The Good, the Bad, and the Mundane


We are now almost a month into 2019. This seems to be the time each year when the newness wears off. The hope of change and fresh opportunities seems to dwindle as we face many of the same struggles as last year.


For me personally, the last few weeks have included adjusting back into our school schedule, solo parenting for a week while Adam was at his doctoral class, shoveling after winter storm Harper and shivering in the insanely cold temperatures afterwards. There's also been plenty of laundry! Don't forget the laundry!
I've also shared meals with friends, baked amazing cookies with my four year old sous chef, and munched on popcorn during our family movie night. In fact, the more I pause to think about the last three weeks, the more sweet memories pop into my mind. A lot has been packed into that time. Some of it was hard, some of it will develop into special memories, and a lot of it was mundane and uneventful.
I guess you could say that this past January is a metaphor for life in general. The good, bad, and unbelievably mundane is all held in His hands. Consider these passages:

"It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8

"Lord, you have searched me and known me.
 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away.  You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it. LORD, You have encircled me;
you have placed your hand on me." Psalm 139: 1-5

"I will go before you
    and level the exalted places,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
    and cut through the bars of iron..."  Isaiah 45:2


This is just a small sampling of the passages indicating God's initiative in leading and protecting the lives of His children. He has always been faithful in accomplishing the task at hand and then asking obedience from His followers in return. In other words, He has already gone before me into this new year. Although, I'm tempted to think so, I am not facing the unknowns of this year alone. 

He has already enabled me for what is ahead. It may be through circumstances I've faced in previous years or through Bible study that didn't seem to have much application at the time, but now meets an exact need of my heart.

He has already cleared the path. This isn't in the sense of prosperity and "getting what I want" this year, but in the understanding that He has gone ahead of me to weave together circumstances that will enable to me to be conformed to Christ and grow in my faith.

There is already a calling on my life for the issues, trials, and tasks that I may face this year. They have my name on them, however the beautiful thing is that God's name is written in even bigger letters above mine. He has the ultimate task of accomplishing and completing what lies ahead. It's not on my shoulders. 

What does this look like for me? For a while now, I have sensed God's calling on my life to be small. This probably sounds strange in the age of marketing and promoting yourself as an expert or a coach in all areas from nutrition to beauty, but I keep sensing the need to do the exact opposite. I desire to spend time meditating on God's Word and developing my prayer life which seems to be always lacking. Perhaps in the future, in the right season, God will change this private work into public fruit. Until then, I am fighting to cherish and obey this calling in the same way as I would if God were calling me to popularity and renown. For now, I'm keeping it simple

I'm excited for change and improvement in this new year, but I'm grateful that it's up to my Father to enable and empower me for that growth. I'm thankful that He holds the good, bad, and mundane in His hands already and is molding it for my good. And I can't wait to see what my life looks like eleven months from now.

Recommendation:

Over the last few weeks, I have also had the chance to work through the new study, If God is For Us, from Trillia Newbell, with one of my friends. It moves slowly through an amazing chapter in scripture, Romans 8.  I would highly recommend this study to those finding themselves weary at the beginning of this new year. You will be reminded of His faithfulness in spite of your sin and shortcomings and be left encouraged to live in light of the marvelous gospel truths in this chapter! Purchase your own copy HERE.