Waiting ...

I must admit, waiting is not something I do well. I function quite comfortably in the current "microwave" society ... instant results, instant answers, instant solutions, instant changes ...

I become very anxious when the word wait enters the conversation. God is doing a lot these days in teaching me to wait. The things I'm asking for don't have instant solutions. My path these days is slower, less certain. God illumines the path one step at a time. What is beyond the current step is often an unknown.

That's where I am with my prodigals. God shows me where to step, how to pray, what to pray for today, then gives me the grace to stand in that spot until time to move on. I have on my running shoes. I'm ready for the gun to fire so I can sprint down the path, get to the finish line, declare victory and dance at the party! But today, I look at my feet to find house slippers. Can't run in those. They are for comfortably remaining at home and waiting to put on shoes to leave the house. God is slowing me down, teaching me to listen to His prompting, training me to trust Him and Him alone, then wait for HIM to bring the victory.

Micah 7:7 says this: But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord; I will wait for my Savior; My God will hear me.

Look at what God says for me to do: He reminds me to "watch in hope." My eyes are alert to see what God will do. Perhaps another way to say that is expect to see God do what only God can do. Although my eyes are active, my mind doesn't wander from the hope I have in God. Then, the hard part. I am to "wait for my Savior". Think about that for a minute. We often think of Christ as the Savior. The One Who died to save us all from eternal death and separation from a Holy God. But is it possible that we could extend His role as Savior into our day-to-day experiences? Although our primary prayer for everyone is that all would come into a saving relationship with Christ for eternity, can't we also ask Him to save us and those we love each day? I have come to call upon the Savior to "save" my children from danger daily ... to "save" their minds and thoughts that have wandered contrary to the Truth. As I continue to ask and seek, I wait. As with all manner of "saving", the timing is always in the Hands of the Savior. And waiting is active, not passive. It isn't pacing and wringing our hands and wondering what the Savior is up to, and what should we do next? Active waiting, is intentionally remaining, abiding in the Presence and Hope of the Savior. Allowing Him to take captive any anxious thought we may be tempted to entertain. And finally, knowing that God will hear our prayer. God always stands ready to hear and answer.

As I continue this path with my children, I'm growing to understand that as I seek God to do a work in them, He may be doing an even greater work in me. I believe that everything we walk through can and will be redeemed by our loving Heavenly Father. As we wait on Him, He is building in us, a deep and abiding faith and trust in Him.

Today, take a deep breath, and feel His Power and Presence pour over you as you wait on Him to save.

Be blessed!

The Journey

Welcome to my journey. If you've landed on this blog intentionally or if you've just happened across its words, I trust it will speak to your heart. I invite you to join me on a journey of faith. We are all on a path ... sometimes those paths intersect ... sometimes they separate and then reconnect. But I believe we can all learn from one another's journeys.

My path today is one of profound faith and fervent prayer. I am walking a journey with prodigal children. As I travel this road, I find many obstacles along the way. Sometimes I trip over paralyzing fear. Other times I am stopped dead in my tracks by overwhelming anxiety. At other times my feet stumble over doubt, disillusionment and despair. And certainly the shadow of guilt seems to follow close behind with every footstep.

I never would have dreamed that my path through life would bring me through the dark alley-ways of walking with prodigal children. However, as a mother of five, my two eldest ... sons ... have chosen to walk the tightrope between destruction and victory.

As my feet have trod this path over the past five years, I must admit, I am learning what it means to CHOOSE joy. I am experiencing trust in supernatural ways. God is teaching me what it means to walk by FAITH not by sight. And my prayer life has become a constant life-line to hope.

I became a widow at the age of 37. I remember thinking then, that I had done my "difficult moment" in life. I had felt the greatest pain possible and survived. Life MUST get better after this. I couldn't imagine God growing any closer or walking any more intimately with me than during that season of illness and the death of my beloved. Yet today, God is doing more and more to teach me what it means to live a life of faith, completely "sold out" to the God who loves me with an everlasting love ... what it means to experience peace in the very center of the storm. What "casting my cares upon Him" really means.

My encouragement for you today comes from the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a prophet in the Old Testament. God spoke to the people through the experiences He gave to Ezekiel. One such experience found Ezekiel in valley full of bones. Dry bones. God asked Ezekiel if he thought the dry bones could live. This passage spoke to me because I think as our prodigals move away from the God of life and peace and joy and fulfillment and into the path of destruction and confusion and hopelessness and death, I see dry bones. The frame of what was once full of life now seems dry and dead.

Ezekiel 37:4-6: Then He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!'" This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD. (emphasis mine)

Isn't that what we want more than anything? Isn't the desire of our heart that these who have chosen to live in rebellion KNOW that God wants to be the Lord of their life? As you pray for your prodigal, I challenge you to prophesy the word of the LORD into the barren lostness of your loved one. It is only God Who can bring them back to the land of the living. It is only God who has the power to renew and restore and redeem. God's desire is always that we know and acknowledge that He is the LORD. Once we have surrendered to His Sovereignty, He can and will use everything that happens in our lives to bring us closer to Himself.

You can't change anything for your prodigal. You can't change the past, or their current choices or the consequences they may be suffering. But you can trust your Heavenly Father Who loves you and Who loves your prodigal.

Be faithful in prayer and steadfast in trust.

Be blessed this day!