Good morning all-
This is my fourth day off and it's been renewing in a way I couldn't imagine. There's something about going out to the country and listening to God's wonderful creatures. I woke up yesterday to every kind of noise imaginable and to be honest it was unexpected. Your probably asking yourself how that could be. Well, most of us run through life, I know I do. The days fly by without even a thought to what God created or why. I get up at 5:30 am and finish the dishes about 9 pm. I sit down for an hour, fall apart and am in bed by 10 pm. I do this every day of my life but this weekend I stayed up until 1 am, woke at 5:30 am and sat for two solid hours watching and listening to every creature stir, sing, crawl or meow. It was wonderful and very unexpected.
I'm one to go until I can't go anymore. It's what keeps me from getting depressed and worrying about tomorrow. I get antsy if I have an hour with nothing to do. I've always been this way and even though I'm getting older, I still am who I am. Yet yesterday morning, I sat and watched as a huge family sleep and the activity around me wasn't people but the sheer joy of being alive. The trees were full of sounds and actions that were so surreal. I found myself hoping for the unexpected.
My personality is such that I have always taken care of everyone else. I am responsible and if I had a wild moment, it wasn't long. I learned from early on that I was going to have to work harder than most and in order to be the best I had to persevere. When my brother and parents died, it was my responsibility to take care of them and my family and I did it. I have always been proud that I was strong and resilient. I knew that God had made me for such a time but I have forgotten a very important lesson, to rest and listen to God's creation. Watching the wind blow, seeing a hummingbird feed, listening to the cows moo as the sun comes up or watching the moon rise above the sunset; these are the things that remind us that God is good and that He is with us. In this life, we know what to expect but we forget to watch for the unexpected.
I thank God for the unexpected. Those hours re-fueled my soul and gave me ideas, desires and a renewed passion for His passion. His creatures are the most important thing to Him. He has waited thousands of years to bring us back to Him and we run so fast, with so much human emotion that we forget to sit and listen to the orchestra He created. If God so loves these little creatures, imagine how much we're loved. I can still worry, have prideful moments and wish the day away but God sees the purpose of my life and yours and He's trying to get us to look for him in the unexpected. Will you join me in asking the Lord our God to show us the unexpected and to rid us of what we believe is true. Our lives are a moment compared to the nurturing He has done over thousands of years. He is waiting for His bride to repent, to cry out to Him and to trust Him. His creatures do. They sing to Him in the morning and they cry out from the fields. They are provided for and there anticipation of dawn is filled with song. What do we anticipate at 5:30, is it work, school, the kids or is it God?
Those few hours reminded me of my purpose. I was to raise my boys and to help them carry on the generations. I am to be a helpmate to my spouse and help him with his business and I am to pursue Christ with unexpected anticipation every day, waiting, watching and loving Him. I started my book yesterday. I'm not sure how it will go but I'm excited about the unexpected moments with Christ. I've missed Him through this trial. He's been silent and I've been faithful to cry out but it's taken a lot of energy to get on this blog. What do you say to encourage people when you find so little to be excited for? That's how every trial is and then there's the moment that you're sitting on a porch watching the life around you sing with such unexpected anticipation for the day ahead and you say, "I see you Lord and know you're near." Look for the unexpected and never settle for what's expected.
Be well my beautiful sisters. I'm praying for you and for the future of the men, women and children who give their lives every day to promote the unexpected.
Jonah 2:2:10 NIV
He said: "In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. I said, "I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple." The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me, seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit. "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. "Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them. But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, 'Salvation comes from the Lord.' " And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jesus always left to be alone in the wilderness, do you know why? He needed to see the unexpected. He knew the ending but He also knew He needed His Father to lift Him up, guide Him and love Him until the end. Jesus cried out when His Father did leave Him on the cross because He felt alone but through His sacrifice, none of us will ever be alone. This beautiful prayer from Jonah shows the emotion of a lost man coming to his maker and his maker hearing him. If you feel like life is the same old boring routine and God is barely in it, say a prayer that will renew your heart with Him. We expect to be deflated and defeated so why don't we expect to see Him, now that would be truly unexpected! Be well and let Jesus bring you out of the pit and onto dry land where the creatures of this earth sing to Him! In Christ we live!!!!
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