From Rachel's Heart...
Monday, October 25, 2010
As we mentioned before, Wendy and I went on a Girl’s Getaway Cruise recently. We got back home last week and I have not even had a second to blog about it since I returned. But now that things are a little more settled, I want to share some of the high points of the cruise with you this week in my blogs. Because it was a remarkable experience that I will never forget.
What I want to share with you today is one of the things that Angela Thomas talked about. In her talk (and she is fabulous by the way), she discussed how God gives us quick “kisses of peace” on this Earth that are a taste of what’s to come in eternity. She talked about how these things are brilliant glimpses into God’s peace and what our life in heaven will be like.
I feel like I experienced a quick kiss of peace from God while on the cruise. While the entire cruise felt like a kiss of peace from God, Sunday in particular felt like a kiss of peace from the Lord. Let me explain….
The cruise was a 4 night cruise and we visited Key West on Friday, Cozumel on Saturday, and then all day Sunday, we were at sea, returning to port on Monday morning. Visiting Key West and Cozumel were wonderful and we enjoyed shopping and exploring these cities very much. We tried conch fritters and key lime pie in Key West and we got some great bargains bartering in Mexico. Those days, we also enjoyed wonderful worship services and speakers on the ship. And, I enjoyed both days very much. But, they were very busy.
Sunday was different. On Sunday, there were speakers scattered throughout the day and there was no city to explore. So, we went to a speaker after breakfast and then went and sat on one of the boat’s decks until lunch. We went to another speaker after lunch and then sat on the boat deck again until our late afternoon speaker and dinner. And, the day was so amazingly peaceful as we spent hours sitting on the sun filled deck with the warm Caribbean air blowing. Wendy and I didn’t talk, but instead sat there reading, listening to music, praying, and just being still.
As women, we don’t often get those moments of being still. And, as much as we are told to be still and know that I am God, the demands around us often interrupt our time to be still. So, being able to sit on that deck for hours, feeling the warm ocean breeze and just being still before the Lord was incredible. We had no place that we had to run off to, no deadlines to meet, and no one pulling us in a million different directions. It was what Angela Thomas calls a kiss of peace from the Lord and it was a spectacular glimpse of what heaven may be like.
I feel very blessed to have been able to go on this cruise. We had an amazing time of spiritual reflection, fun, friendship, and peace. It was truly a gift to experience and I am so grateful that God gave me this little kiss of peace.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
As Wendy mentioned, we leave today for the Girl’s Getaway Cruise. I am very excited to see what God has planned for the next couple of days. In fact, I spent some time this morning really praying that God would reveal Himself in a mighty way. It’s really easy to get caught up in the shopping and packing and writing out all of the instructions for how the household should run while I’m gone and forget to prepare the one thing that really needs to be prepared: my heart.
Preparing for this cruise is so much like life as a woman. We are very busy taking care of everyone in our life and making sure that the details of our households, our careers, and our lives are taken care of. And as we are attending to all of the details of our life, we so often fail to just sit still and pray that God would reveal Himself to us. And friends, if you pray that, He will reveal Himself. You just have to sit still long enough to let Him.
I am very excited to be going on this cruise and for the fun that it has already brought to my life in the anticipation (and shopping) of it. But more than the fun that it will bring, I am earnestly seeking to hear from God while I am away.
I look forward to sharing this cruise with my best friend, to talking with other Christian women and speakers, and to the many things that I will learn while on board.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Wendy and I are leading a Bible study at our church and last week’s lesson was on personality. In the chapter, we analyzed our own personalities and how our personalities affect our behaviors, choices, and interactions with others. And ultimately, the focus of the chapter was to examine how each of our varying personalities can be used by God.
Being a psychologist, personality really interests me. I am fascinated by human interactions and how our personalities affect our behaviors and how we interact with others. Today, I was reminded of last week’s Bible study discussion as I focused on my own mood throughout the afternoon.
You see, I learned from the lesson that part of my personality is melancholic. It is not my dominant type, but I do have tendencies towards this type. A melancholic personality is oftentimes referred to as a “thoughtful ponderer.” They think about things very deeply and often analyze and scrutinize things to the point that it can lead them to feel badly about decisions, interactions, or other things that have occurred. And, I caught myself doing that today.
I won’t share with you what I was over-thinking, but I definitely caught myself doing it and noticed how it was affecting my mood. And, I noticed it when a certain song came on. The song was Natalie Grant’s Let Go and the lyrics that hit me were toward the end of the song….
“Don’t want to overthink it. Don’t want to worry so much. I’m gonna live my life and not lose touch. I’m gonna let go.”
I definitely have a tendency to overthink things and in doing so, can catch myself in a spiral of negative emotions. I know that is part of my personality and I know that it is not productive, nor healthy. So, when I notice it, I have to stop it. I have to make sure that I do not let myself “thoughtfully ponder” too long. And I have a verse that I say over and over to myself when I find myself thoughtfully pondering a topic too long. I say to myself, Rachel, be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10).
Be still. Let Go. Relax. And experience God.
It is definitely one of my favorite verses and one that I use regularly, especially when I find myself overthinking something in my melancholic way. Next time you find yourself overthinking something, tell yourself to let go and experience God.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
7.1
That’s how many miles Wendy and I walked on Friday morning. Pretty cool, eh? It’s kind of funny because as we were finishing our sixth mile, I said to her, “I am so blogging about this!” We laughed and then I told her that I was certain that I could come up with a spiritual analogy to us finishing 7 miles on Friday.
As we thought about it, we actually came up with quite a few.
Just when you think you have nothing left in you, you can go a little farther.
Every now and then we all need to push ourselves.
We all need to try new things and stretch ourselves.
But I think the one that I came up with that hit me stronger than any other is: You can do anything as long as you have someone walking with you. Seven miles is a long way. I’m not crazy about driving 7 miles, let alone walking it. But, there is something about walking with a friend that makes it more bearable and even, dare I say, fun!
Neither one of us would have walked 7.1 miles alone. It would have been dreadfully boring and I know I would have stopped once the pain set in (and the last mile was pretty tiresome). But doing it together made it more enjoyable, a little less painful, and we were there to encourage each other through it. It’s kind of like walking through the pain of life, eh?
I have walked through many situations that I didn’t think I’d make it through. And, if it weren’t for my ultimate friend, Jesus Christ, holding me up and my earthly friends walking beside me, I would never have made it through.
It was fun pushing ourselves a couple of miles past what we normally do. And, it was quite satisfying to know that we did it even though it was a little painful. And, I know that I wouldn’t have been likely to make it through alone.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Do you ever feel like you can’t do anything to help those around you who are hurting? Because honestly, I feel like that on some days. Whether it be my kids, my husband, my friends, or women I come in contact with in ministry, there are some days where I am just overwhelmed with the pain and hurt that is out there and think that I can’t possibly make a difference.
But, it is just about that time that I am reminded that I am not supposed to be the one taking away the pain or hurt of others. God is the one who truly takes away the pain and hurt of others. I am just supposed to be His messenger to others that He’s there. They have to grab hold of Him and they have to choose to do the right things and follow His direction. I can’t make them embrace the truths that are so precious to me. I can only point others to Him.
One day recently, my mom said something to me at the close of phone conversation that ended up being some of the best advice that she has ever given me. And, she said to me, as we hung up the phone one day, “Don’t do anything that God should be doing.” At the time, it made me chuckle because she knows me so well. She knows that I am the type that likes to jump in there and try to fix things and take care of problems. And that I can have a tendency to try to overstep God. When I think of that phrase now, I think about it in terms of healing others’ pain. I can’t take away the pain of others. But, what is so reassuring is I’m not called to take away the pain of others. I’m called to emulate Christ’s love and point others to Him. And then He’ll take away their pain.
On those days where you feel like you can’t seem to do anything to help those around you, remember my mother’s recommendation. And remember that God is our healer and He should be doing that. We should merely be pointing others to God and letting Him heal, deliver, and save those around us from their pain. When you look at your role that way, you will feel less overwhelmed by the pain that is around you and you will realize that you can make a difference by simply loving and pointing others to Jesus.
