(While visiting Prague, my daughter, Candace, took this beautiful picture of my
favorite flower in the whole wide world.
This particular trip was very special for her, considering
her maternal great-grandparents immigrated from Czech. to America
when they were little!When she was in middle school,
she became very interested in her
geneology and hoped that one day she could travel to Prague.
Well, isn’t God good? Her dream came true at twenty-two!)
“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”
(Joseph Campbell)
I’ve been trying to untangle the meaning of this quote for years. I found it as I was reading through a journal entry from July 29, 2001—a very difficult summer in which my family was experiencing a tough church split. Re-reading my entries was very unpleasant, as it normally is in hindsight. Oh how I wish I would have handled things differently. If only I had known then what I know now. But, regretfully, life doesn’t work that way. Life is lived forward, not backward. But in the forward movement, we can apply all the wisdom found in hindsight. In doing so, we are demonstrating growth.
Today is a new day in my life. Will you allow me to be vulnerable? So often, we think we have life all planned. If I do this, then that will happen. (You can fill in the this and the that.) My oldest, Candace, felt certain that after four years of college, she would land a great job, settle down, etc., but God had a different plan. A plan that required thinking outside the box. Outside her comfort zone. But, way beyond her imagination. She is having the time of her life in Europe. I applaud her courageous spirit. Her adventurous nature. Her time in Europe is shaping her future in grand fashion.
For many years, I have been sowing into my speaking ministry, emotionally, physically and spiritually. And, as a result, thought God would swing wide the doors to speaking opportunities. Well, in many way, he has. But this past summer, my phone didn’t ring. Emails didn’t come in. It seems, speaking opportunities were slowing down. Not what I expected. I expected more opportunities, due to the release of my first book. But, my precious Heavenly Father, had another path. Instead of more speaking, he has called me to more study. I mentioned in a recent post how I sensed God directing me to begin working on my Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy through the Distance Learning Program at Liberty University. Well, today was the day. With great fear and trepidation, I began my first class. As I browsed the syllabus and course content and posted my first “thread” on the Discussion Board, I thought to myself, “What in the world am I doing? Back to school? Oh, Lord Jesus, help me.” Every word of my book proposal, Freefall: Take the Leap and Trust God, ran through my mind like a stampede of wild horses! I definitely feel like I am standing at the edge of a precipice and all I can hear the Spirit of God say is, “Take the leap! Go ahead! Don’t be afraid to fly!”
Don’t be afraid to fly. One whole chapter in that book project is on FEAR. So, guess what, the teacher is being tested on those words. For so long, I have been preparing my children to fly. To soar. To summit. And, they are doing just that. But now, it is my turn. And quite honestly, I am a bit nervous about flying. I like my comfortable nest. I have found a few new feathers and it is looking quite nice. Nice and easy. But, God is lovingly prodding and prompting me to go to new heights. He wants me to come up a little higher. He wants to show me new things. Once again, he is asking me to leave the familiar and trust him completely. The problem is that I am a wee bit older now and settled in my ways. It isn’t as easy to be adventurous. To try new things. But, by God’s grace, I am going to try. Dust off the brain. Surrender my notions. Slay the ego. Submit the will. Reintroduce myself to the world of academia. Trust God for directions and ability. Something tells me I am going to be very challenged, but isn’t that what makes life sweet? Interesting? Rewarding?
Is God prodding you to go to new heights? To leave the familiar and venture out into the vast unknown? Go ahead, take the leap. Trust Him completely! It’s going to be challenging, but very, very sweet.
P.S. In my newsletter this week, I mentioned recording artists, Alberto and Kimberly Rivera’s, amazing worship music. In their song, WINGS, they exhort the listener by singing, “Don’t be afraid to fly!” When you have a minute, check this song out on iTunes. Search the iTunes store for Alberto and Kimberly Rivera. If you have an iPod….it is worth every bit of .99 cents.