I’m sitting here on my balcony at my apartment trying to
work. Let me set the scene for
you. Beautiful clear skies, 73
degrees, quiet (except for the breeze), a bottle of water beside me and my
laptop so cleverly placed on top of my lap. Perfect Friday afternoon. I’m a little distracted, so I’m choosing to blog. Yea, I know. Blog.
I love the Fall.
It’s like nature is gearing up for something big. All the trees slim down by shedding
their leaves. The sun goes to bed
a little earlier every night to get some extra rest. It’s indicative – at least to me – of how our lives are
cyclical as well. Nature knows
that it needs to change; it knows that change is good; it knows that growth
comes after rest. But do you ever
see a tree after shedding it’s leaves, pack up it’s bags (uh, limbs) and go
plant itself where it’s warmer?
How ridiculous would it be if trees could do that? I bet that they all would if they
could. Most of the US would be bald
plains or rolling hills and Florida would be so densely packed with trees that
no one could live there!
Well in my crazy brain all this is a reminder to stay put
even when life is not as exciting as you want it to be. Maybe God is sharpening your character
and you’re too busy thinking about all the things that you’d rather be doing.
Fall is a reminder that change can happen without physically
moving. I think often times we
feel as if change only means relocating or going on an exciting mission trip just
one more time.
Fall is a great reminder that growth comes after rest. One realization that has been happening
for me over the last several months is how little I rest. Yea, I sleep at night, but how much do
I sit at the Lord’s feet and rest?
What kind of tree grows if it never stops to rejuvenate? Every tree needs that time in order to
send down deeper roots and grow an ever slightly larger trunk and branches.
I’m not telling you not to want to do and experience
exciting things in your life. I’m
not saying never to move to another city or country or even go on a mission
trip. For real, I work for a
mission organization – how backwards would that be?
What I’m saying is take a cue from nature. Slim down a little. Get rid of that extra emotional baggage
you’re carrying around. Don’t use
the Lord’s voice as an excuse to run off to your dream location or skip out on
your job because it’s not fun anymore.
Take time and intensely listen to what He is saying. Is He saying rest? Go just a little deeper? Maybe He is saying to quit and move to
Africa. I don’t know, but I bet He
does. 🙂
