"When you weep, your Father beholds. Like a father pities his children the Lord also pities them that fear Him. Your sigh is able to move Jehovah; your whisper can incline His ear unto you. Your prayer can stay His hands, your faith can move His arm! Oh think not that God sits on high in an eternal slumber, taking no account of you."
-Charles Spurgeon
On several occasions lately, I've been encouraged and challenged by quotes and thoughts shared by friends. This is one of those. These are my doubts and my struggles at present... praise God that even men like Spurgeon are familiar with such thoughts.
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Living and learning
This weekend is my birthday. This week I went through and either archived or deleted all 3000 (yes, with three 0s) emails in the inbox of the Gmail account I have had for just over four years. Both occasions give me cause to stop and reflect a little.
Item 1: A lot of life happens in a year. Maybe this is primarily the case because I am in that phase of life that is a constant transition from one thing to the next, but wow. A year ago I was graduating from college, pretty certain of three things: I was going to live in Chicago for the foreseeable future, I was going to be a teacher for the foreseeable future, and I knew who I would spend the foreseeable future with. All three of those things came true, but the foreseeable future turned out to be much shorter than I had anticipated. I'm learning to say "Lord willing" and not to make big declarations about things I don't know.
Item 2: I have some incredible friends. With as many moves and changes as I've had in my life over the past 6 years, I've found myself wondering from time to time who my real friends are. There are some that fade away and slip out of contact, but there are some that have begun to shine through as those that will always be there. They've been with me at my best and at my worst, they've been the constants in periods of turmoil and transition, and they have proven trustworthy and faithful. Thank you, friends.
Item 3: Hindsight really is 20-20. The emails made this especially clear. I see myself making mistakes, and then making those same mistakes over again, and then staying in mistakes way longer than I should ever have stayed. In the moment, it's so hard to see clearly and so hard to know which way is up. Lord, help me to learn from my mistakes, to be patient and deliberate, and not to lean on my own understanding.
So here comes 23. Year two of post-graduate life. What does it hold? I have some ideas, but I'm striving to be patient (see Item 3) and not to make any big declarations yet (see Item 1). I'm hoping for a lot more growth, a little more wisdom, and maybe even some direction for the future.
Item 1: A lot of life happens in a year. Maybe this is primarily the case because I am in that phase of life that is a constant transition from one thing to the next, but wow. A year ago I was graduating from college, pretty certain of three things: I was going to live in Chicago for the foreseeable future, I was going to be a teacher for the foreseeable future, and I knew who I would spend the foreseeable future with. All three of those things came true, but the foreseeable future turned out to be much shorter than I had anticipated. I'm learning to say "Lord willing" and not to make big declarations about things I don't know.
Item 2: I have some incredible friends. With as many moves and changes as I've had in my life over the past 6 years, I've found myself wondering from time to time who my real friends are. There are some that fade away and slip out of contact, but there are some that have begun to shine through as those that will always be there. They've been with me at my best and at my worst, they've been the constants in periods of turmoil and transition, and they have proven trustworthy and faithful. Thank you, friends.
Item 3: Hindsight really is 20-20. The emails made this especially clear. I see myself making mistakes, and then making those same mistakes over again, and then staying in mistakes way longer than I should ever have stayed. In the moment, it's so hard to see clearly and so hard to know which way is up. Lord, help me to learn from my mistakes, to be patient and deliberate, and not to lean on my own understanding.
So here comes 23. Year two of post-graduate life. What does it hold? I have some ideas, but I'm striving to be patient (see Item 3) and not to make any big declarations yet (see Item 1). I'm hoping for a lot more growth, a little more wisdom, and maybe even some direction for the future.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Doing life together
It's been a while since I last wrote-- I took a couple of weeks off of work to take part in the wedding of two friends in California, as well as to spend some sweet time in fellowship with friends there, in Oregon, and in Washington. What a blessing! I am (now that I have caught up on the sleep I did not get while traveling) refreshed and rejuvenated, encouraged and joyful. I have been blessed with wonderful friends. It's hard to remember this sometimes, as it's been a while since I had the opportunity to live near any of them, but I do have really wonderful friends.
I hadn't realized how much I had felt the lack of peer fellowship this winter until I was surrounded by an abundance of it again. It makes sense, though-- we're created to be in fellowship and to do life together. I pray for an opportunity to live this way again soon. For now, I'm thankful for the time I got and the encouragement it gave me to continue on.
How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! Psalm 133:1
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17
Let us not give up meeting together... but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:25
I hadn't realized how much I had felt the lack of peer fellowship this winter until I was surrounded by an abundance of it again. It makes sense, though-- we're created to be in fellowship and to do life together. I pray for an opportunity to live this way again soon. For now, I'm thankful for the time I got and the encouragement it gave me to continue on.
How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! Psalm 133:1
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17
Let us not give up meeting together... but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:25
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