An Unexpected Journey

This is the year of What The H... Is Going On?! It has been a very revealing year. There are times in life when everything compresses down to the rawest, most basic elements and everything you believe in your heart comes squeezing out. Its as if we are being pushed through a funnel and only a few things are going to make it through to the other side. We can't take it all with us. All of the bloated, over-sized beliefs, all of the fluffy puffy wants will make us oh so uncomfortable unless they are discarded. There just isn't enough room in this funnel for them. Did you ever play the game where you have to plan what 10 items you would take with you if you knew you were going to be stranded in the wilderness? I had my 10 items so carefully chosen, so thoughtfully planned and executed, ready to go. But now I can only bring 5. What do I do? It is amazing what you can live without when you have to.

Earlier this year, it was prophesied over me and my family that this would be the year of redemption and restoration. All God would ask of us is that we would shout it from the rooftops. We are about 1/2 way through the process and I am praising God because of his faithfulness and goodness to us. It definitely has been ugly and painful and scary, but it has to be. There is no other way around it. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. Actually, all things considered, it has been supernaturally a lot less ugly and painful and scary than it could have been. And God has been so near, so present, so close. He has poured his Words into me. He has send people to randomly text and email scriptures to me. He has brought new friends into my life to walk it out with me as well as positioning my old friends to stand in prayer and encouragement. He has supernaturally provided for us financially. He is restoring our marriage relationship. He is guiding us in ways and paths that I couldn't even imagine. 

God had spoken to my heart and told me not to try to find solutions in my mind, don't search out answers...He would bring them to me. Every time I thought I knew what direction things would go...nope. And it has been better than my plans. His ways are higher than my ways. His thoughts are so much higher than my thoughts. But oh the stretching! Certainly I have had my quota of moving out of my comfort zone for the year? Nope. OK, Lord, I completely abandon myself to You. This train is moving so fast and clearly You have it under control so I am going to just let You have it. Just tell me what You have for me to do and I will do it. Clearly You are much better at this than I am! Oh, and this stupid cancer scare...I am done being scared. Just done. You can have all of it because I just don't have room for it in my life anymore. Finances? Your problem. I am doing what You asked of me, you can have that one too. I know You are faithful so I am not going to sweat it any more. We have everything we need for today and that is what matters. You hold tomorrow. You took care of us yesterday. You will never leave us or forsake us. So there it is. What is there left to fear?

 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~Romans 8:35-39