This past week, my team and I ventured to a nearby park to simply sit, pray, and listen for God’s voice. As everyone spread out to claim their spot, I was drawn to sit near a large fountain that lay in the center of several merging pathways. The first thing I noticed about the fountain was its height and intricate details. It wasn’t a modern piece of art that spewed out water from one spout and cascaded down into a larger than necessary concrete pool of water, but a traditional piece with two large basins that forced the water down out of overflow. The fountain was old, and its faultiness to evenly distribute water from the bottom basin was the biggest piece of evidence to support this fact. In need of repair, balancing the bottom basin would be a simple fix, forcing water to rain from the entire circumference evenly.
As I illustrate for you the image of the fountain, I want to share the lesson God taught me during my time in the park that morning. Just as the fountain needed to be balanced to work properly again, so do certain areas of my life.
For about as long as I can remember, I have loved to plan and maintain fluid organization in my life and environment. My ‘type A’ personality traits have generally served me well in accomplishing many things, but I am learning these skills can cause more harm than good if not properly managed. The flaw arises when I seek to control every area of my life, squeezing God’s input and direction into a small box of whispered counsel. I have made my own voice bigger than the Creators.
This month as my team and I work as representatives for Adventures in Missions by seeking out new ministry contacts, we have been prioritizing our plans by the Holy Spirits lead. In prayer each morning, we seek a word, an image, direction of any sort that will lead us to fulfill God’s plan for that day. Trusting God on this level, to daily deliver us to contacts through the details, has been a huge eye opener for me.
Ultimately, I have put more trust in myself than in God to plan my life, and am in need of some major re-balancing. It is not easy to do, but I am learning to let go of planning my future (specifically in my post-race plans) and allow God to lead me in His timing. As my control diminishes, my trust in God grows more and more. Like the fountain, God is balancing me to follow Him more. It may take months, or even years, but as I trust and seek God’s counsel more, He will balance me like the restored fountain to overflow His love evenly in my life.
