Work is only work if you prefer to be somewhere else. Work tends to be a negative perception of a task which we reluctantly approach. Work is only labour when we forget to see our life as it truly is – an opportunity to be creative, enrich others and be enriched ourselves. When we are able to see work in this way, we find something called enthusiasm inside. When we are enthusiastic we work well and we are valued. We are used as a role model. When we work well it is much easier to say no when we need to, for we know our own value, and we are not dependent on others’ approval to feel good about ourselves. When we put love and enthusiasm into what we do, it rebounds in the form of opportunities and blessings, two of the most important ingredients of a truly wealthy life.
I had an important job interview a couple of weeks ago (I am still waiting to hear), and at the very end of it I made a statement that I wished, immediately, I hadn’t made. It wasn’t something horrid – it was just something I wished I hadn’t revealed about myself at this point in the process, know what I mean?
For a couple of days I kept thinking about it and wondering why I even said it. Then I felt directed to open my Bible to Luke 21: 14-15 and the words of Jesus filled my heart. ‘Do not think about what you will say beforehand. Go in my Spirit and I will give you the words to say.’
I have done much preparation to follow God’s leading and I know that I a vessel willing to speak what God would have me speak, and so I relaxed…evidently that was what I was supposed to say. Whatever happens will be God’s plan unfolding – not mine. I trust that I have done what I am supposed to do, and if the job doesn’t happen, it is because it is not the right job for me.
As I wait to hear if I got this job, I am working on other parts of my faith – patince, letting go, hope, joy, peace, obedience. You know – the virtues which are the hardest ones ot master…pray for me.
“Have courage,” we often say to one another. Courage is a spiritual virtue. The word courage comes from the Latin word cor, which means “heart. A courageous act is an act coming from the heart. A courageous word is a word arising from the heart. The heart, however, is not just the place where our emotions are located. The heart is the centre of our being, the centre of all thoughts, feelings, passions, and decisions.
When the flesh – the lived human experience – becomes word, community can develop. When we say, “Let me tell you what we saw. Come and listen to what we did. Sit down and let me explain to you what happened to us. Wait until you hear whom we met,” we call people together and make our lives into lives for others. The word brings us together and calls us into community. When the flesh becomes word, our bodies become part of a body of people.
and I open a fresh page
paper lined with endless possibility
of meaning, of words,
of understanding, of hope,
of choices, of thoughts,
of who I am and
who I desire to be
space between words
holding it all together
in a framework of idea
I write this with ‘ink joy’ flowing
a smile on my lips
for the gold foil polka dots
and the quotes that make my heart sing –
the simple
yet so rich and complex gift
of a pen and a piece of paper…
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Matthew 7:7 -11
Can we only speak when we are fully living what we are saying? If all our words had to cover all our actions, we would be doomed to permanent silence! Sometimes we are called to proclaim God’s love even when we are not yet fully able to live it. Does that mean we are hypocrites? Only when our own words no longer call us to conversion. Nobody completely lives up to his or her own ideals and visions. But by proclaiming our ideals and visions with great conviction and great humility, we may gradually grow into the truth we speak. As long as we know that our lives always will speak louder than our words, we can trust that our words will remain humble.
How does the Spirit of God manifest itself through us? Often we think that to witness means to speak up in defense of God. This idea can make us very self-conscious. We wonder where and how we can make God the topic of our conversations and how to convince our families, friends, neighbors, and colleagues of God’s presence in their lives. But this explicit missionary endeavour often comes from an insecure heart and, therefore, easily creates divisions.
The way God’s Spirit manifests itself most convincingly is through its fruits: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22). These fruits speak for themselves. It is therefore always better to raise the question “How can I grow in the Spirit?” than the question “How can I make others believe in the Spirit?”
Each new step in life is also a leaving, a surrendering of an old reality to move into a new one.
Be grateful for the love that surrounds you, and for the opportunities you have to love. Be mindful of your place in this world, and your connection to people you care about. Never doubt that you are loved, though those who love you may be far away. Spend your love recklessly; it will never be wasted. It is the spending, not the result, that enriches us.
Pay attention to the moment that you’re in. It will pass. It is a transition, not a final destination. Love in this moment. Receive what this moment offers you. Be lovingly attentive to what is, in the present moment. What comes next is full of promise, not the least of which is this: that there will always be more love. Trust this, and let God’s delight fill you.
In this day of ‘instant’ everything, the practice, and importance, of patience is ignored…a lot. Ok, I can understand why – it’s HARD! haha Our natural inclination is to want-what-we-want and then go and get it, or do it. Yet patience and waiting are extremely important and valuable in life, and with learning to trust God.
Growing our faith depends on our ability to wait on listening, and waiting, for the voice of God. Not and easy task, but, oh so worth it!
I have learned a lot of patience over the years. God has blessed me with many lessons in waiting, and developing, my patience. I do not feel like I have gained ‘virtue’ status – ha – maybe I never will. It is a challenge for me each and every time. Yet I know the value, I trust God’s timing over my own impulse and I am willing to keep attempting to wait gracefully each time I am called to do so.
I no longer want to live my life my own way. I know God has much better plans for me than I can accomplish on my own – and so, once again I am at a moment of waiting. The pause. The void. The hope. The risk. The possible disappointment. The struggle to walk in peace. The letting go. The constant prayer communication to allow me to let whatever happens be right.
It’s a balancing, see saw, circus act for me – I go up – I go down – and I give thanks for the process as it is teaching me and growing my faith in this amazing God who has been so faithful to me and brought me right here, to where I should be, on this path of grace.
For a girl like me it is nothing less than amazing, incredible, awe-inspiring! and it fuels my passion to keep growing, letting go further and further as I am consumed by the unfathomable love that gives me all good things! I was just blessed to read the book Flirting With Faith by Joan Ball. It encouraged me so much at this particular moment. I highly recommend it.
All I can do is fall on my face in gratitude and gladly give up….myself…my wants…my life…my all.
Yes, the waiting is the hardest part in some ways – yet also the most important and the most blessed as well. The valley is where you become intimate and learn to trust. Nothing can take its place and no one can take that from you. I know – I’ve been there! I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. It is my truth – in my times of patience I have seen the face, and heard the voice, of God.
The Waiting
by Tom Petty
Oh baby don’t it feel like heaven right now
Don’t it feel like something from a dream
Yeah I’ve never known nothing quite like this
Don’t it feel like tonight might never be again
We know better than to try and pretend
Baby no one coulda ever told me ’bout this
I said yeah yeah
The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part
Well yeah I might have chased a couple women around
All it ever got me was down
Then there were those that made me feel good
But never as good as I’m feeling right now
Baby you’re the only one that’s ever known how
To make me wanna live like I wanna live now
I said yeah yeah
The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you get one more yard
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part
Oh don’t let it kill you baby, don’t let it get to you
Don’t let it kill you baby, don’t let it get to you
I’ll be your bleedin’ heart, I’ll be your cryin’ fool
Don’t let this go too far
life: acoustic & amplified 