God Knows Where You Are. . .
Sometimes when life happens certain aspects of our journey can be filled with shifts. It’s not always bad. However, most often it can simply be a series of unpredictable changes and turns. Work/ministry relationships, friendships and familial connections may seem to dwindle, but we don’t have to be angry about it. A wise woman once shared it’s like a pruning process…God isn’t necessarily taking it away because it was bad. God is simply cutting in a way that feels undeserved while giving you an indescribable form of grace to withstand beyond what feels has been “taken away”. Like myself, so many of us are a witness to this pruning process.
For me, this process started in 2013 on the backdrop of unforeseen medical matters that felt like a rollercoaster ride (literally and figuratively). In the area of connections, it was a defining moment for me and nearly a decade later, I have better clarity of why God allowed somethings to “fall away” in every area of my life. I used to think there was something I needed to do, but there was nothing to do, just to simply obey Him and trust Him. Through spiritual direction, Psalm 16:5-6 has become a scripture of peace as I “adjust” and allow God to navigate the course of life. It has been such a liberating experience. To lean into what He’s allowed and be free from the stigma that western society forces people to believe about proving yourself. The peace of mind to not feel the need to force things nor aim to “look” a certain way is such an affirming posture. A posture to just let things be and let God lead has such serenity that is only by His grace.
The journey through a season of lost, learning, and liberation. Embracing change is an inevitable cycle of life, but nothing that God ever intended for any person to endure alone. With gratitude, I’m better for every unforeseen moment, circumstance, obstacle and trial. The miracle for me is having His peace to not see change as the issue; yet understanding how things or people may change does not always require approval. Sometimes just being able to be present without pressure of entitlement to “know” what happened is enough. It’s such a peace and freedom.
My challenge to lean into His presence came with being strengthened to release myself from all the “expectations”. Sometimes people may mean well, yet forget just as God created them, God also created you with a distinct purpose. If the “expectation” is “rejected” there can be a misunderstanding that one is arrogant, not humble or even selfish. With God, prayer, therapy and confidants, they helped me navigate towards a healthy reaction. . .simply don’t. I know you ask. . .how do you not respond? Through God’s power that lifts you beyond what or who is pulling at you for “influence”.
Shifting to embrace God’s unconditional love for you can be a sketchy road. Seeing yourself the way God sees you can feel like you are being “selfish”. Truth is who else are you going to be? Free yourself from catering to the applause of friends, family, loved ones, relatives, who try to validate what God already said about you. Listen, it can feel lonely, but you are not alone. When we opened up and said “Okay Lord”, it was scary but our life was chartering the path HE the Lord desired. It was full of serenity and uncertainty but remembering Jeremiah 29: 11-12 reassures us God is intentional towards His will for every area of our life and well-being. Beyond sickness, health, life and living, God has broken patterns through us that literally were different from what we both “knew”.
Also, it is not easy to shift, but God extends Grace to you. It is a part of the “pruning process”. As you navigate, God will sustain you and give you moments to lean fully into how He wants “His good” to be with you in a better way. Make room for your future in the present. Resist the urge to “cave into the old you”. Simply be the person God is redefining you to be. Prayerfully discern and ask God to make it clear. Be vigilant to know whether it be for a season, reason or lifelong change, God knows where you are shifting for His glory. Be encouraged all loss is not lost. Sometimes it’s just a shifting of winds for the remaining chapters God has set aside to give you hope and a future.
HALLELUJAH, WE ARE NOT ALONE!
~Corri Rose~