Wordy Wednesday: Following Peace

I just keep thinking about choices lately. Which is what my "Wordy Wednesday" posts are supposed to be about, but with biblical examples.  So, this post is a little off track, but bear with me. But it's something we all do a million times a day.

We make a choices. It's something we do about a million times a day. About when to get up, what to eat, how to spend our time, how to react to our kids, what rules to enforce and how.  Sometimes we know we made the "right" choice or even the "wrong" one. Other times,  our choices seem insignificant.  Occasionally, we feel the weight of a choice we are making, we know it's huge, but the answer just isn't clear.

I remember when we were in Thailand, about a week before we left, we were already out of our house.  We were staying at a place that included all three meals, and there were missionaries from all over who stayed there.  At each meal, we'd sit with a new person or family, and get to know them a little better.

At one of these meals, I sat with a single lady.  She was young, on sabbatical, visiting from a neighboring country.  I had a long conversation with her, and the thing she said, that stood out to me, out of the WHOLE conversation was to "follow the peace".  It was something her dad had taught her.

I've been thinking about that lately, and how that's what God's word, and walking with Him are all about.  When we pray, we can lay it all before our Father in Heaven, and we can trust that he will eventually give us that peace.  At times, that peace is in the strangest of places, and in the midst of outrageous circumstances. Sometimes, God waits, and waits, and then waits some more to reveal where that peace is.  Which is frustrating, no doubt.  But if you've spent time with Him, and you've turned it over to Him, trust Him. Trust that he'll answer, and trust his timing.

When we rush ahead and make a choice without him, we risk everything.  If we feel like our choices have been limited because of circumstances out of our control, and choose to give up on God, we will miss out.

Tonight as we were sitting in our living room, Doug happened to glance over and see Kora playing with my keys.  She was horrifyingly close to sticking one of them in the electrical outlet.  Doug shouted, "NO!" just in time to stop her.

Poor Kora! She got the biggest pouty lip, and then burst into tears.  Her feelings were hurt and she couldn't understand why her Daddy would yell at her like that.  But he was protecting her.  We've told our kids not to ever stick ANYTHING into outlets.  They've never attempted it, until tonight, and I'm sure Kora has no idea the risk involved.  And how do you explain that to a 2 year old?

She wanted nothing to do with her Dad.  She ran right into my arms. I comforted her, and made sure I explained that Daddy was keeping her safe, that he was worried about her.  That he was only looking out for her.

That's how it is with God, he can see and he knows things that we just can't comprehend.  And sometimes we may feel like he's being harsh or slamming a door in our face for no reason.  It makes us confused and we may have the urge to pull away from him.  When in reality, we should run to him, and thank him for keeping us out of harm's way or guiding us toward something better.  But it's hard to do that, when all you see is what's right in front of you.

As Kora gets older, and her relationship with her Daddy grows, she'll understand why he would react the way he did. Why he kept her from some of the "fun" things in life.

That's how our faith should grow too. In times we just can't understand what God is doing, we should trust him.  Look at the body of evidence.  He's been there in the past. He's here now, and he's gone ahead of us.  He knows things we don't.  And His love for us is greater than we can ever fathom.

If you're new in your faith, and you're feeling like Kora, like God is just a big bully.  You may not have as many points of reference to understand his goodness.  That's where the body of Christ comes in, we need each other.  Find fellow believers who have walked ahead of you, get sound advice and wisdom from those who may know him more than you.  Not because God loves them more, but because they've walked with him longer. Get a straight shooter!

I've had so many great women (and men) who have helped me grow in my faith, and the ones who have struggled the most, often have the most compassion and understanding for others when they struggle.  Don't hide your struggle, share it with someone who will walk with you, who will love and accept you and point you to our Heavenly Father.

And hey, shoot me a message, if nothing else, I can pray!  Love to all of you. Sorry I'm not exactly sticking to my "plan" on these posts.  I'm a woman, I'll get there eventually, just webbing my way back around.