“Necessary Detour”

Sometimes in life we find ourselves in situations that are not pleasant in any way. These "situations" arise in everyone's life and they tend to be the last place you would ever choose to go on your own; yet somehow we find ourselves in them anyway. I have grown to call these times in our lives "Necessary Detours". Of course our first thought is, how could this undesirable and unpleasant experience be necessary for my life?!

Once again, great revelation flows into my life through a movie or TV… My children are currently very interested in the "Cars" movie, thus I have seen it countless times. The gist of the movie being a race car who wants to be successful has some issues, maybe inexperience or immaturity. The race car finds himself on an unexpected and unplanned detour as he accidently gets released from his trailer and in his effort to find his way back ends up getting stuck in a little town where he does not want to be. Magically, by the time he gets to where he initially intended to go, to become that star race car, he has learned what he needed to learn and others that needed to learn from him have done the same.

Of course, I have seen this in my own life, and I am sure you have seen it in your life too or maybe you have yet to recognize it. With infertility all I could think is, "I just want to have a baby of my own", "why is this so hard for me?", "why do I need to go through this?", or "why does it have to be this way?... I am sure there are many reasons to these questions we ask when we are in the middle of a place we do not want to be. One reason I know of is because it is a necessary detour! There were people that I needed to meet and learn from, a faith in me that needed to grow, my marriage that was going to be strengthened by it and a motherhood waiting for me that was going to be more enjoyable than I had imagined. In addition to what I needed out of my necessary detour there were people who needed to meet me in the midst of my battle, people that needed to learn from me during and after my battle, people that I would not have met unless I was on this necessary detour!

This topic of big picture (last week's blog) and necessary detour have been on my heart for a while and continues to be something of an important revelation that I feel compelled to share. What "necessary detour" are you on or have you been on? What magic does God need to work in you and through you in the midst of and following your necessary detour? Maybe we need to begin to trust God differently when we are in our necessary detours!

 

 

“Bigger Picture”

Lately, the concept of the "bigger picture" has come up a lot around me! It is one thing to see what the Bible says about our circumstances… For instance in Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him… It is another thing to realize how strategic God really is and how crucial it is for us to stay the course beyond what we feel in a moment of frustration or pain.

When I think of the years of infertility there is not one moment (now) that I regret anything I went through. There were amazing things I learned that I would not have learned otherwise, my marriage has a strength to it that would not exist, I mother my children in a way I would not have been capable of, and even my faith is different because of the course my journey took. The book that I am currently writing about Faith and my battle with infertility would not be possible if things did not go the way they did. I could have been quickly helped by a doctor and never known the difference, but I wasn't. The way my story played out occurred in a way that not only allowed me to learn so much, to be changed and touched in so many ways, but also allowed for others to be changed and touched by what God did for me. Granted, in the midst of it I am not sure I was too concerned with how others would be touched, but on the other side of it I am truly grateful that God had more than just me in mind!

When we are in the midst of something it is hard to see how we will get through it or what we are supposed to do and you can forget thinking of how it will affect others! When we are in the midst of it is when it is crucial. In the midst of trouble, God wants us to be the solution for freedom and breakthrough; if we give up because of our own frustration the answer would be lost. In the midst of struggle things do not make sense and it is easy to want to throw in the towel but hold tight, there is a purpose here and God has a bigger picture in mind.

Today I have been thinking of the friends I have around me that I can clearly see God working the same in them. What God is doing for them is about the bigger picture that surrounds them. One friend is at the tail end of her breakthrough and she is beginning to see how her journey is about to allow her to help countless other women who struggle daily with what she has overcome. God did not want to save just her, He wanted to save every woman that struggles the way she has. Isn't that the nature of God? He does not want ANY lost or left out! His plan has always been about the "Bigger Picture"!

 

 

“Timing”

I am a big fan of having my children on a schedule. I like schedules, they work; the kids know what to expect, it creates stability on a daily basis, and I can function at a happier level. I have boy and girl twins that were born six weeks early and thus spent two weeks in the NICU before coming home. In that two weeks of our NICU stay, I learned a great deal about schedules; how effective and how necessary they are. At my children's birth the schedule was a necessity for their very life but as they have grown I have kept the schedule and just adapt with their age. I have since learned that the schedule is crucial for all of our lives even as they grow older.

I had recently been complemented on how easy it was for me to do my daughter's hair. My twins are almost two and a half years old and my daughter was sitting still and letting me do her hair with no issues. The onlooker noticed and commented, "Wow that is amazing that she sits there and lets you do her hair." I, of course, said "thank you" but then began to realize that she sits still and lets me do her hair because I have timed doing her hair to fall in line with breakfast or a snack. When my daughter is occupied with food she will sit there and let you do anything. On the other hand, if I do not time doing her hair with food then it is a completely different story to do her hair… I have seen that as I follow the schedule of the day that all is well most of the time but when I do not, then all is more likely to be on the disastrous side of experience!

Life as a believer is much the same way. As we follow the schedule that God has for us things go relatively smooth, they fall into place and you sense the peace of going the right way in spite of anything that tries to set you back. But when we go outside of the schedule or timing that God has for us things tend to be more disastrous in our experience! There is a verse in Genesis 21:2 that talks about Sarah and Abraham receiving the promise of God "at the very time that God had promised". There is something necessary and effective about timing, something crucial for our lives where timing is concerned.

The issue of timing is a complicated one with many sides. One thing I do know is that sticking to the schedule is crucial for my life and even the lives of those around me. Just like I know the timing that works best for my daughter I can trust that my Father in Heaven knows the timing that works best for me. The promises we have yet to receive are on the way at the very time God has promised!

 

 

“Guts”

I have been thinking about courage and boldness on and off for a long time. Courage and boldness seem to go hand in hand for the people of God. Often we are commanded in the Word to be courageous as well as to do things with boldness. The concepts should be common place for us as believers, yet often we experience our hesitation when fear takes over. What does it look like to have courage or to act with boldness?

One of my favorite movies is "Transformers". There is a scene that occurs shortly after the character "Sam" discovers his car is alive. His car "Bumble Bee" battles a "Decepticon" and wins. Bumble Bee drives over to Sam and his friend "Mikaela" and opens the door. Sam tells Mikaela, "He wants us to get in the car". Mikaela replies, "And go where?" To that, Sam says, "Fifty years from now, when you're looking back at your life, don't you want to be able to say you had the guts to get in the car?" This portion of the movie really makes me think. I want to look back at my life and say I had the guts to get in the car! In fifty years what am I going to look back at and see?

The interesting relation to a believer's life is that so often we are afraid to get in the car because we don't know where we are going or what the end result will be. The offer to get in appears and we let fear rule our response instead of realizing that a great battle was just won to save us! Just like Bumble Bee battled to save Sam, battles have been won for us as well and we're still afraid to get in the car… When, really, we should be afraid not to!

How much do we miss out on when we let fear take over and pass up the opportunity to get in the car? How much greater is the adventure we experience when we do have the guts to get in the car? I want to have the guts to get in the car when the opportunity appears. I want to know what adventure lies ahead. What do you want to look back on your life in fifty years and say you had the courage and the guts to do?