For those of you who know me, you know how much I love to travel.
I become a little bit antsy if I have to stay in one place for too long and I'm looking for my next adventure. My next journey. I'm always the first person to say Okay lets do it! Now, whats next!
I don't wait on anyone to catch up.
I move at my own pace.
I become anxious if I don't have a new plan of action.
I start to get fidgety.
Then there I go jumping before the gun shot has gone off.
I'm always worried about missing my destiny.
I'm worried about missing my opportunity to do what God is calling me to do.
I think some times I get all anxious and I think I'm waiting around for God.
I think I'm waiting on him to answer me or tell me my next move.
But its just not the truth. We are never waiting on God.
He is waiting on us.
He's waiting on US to get where ever he needs us to be.
Before he picks me back up and sends me back out on my way.
He first has to brush off all the dust and clean up all my scraps and bruises.
And there I am, pushing his hand away, saying I'm fine! I got this! Let me keep going!
and God is looking at me like, "Um, no. You're not fine. You're worn out and dirty
and hurting and you're not even giving yourself a chance to heal before
blindly tripping over the next obstacle in your way. And you're trying to run ahead of me
and doing an awful job at getting anywhere."
But it's cool. Because God's kind of like that prince Charming.
You know the one who you made up in your head but in all reality
your "Prince Charming" could never be human because he's
just too perfect.
And he looks at you and you're all muddy from tripping so much.
And you have scapes on your knees and your arms hurt because you are stubborn
and you tried to pick up something that you knew was to heavy for you.
And God comes along and picks you up and his reaction is just not human.
Because human reaction would be:
" why are you such a screw up!? You're always running ahead of everything.
Making stupid decisions. Messing things up for yourself and for everyone else.
Whats wrong with you? Get your act together."
and you're just left lost and discouraged and most likely
you continue down your same destructive path
because you didn't receive any help or guidance.
Just criticism and you don't know any other way to turn.
But God's reaction isn't like that. His reaction is this:
He reaches out his hand and picks you up. He lovingly scoops you into his arms.
And says, " Listen. Just slow down for a second. Let's just rest here for a minute."
He brushes all the dust and dirt off your clothes. He sits you down under
the shade of a tree and he washes your wounds. Then he says,
" You're hurting yourself and I'm not going to stand by and watch you get hurt."
He walks out in your path and he picks up your obstacle that
was too heavy for you to move on your own and effortlessly
throws it out of the way.
He says, " Can I go ahead of you and move your obstacles and anything that
might cause you to trip. I really don't like to see you fall all the time.
Now he might ask you to do some hard things as well.
Because he knows what is best for you.
Like he might be like, "Um hey, you know that stone you tripped on
about a mile back. Yeah, uh, well you didn't notice but
after you tripped on it you ran right over the top of someone else.
And you hurt them pretty bad, and you just kept running along
and tripping over everything and you didn't
even say sorry or anything."
"It was really a pretty sad seen there. If I were you, I would go back
and apologize for what you did to them. To be honest
they may not accept your apology because you stepped on
them pretty hard, but I think it's best if you go try to apologize.
Because you were defiantly wrong to be doing that. "
God won't discourage you. He will tell it as it is. But he will not discourage you.
He will say this is what you did wrong and this is how to fix it.
This is how you are going to avoid it in the future.
Have you ever heard the saying, " Never look down on someone unless
you're helping them up." That is exactly how God handles things.
I do a lot of traveling.
Growing up I've traveled all over the united states with my family.
Florida, Michigan, California, Massachusetts, Nevada, Canada...
Oh come on people, Canada is basically the united states.
Except more awesome... awesomer? .. Yeah I don't know.
I've always been fascinated with Europe.
My Sophomore year I went to Germany for a couple weeks on an exchange program.
Fell in love with the language
and went back the next year for the entire summer with IU Bloomington's
Language Immersion program.
My Senior year of high school I went to Africa for the first time with my Aunt Kim.
I was excited for our long layover in London.
and as most of you know I've been going back every year since then.
Last year, totally last minute, I mean I literally had two days to decide.
I went to Guatemala on a missions trip with the youth group.
But can I be honest. There is a lot I don't know about traveling.
I don't know how to interpret the restrictions of how much luggage we are aloud to bring.
3 bags and 1 carry on, 2 bags and 2 carry ons, 2 bags and one of those counts as your carry on.
"Mam, that is not a carry on that is an oversize suitcase."
Okay, lady well you tell that to the starving children in Africa!
I don't know why the stewardess has to come out and there has to be two of them.
One to tell you the emergency routine and the other to act it out.
I don't know why they have to show us how to use a seat belt
and act like we haven't been in a car since 1965.
I don't understand why everything on an airplane has to be small.
tiny plate, tiny utensils, tiny napkin, tiny cups.
tiny pillow and tiny blankets.
There is a SMALL problem. There is going to be a SLIGHT delay. There will be a LITTLE bit of turbulence.
They're lying, about that last one first of all.
I don't know how to escape the airplane bathroom without sacrificing one of my extremities
to the jaws of the folding door.
And I don't know what to say to guys like that taxi driver in Uganda
who learned I was American and asked me if
I knew his cousin Eddie who lives in the U.S.
There is a lot about traveling I don't know.
One thing that frustrates me the most is those women that are obviously
"experienced travelers"
and they are boarding a 9 hour flight to London.
They are dressed in a nicely pressed dress skirt and top and high heels.
Their hair and makeup is perfect and they smell
like the perfume section at the mall.
Now, as for me, when I board a 9 hour flight to London.
I'm most likely in jeans and a T-shirt with my hair tied up.
because, who am I fooling, when I get off that plane
I'm going to look even more crappy than when I got on the plane.
My armpits are going to smell terrible no matter how many times I got
up to go to the bathroom and wash them and put on deodorant.
And I swear, every flight has them, that pretty lady
will walk off that plane with no wrinkle in her skirt,
her hair isn't greasy and her makeup isn't faded.
And she still smells like the perfume section at the mall.
I DO NOT understand this.
I think God wants to turn us into
"Experienced Travelers"
I mean I don't think he wants us to be
all uncomfortable in our high heels on an airplane with our hair all perfect.
What I'm saying, is he want us to be prepared
and he wants us looking and feeling good
and he wants to keep us looking and feeling good for the remainder of the flight.
He doesn't want us to be Weary Travelers
He wants us to be Experienced Travelers
He wants us to expect hard times
and know how to be prepared for when they come
He doesn't want us to be knocked down.
He invites,
"Come to me."
"All of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens.
and I will give you rest. "
- Matthew 11:28
Growing up, I always loved the band Barenaked Ladies.Hey, don't write them off because of their title.
They were really kind of a one hit wonder.
There two hit songs in the 90's were One Week and Pinch Me.
We owned a couple of their albums though and I have always loved their music.
They have a song called Call and Answer
This past year I have been trying to change my music style around... which let me tell you is HARD
when you are a sincere music fan. I had to bite my lip when I had all my old
music deleted off my Ipod and filled it with worship music and sermons.
But that's really what I needed at the time.
But sometimes, when you are really struggling, at least for me.
I need some of my old comfort music. Songs I can relate to.
A couple days ago I was really struggling,
do you ever feel like you are so far from Gods presences and you don't understand it.
and you are begging him to draw you back in.
Because if you have experienced his presences before and especially if you have
stayed in his presences for a long period of time.
If you ever fall from Grace, and get into sin, a wall seems to go up.
and you CRAVE his presences again.
You realize just how much your happiness depends on your devotion with him.
Anyway, I had been deep in prayer for some time about this.
And I had dug out some of my old Cds.
I put on one of my mix tapes and the first song that came up was
Call and Answer
Here's a link to the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3-8gQmPvyo
The lyrics go like this:
If you call.
I will answer.
And if you fall.
Ill pick you up.
And if you court this disaster.
I'll point you home.
But, I'm warning you, don't you ever do,
those crazy messed up things that you do,
cause I promise you, if you ever do,
I'll be the first to crucify you.
Now it's time to prove you've come back here
to rebuild.
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I assume most of you would agree that the 23rd Psalm is
one of the most well known passages in the bible.
The Lord is my Shepard.
I shall not want.
He is a good Shepard..He's not going to let you wander around
in sin feeling lost. You may know what you WANT but
he knows what is best for you.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He restores my soul.
He is going to call you to rest in him. Trust in him.
This will give you peace that passes all understanding. He says lay down and rest in me.
You don't have to worry because I am your protector.
He rebuilds you.
