Finish Strong

I have a thing apparently with starting things and not always finishing them. (Hence the multiple books that are part of the way finished and the two sticky notes full of blog posts to come). God's really been dealing with me on that subject lately. Why do we start something and not finish? Because we quit and/or give up for some reason or another. (Most of the time it's not even a reason, it's a feeling). God help me finish strong. Warning...different kind of post coming

If my eyes are focused ahead on what lies before me, then I don't have time to look back to what could have been. The what could have been's are of yesterday and the what can be's still lie ahead. God laid the way and did what He did before so I could walk the road I'm on now and stay focused on the journey that He has ahead of me. He didn't move in our past, so we could stay stuck in it. He moved in our past so He could keep us moving forward to our future so He could keep moving on our behalf. We look for God to move in big ways a lot, but what we don't realize sometimes is He is moving for us daily. He is moving on our  behalf before we even open our eyes and put the feet to the floor. He doesn't have to move in a big way for big things to happen. Too many times we fix our eyes only on what we can see and forget that what we can't always see is of greater importance.

Last week was a week full of what if's, wonder's, and thank you's to God. He doesn't mind the questions, He actually expects them from me at certain times I've learned ;-).I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say I wonder sometimes what life would be like if Pamela were still here. That's natural. It's been 15 years and last Thursday was her birthday. That wonder isn't something I dwell on a lot, but I have my moments and her birthday was one last week. Hear my heart though....God has shown me more than I could ever imagine from that day that changed my life over 15 years ago. He has taken me from a shy(well I'm still shy) young girl not sure of a few things to someone who is becoming more confident in Him by the day. Confidence is not in knowing that you can do something, but in knowing He can do something through you. I've seen God turn that day into a Romans 8:28 story(there is a blog post a few years ago that tells the story if you are wondering.). So my wonders turn into thank you's. I'm getting quicker at letting Him turn my what if's to thank you's, but those aren't without some stress at times.

I love reading scripture that I have read several times before and seeing it with different eyes. I did this a couple of weeks ago with Deuteronomy 1. This is where the verse of You've stayed long enough on this mountain is and the verse about the eleven day journey that took 40 years. God's been stirring in my heart over the last couple of months. Not because any circumstances are changing, but because He is changing me. Sometimes we pray so hard for Him to change the what and He is more interested in changing the who. So I read a little on from the you've stayed long enough verse and it talks about how they were headed into the promise land at this point. That's when God started doing His thing that He does. (My Bible time is quite interesting. I don't take notes in a journal I write in the margins around the verses.....I also date verses for those when God goes see I told you I would....but anyway).  What mountain has God said it's time to come off of? Sometimes we spend too long at the top of the mountain that we forget to come down and keep moving on with our journey. The Israelites had to come out of the wilderness and get off of the mountain to move into the promised land. Don't quit climbing half way or stay stuck at the top scared to slide down. God has things in store for you that are more than you could imagine. Until you get off the mountain though, you can't walk forward in it. The mountain has its purpose, but the journey continues on the other side.

The school year is drawing to a close and I just want to finish strong and well. I have learned more this year than I could ever put into words. More about myself, more about Him, more about life, and more about what my heart truly desires....I'm so thankful He knew me in the beginning when we started this journey way back when together. He knew how all of the pieces would fit together and how He would refocus and balance my life. God knew though that this was a walk on water kind year and He has taught me what trust looks like in the every day walk. (That's a blog still to come).

Walk out what God has called you to do. Be the you He has made you to be and the rest really will fall into place.  Do what you do because He's watching period. If we truly live our life for an audience of One, a lot of the "stress" will become out of focus. Sometimes I wonder if had our God glasses on all of the time, if we would even notice it. One last thing, don't lose hope just because you haven't or can't see the harvest. It takes time for things to grow. God will always make things bloom in His time. So many times our flesh gets frustrated when we can't see the crops or the flowers, but trust means knowing you planted and when the Master says it's time the blooms will appear.  Patience means letting God open the door and trust means not second guessing when He does.

Focused on the journey,
~Melissa