It was a rare occasion to have Jude
up without Penny's presence in the middle of the afternoon, so we took full
advantage and headed outside to the swing set. As we walked bare feet in the
grass, Jude squatted down and pointed and shouted at the little thing moving
about in the grass. Bugs are exciting and always something to talk about with
him. It was a bee. Wandering from grass blade to grass blade, it was
frantically jumping and running to and fro, trying to get somewhere. We watched
as it did its little dance, sans flying. Each time it moved, it got a little
faster and appeared more flustered.
Perhaps the little bee had used its
stinger and could no longer fly. I know little about bees, besides their honey
making - stinger carrying - flying abilities. But it is not every day that bees
go hopping about in the grass. And the oddness was intriguing, especially to my
one year old. It was not doing what it
was made to do.
We were made for a purpose. We were
made to do more than ordinary things. More than the nine to five and houses
with white picket fences and college degrees and two children. We were made to
do good works which were prepared in advance for us. We were made to have an
intimate relationship with God and use our God given gifts to further his
kingdom.
Thrive by Casting Crowns fits perfectly
here. Have a listen. Feel free to have a little dance party, too. It is one we
tend to turn up over here.
We know we were made for so much more
Than ordinary lives
It's time for us to more than just survive
We were made to thrive
There is so much relief and peace that stem from doing what God has made you to do. Not that it is easy in the slightest or comes fully natural but being in the will of God is sweet spot to be. Since I started writing, God has revealed himself in ways I could never fathom and it is truly an adventure and a dependence and trusting in him in ways I never needed to before.
When we are going against God's leading and making our own way, we will be working harder and getting more and more flustered. We will be building our kingdoms taking two steps forward and five back, even when things appear to be making progress. Is progress really progress when we are walking farther away from the will of God?
Praying that if you have yet to see what you were made to, what gifts you possess, the things that come easy to you but others tell you how hard it is, that you would seek God in the them. That you would see where God will take you with your skill set as you lay down your own expectations and will and start to align it with God's, despite whatever it may cost you.
Praying that you would search your heart to see what a life filled means. That you would look at the end of your life and see what you want to have accomplished and what that would entail. Praying that you would long for a life fully surrendered to Christ and impacting those around you. That it would be a life full of serving and truly loving people and loving God, for that is the purpose of life.
Here's to purposes and the bees.