose and so will we when we follow God’s kingdom ways.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”─Matthew 5:13-16  NKJV

We’re not the dispenser of salt. That’s God’s job. As women of God, we just want to let Him sprinkle us wherever He needs, when He needs to. A dash of love here. A sprinkle of joy there. A pinch of compassion toward this one.

We aren’t in charge of all the world seeing the kingdom in us. God has many ambassadors across the globe to flavor the world. So much flavor sprinkled from one faithful woman of God to the next, neighborhood to neighborhood, nation to nation.

This seeking after God’s kingdom thing? What does it look like?  Honestly, I think it looks a lot of different ways. God is creative. He is limitless. He has all sorts of things up His sleeve.

It’s impossible to winnow Him down to one or two ways He’d call us to be women of God, so you won’t be getting the Top 3 Things You Should Do To Be A Woman Of God in this piece.

Instead, I’m going to give you an example from my own life, because I am a woman of God. Messy. Imperfect. Sometimes sweet. Sometimes not. Woman of God covered by His grace.

One of the ways I’m seeking after God is by reading about Him. I want to partner with the Holy Spirit.  I know He will honor my seeking after Him, and He will teach me. He always shows up when my heart is open to Him and what He has to say.

Women of God seek the kingdom of God.

I pondered a question posed in the book about the Holy Spirit. I didn’t move past it in a rush, presuming I knew the answer. That’s definitely a risk when we’ve been walking with the Lord and find ourselves in a sweet relationship with Him. But guess what? That’s pride to presume. Just because He said it one way once doesn’t mean He’ll say it the same way twice. Every situation and season of life calls for God’s creative hand.

Women of God can’t think because they know God that they know ALL of God.

Press pause, ladies. Don’t presume. Ask. Seek. Seek the kingdom. Seek the King!

The question was, Have you been frantically trying to change yourself? If so, how? What do you see differently now?1

Before I share my actual response, I want to share how I processed, because it might help you too.  Sometimes, I’m not sure on things. I start writing what I think and while I am, I’m praying for myself. I pray that God reveals. I try to go to Him with an honest, open heart to hear.  As I do, He reveals His truth, what He wants me to hear in that moment.

Often, I am surprised at where God brings me, of what He shows me. Most certainly He’s revealing Himself, His wisdom, His truth, His love, His compassion, exactly what He knows I need to hear. That looks different today than it did yesterday or what it will tomorrow.

As I processed the idea of frantic changing of myself, I wrote…

I don’t think so now. (Which is what I thought the answer was, only to be led to this…) Other than I think I try too hard, fearful I’ll disappoint God somehow. Like maybe He won’t see me as His good girl. (Woah!) Then, I heard the song lyric “You don’t have to try so hard” and it made me emotional.

God revealed the underlying emotion in all of the above is rooted in fear. Fear of not being good enough, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of abandonment.  There’s probably more than that, but that’s what I needed to know in this season.

Well now, this woman of God will continue her journey to glean from what God is showing.

Women of God seek the will of God. His will is to make us into His image, which is healthy, courageous, and whole.

God’s will is always a kingdom thing. He gives us free will, but He invites us to follow His.

I want to leave you with a bit of freedom here, because God gave me a good salty dose of it in all of this.

Here’s an excerpt from the book, “Don’t give into thinking, I should be more spiritually mature. It’s not true. It only makes you feel more condemned and drains you of spiritual strength. Pause and pray, ‘Holy Spirit, how do You see where I am right now (my level of spiritual maturity?” What is He saying to you?”1

Here’s what He said to me, When you slow down, you hear Me. Be careful to observe the rhythms of rest and pacing, not performing. I don’t need you to perform. Pray and seek My face.

Isn’t that beautiful? (And reassuring)

Please, please, go back up and read the excerpt from the book. Process the question for yourself. What is the Holy Spirit saying to you?

Don’t read past it. Allow Him the quiet space to answer you.

If you’d like to share what He told you, we’d be honored to hear. I’m praying you hear His voice, maybe even for the first time. And because we can never hear it enough, I pray for those of you who have heard God’s voice that you hear it even more.

God sees what He is making ─righteous, holy, pure, clean women of God. And He sent us a Helper to do it!

 Seek the kingdom. Seek the King!

Join the conversation here or on our Facebook page.

Signature Image: Tracy Stella

1Bevere, John. The Holy Spirit: An Introduction. Palmer Lake, CO: Messenger International, 2014.

Categories // Faith, Tracy Stella's Perspective Tags // godly woman, Holy Spirit, John 14:26, Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 6:33, Seek the Kingdom, Seek the Kingdom Seek the King

What Helps you Sing in April’s Showers?

04.04.2019 by Tracy Stella //

Welcome to Facets of Faith!  We invite you to linger and let God’s love and leading speak to your heart. This month we talk about, What Helps you Sing in April’s Showers?  What would God have us do in the midst of a storm? Stay awhile and read what He put on my (Tracy’s) heart and check back over the coming weeks to see what Jennifer & Kim have to say on this topic.

Let’s be singers in the rain as we explore God’s heart for us.

What helps you sing in April showers? (Tracy Stella)I’m sitting in a coffee shop on a rainy day listening to a conversation I’m trying not to hear. Damp. Grey. Language as angry as the clouds outside threatening storms.

Have you ever been there?

You intend to do your thing, but as you sit, minding your own business, the words, vocabulary, circumstances connect to your story. No longer just white noise to create atmosphere, you can’t help but tune in. The words too close to your story. Maybe one you wouldn’t write, but we don’t always get to choose the words written and the way our life will go.

Some things we have control of.  Others we do not. Mostly we do not.

The conversation consists of things you are curious to learn more about. You silently listen, absorb, and process from a safe distance.  They are not close to you, even as you are connected as human beings. But they are not your people, so you can listen from life’s sidelines. Listen and learn. (And weep a little inside.)

Your heart breaks for them and their struggle even as it breaks for yourself and those you love, who are in the midst of a similar storm of struggle and emotion.

This person’s story connects to mine. Indirectly. But still. I hear when I want to write. I guess that’s God’s plan.  To write about this. I’ve never visited this coffee shop. Felt led to come this way, rather than that, so I know God’s intention was for me to hear it. Even when sometimes I just want to stop up my ears, to not hear.

When it hurts, and we know it, don’t we all want to turn the channel and listen to something else? A little more up tempo please. Change the channel from the angry metal or the melancholy blues. Something more like, Don’t Worry Be Happy.  (Sorry if you whistle the tune for the rest of the day.)

I can’t unhear. I can’t disconnect. I can process my emotions. I can seek to understand. I can always love. Always. Because that’s what Jesus would do, and I want to be like Him, to love as He does.

The hardest times for me to love others well is when loving them seats itself right next to my own woundedness. A nerve touched, still at the surface. Maybe it should be gone. But it’s not.  Some things take time. In my opinion too much, but God says, “Take the time you need.” Because He is good like that. So good to give us the time we need.

Some things fade but may never disappear. Fully.

Do you have those things too? Those subterranean wounds you’d rather leave well enough alone. You’ve dealt with them, mostly.

Honestly, I’m not sure my inner struggle will ever disappear. It’s there. Like Paul’s thorn that wounds, but also serves as a reminder he needs God’s grace and strength to see him through.  I need those too. Strength and grace. Because sometimes when you bump into the thorn it penetrates. It reminds you the wound is still there, in need of God’s strength and grace. His mercy. His love. Desperate for it. We all are, whether we know it or not.

Avoiding pain is something we all do at times. Me? Sometimes, it’s my defense. I am not deaf to pain or fear or the noise our broken nature makes inside each of us. It makes a ruckus sometimes, reminding us we are alive, reminding us we need Jesus. Every day.

I just don’t always want to stare it down. I can’t even always bring myself to pray about and through it. Sometimes, I grow weary in the rainy season.  It can get muddy and messy (and ruin all my favorite shoes)!  I need to remember to grab my galoshes and splash through life’s seasons.

What helps me sing in April’s showers?

What, indeed?

What helps me sing in April’s showers?

Sometimes, I need to remind myself.  Life can be hard sometimes. There can be seasons that feel harsh and dry, like a desert. Parched. Cracked. Almost dead. I’ve experienced those where it felt like I was on the brink and God brought me back. To Him. To Life. To the possibility of love and hope and joy.

Jubilant!  The stuff that cause you to sing in the rain. Splash in the puddles. Have joy in spite of circumstances.

Christ’s death on the cross helps us to do just that.

I really think we have a choice. We get to make a conscious choice to sing even during April’s showers.

One effective strategy to help us sing in April’s showers is to choose joy.

When thunderous clouds threaten to overtake our world, we can let them.  Or we can choose otherwise.  We can choose to lament, or we can choose joy.  We can break open fresh gifts of grace that give us access to God’s joy.

Joy is a weapon that helps me sing.

La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la….

Joy sitting in the midst of a storm? We all can do it, in Christ’s power.  In our own strength joy is sometimes downright impossible. Let’s face it. Life can be overwhelming.

We can choose to sit in the overwhelm or we can choose joy.

Joy is the best choice. It’s the choice that lets us live life instead of succumbing to what the enemy would want for us─languishing.  The enemy would rather we lay like the person in need of healing for 38 years, when all we need to do is crawl to the healing pond of Christ’s love and joy.

Choosing joy takes energy. We have to move toward it.

You want to know what’s pretty amazing?

Even if we only have enough energy to lean a little toward it, God’s grace pulls us closer into His joy. Just lean, sweet ones. Lean in.

Another effective strategy to help us sing in April’s showers is to choose prayer in the middle of an anxious, angry storm.

It’s not about Don’t Worry Be Happy, it’s about be anxious about nothing and through prayer and petition let God’s peace consume us. God’s peace as a guard for our hearts and minds.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.─Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV

Let your requests be made known to God.

Even as I sit here (still listening) I seek God. I could let the circumstances of this scene overwhelm me with anxiety or I can pray. I can pray some more. And pray some more.

Any “normal” person would feel anxiety at an overwhelming circumstance that hits a little too close to home.  I wonder, “Why am I here? What does God have for me in this? What does God have for the ones He has me in the midst of hearing right now?”

This isn’t just about me. It never is just about us.  We’re included, for sure.  But especially if we are His children, this is always about others as well.   The light within us He wants to reach out to others, even if it makes us a little anxious.

I felt the anxiety as I got up to go to the bathroom.  Quietly, in my head, “God, how do You want me to respond in this?”

In effect, what do you want me to do with this? There IS a reason I am here. Right now. Listening. Lamenting. Choosing joy. Trying to focus on the written word as I hash this out.

I can feel my adrenaline kick in. What to do? What to do?

Choosing love. But what does that look like in this situation?

I have NO IDEA!

Guess what? I pray some more to let my adrenaline slow so I can hear God. Anxiety clouds our thinking more than just about anything else. And we definitely need clear heads to make wise decisions, especially in an emotional storm.

Another effective strategy to help us sing in April’s showers is to choose courage in the middle of a tsunami.

I reflect on Pastor Scott’s sermon about adventure as a believer and whom Jesus dined with. He didn’t sit with all the prim and proper. He sat with those who needed Him most and were most receptive to Him and His love, because the depths of their need for Him was great.

Let’s face it. None of us is really all that prim and proper. We are works in progress each and every one of us.  We all need His love. None of us has it fully together. Aren’t we all just figuring it out as we go?

I know I am!

So I mustered up the courage to approach their table, the wounded broken ones who were courageous enough to speak of these things aloud.  (Tears now, because once you push through the anxiety and pray, relief floods.)

I walked up to these two who need Jesus’ love just like I do. I briefly shared how I connect with their story, handed my business card (the only thing I had handy), with handwritten scribbles “The Chapel, Grayslake”. An invitation to come and see.

Someone gave me that once, an invitation. And look at how my life has changed for the good. So grateful! So blessed! Even as my life isn’t perfect, I recognize it as good.

Sometimes we have to face down our own personal fear and anxiety so someone else can know God’s goodness. Today, I’m feeling brave.   And my prayer is that someone else will grow to know God’s goodness because God drew me here.

As Pastor Scott reminded us in his sermon, we ARE God’s plan. I’m grateful for his reminder. It gave me the gumption to step into my own personal scary place, to push past my personal fear, and to invite them into God’s peace and love.

And now I can exhale.

THEY are why I came here. He sent me. He had me search my reservoir of emotions. He knew I would be sensitive to their story because it bumped up against mine.  It was hard, a spiritual hurdle, because their brokenness brushes up against mine.

The enemy would want shame and fear, but Christ’s plan for us is courage and life. Every ounce of good we give to the world helps evil shrink. Darkness recedes because it cannot coexist with light and love.

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.─Philippians 1:20-21 NIV

I eagerly expect. Isn’t that great?

We can eagerly expect Christ to show up with courage and bring life to us and others.  I was dying a bit inside with the angst of this situation, of what I was hearing. Of what their story was stirring up in mine. But God. But God gave me an eager expectation and hope that He has a plan. For me. For those precious two He sent me to hear, for them to feel seen and heard (literally), and receive an invitation and hug from God through my arms.

This was for me too. I know that full well. Another level of freedom. No shame. Only love. And waves of grace.

Maybe not fully free, but a little freer today for having faced down fear. Courage sufficient for this day to help me sing in the rain.

Another effective strategy to help us sing in April’s showers is to remember facing our storms with strength and joy reveal God’s glory.

This life is not our own. We are God’s children left here for a reason. People see and know God, in part, when they see and know God through us, through our story, through the way we receive them, through the way we love. We are so flawed and imperfect, yet God dwells within us as believers.  He guides our steps.  He uses us to impact others.

He shows Himself real, manifesting ever-so-powerfully when we walk through a storm well. Never alone. Like Peter when He calls us out of the boat, God helps us walk on water.  We may freak out and start to sink, but all we need to do is look up and let Him lift us as He speaks to the storm and calms it.

When you find yourself holding your breath, as I often do when I feel stressed, breathe Christ in. Breathe deeply. Slowly. Let Him calm your nerves and guide your steps.

He tells us the way to go. And we are never alone in the going.

For all the gods of the nations are idols,

   but the LORD made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before him;

   strength and joy are in his dwelling place.

Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations,

   ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

─1 Chronicles 16:26-28 NIV

When we do the brave thing and take courage? God’s glory is revealed.

And in that a rainbow of promise, because color emerges bright and vibrant after a grey storm recedes.

How is God speaking to you in this? What song does He wish for you to sing?

Sing to the LORD a new song;

   sing to the LORD, all the earth.

Sing to the LORD, praise his name;

   proclaim his salvation day after day.

Declare his glory among the nations,

   his marvelous deeds among the peoples.

─Psalm 96:1-3 NIV

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Signature Image: Tracy Stella

Categories // Faith, Joy/Humor, Tracy Stella's Perspective, Trusting God When Afraid Tags // 1 Chronicles 16:26-28, brokenness, Courage, Eager Expectation, Evangelism, Glory, God's goodness, Invitation, Joy, Philippians 1:20-21, Philippians 4:6-7, prayer, Psalm 96:1-3, Rainy Season, Showers, Storm, Strength, Trials, Trouble, Wounds

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