ON A PATH

Today was a thought provoking day...a productive day... a lovely day. I can't always say that after a day is done, which is what makes today all that more satisfying. I woke up today craving a quiet time with God but knowing that I was not going to have time to sit and find that peaceful place. But God knew my heart and He provided. Time spent over Starbucks coffee with a good Christian friend and mentor proved to be (albiet not quiet) still a time spent with God.

God can use people close to us to speak to us. They can be trusted friends (Christian and non-Christian alike) or they can be people who we may not even care for. He can use anybody to further our "walk" with him. I use the term walk because it is a day by day and sometimes a minute by minute dependancy which in hindsight usually proves to ultimately be our "journey".

I know I'm on a journey towards my kingdom purpose and that God is molding and making me into the person He wants to use to accomplish His willl. My friend confirmed that today, and gave me such encouragement and insight that I knew she was being used by God to minister to me. God is not always so obvious (infact most times he is way too subtle). Sometimes we miss him at work in our lives and we often need to gain some perspective in order to see what is really happening.

My friend provided that great perspective today. She told me about a devotional she had read:

A woman had a 6 year old child that fell into a pool during a party at a friends house. The little girl panicked and needed to be rescued from the water. Her mother was so shaken by the incident that she immediately signed the child up for swimming lessons to prevent any such potentially fatal accident again. She loved the child and wanted to do anything she could do to protect her from harm. Well, the little girl did not understand what the swimming instructor was doing during the lesson. She was confused as to why he would again put her in the deep end of the pool where she was likely to once again fall under the water. The little girl became frightened and began to struggle and flail. She became so distraught at one point that she shouted out, "Why do you keep trying to drown me !!??" She of course did not understand that the instructor was not trying to drown her but was in fact trying to teach her the skills she needed to be successful and to one day be able to save her own life or somebody elses' life.

This is a good picture of what happens in our lives. God keeps throwing us into what feels like the deep end. It is here that we struggle and flail. We may even shout out to the Lord, " Why are you trying to drown me!" He is not. He is like that little girls Mother. He loves of so much that He provides us with lessons that will allow us to survive. He is like the instructor who teaches us the skills we need to know to help ourselves and others. It is necessary for us to go into the deep ends of life because that is where God grows us and teaches us and equips us with the knowledge we need to accomplish His will.

I just thought it was such a neat story. It makes the deep ends of life a bit less scary. Don't you think?

R