Shundria On Shuffle: August 2015

Monday, August 17, 2015

Have You Made It?

I’m here to let you in on something. I’ve recently come to a realization that I need to share. I need to say this but you need to hold on to your seat. When I found out, I almost fell out of my chair. My heart dropped and I couldn’t believe that I fell for it. I’ve been around for years and I can usually figure things out. But this one…

Are you ready?

Ok…

There is no place!

You know the place we are working all day to arrive. It’s the destination where all things are wonderful. I’m not talking about Heaven. I’m talking about here on earth. It’s where we have enough in our bank accounts. We drive the right car and have the right amount of bedrooms. Our children understand and accept our discipline. They make smart choices and apply the discriminatory thinking that we have been pouring into them since the age of 1. They love Jesus and are living their lives for Him.

In this place our marriages are perfect. We finally communicate successfully and both feel fully supported and appreciated. Work outside and inside the home is equally shared. We are completely satisfied in our singleness and we have conquered loneliness and all struggles.

We are the perfect size for clothing and we have the right hair products. Great hair day is every day. Amen!

We pray for an hour a day, have a deep connection with the Lord, and can hear him in all we do. We have figured out our purpose and we are fully engaged in carrying out His plan.

You know the place.

That’s what we are working for. We are constantly praying and fasting for our arrival. We fight our spouses for this haven. We yell at our kids for this. We read books and seek advice from the experts who say they know how to get there. There are shows, movies and podcasts that give us steps on how to make it. We want our family and friends to validate for us that we are well on our way.

What if there isn’t such a place?

I know. It's hard to take in!

What if this is about the journey and not the destination? What if it’s about how you live now as opposed to how you will live when you get there?

What if it’s about your compassion? Love? Forgiveness? Patience?

What if it’s about your love for Jesus? Sharing Him through your actions when you have not arrived or when you have nothing or everything?

What if it’s about how you love those who you or society defines as unlovable?

What if it’s about how you pray for others?

What if it's about how you treat your loved ones?

What if it’s about how you care for the sick or feed those who are hungry?

What if it’s about how you stand up and not be ashamed for what you believe and how you live?

What if it’s about humility?

What if it's about grace and not entitlement?

If so, have you made it?

Blessings!

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Alone With Nothing!

I’ve been going to my local coffee shop to write. I have a place at home but there have been instances when I can't use it. Why? My children seem to need all of my attention when I’m working. All of it! You know how it is. I can loudly call their names and not get an answer. I can search the entire house when I’m needing them to do something. BUT, when I need to get something done all by myself, suddenly they all appear.

So today I get an opportunity to actually sit and write out my thoughts. I’m so excited. How often do I actually get this uninterrupted time of writing?

How cool am I? I have it all together. I have everything I need.

Coffee? Check.

Computer? Check.

Books? Check.

Colorful pens and highliters? Check

I am ready!

Wait.

One problem.

I have no idea about what I’m writing.
I have nothing!
I mean NOTHING!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

See this only happens to me! The time when I have the opportunity to actually get it all out, I can't.
Not anything.

So I’m sitting here. Watching. Wondering. Praying. Waiting.

Ugh!
Then it hit me. Alone. Nothing.

I thought:

"Girl! You are alone and you have nothing!"

HA-LLE-LU-JAH!

I put my head in my hands and exhaled. I took advantage of this mental break.

I think that we are a society of people who have made chaos our comfort zone. We crave it. We have become so accustomed to it that we don't know what to do with peace. We question it, feel bad about it, and schedule it away. All the while, we complain about being overwhelmed and tired.

Where's the place that we are so desperately trying to go? What are we doing? When did distress become preferred and quiet become uncomfortable?

Sometimes nothing is ok.

Sit still. No words. Nothing to say. Not a list to create. Not a task to complete.

Wait. Not that you don't have anything to do. You do! I definitely do! It's that you don't have to complete it at this moment.

We have so many distractions. So many things thrown at us daily. So many songs. So many words, pictures, videos, and voices. So many ideas. Plans. Tasks. Checklists.

Sometimes we need a break. A time to exhale. A time to sit and listen to what the Lord has to say to us.

I’m away in a coffee shop. My children are home with their father. No one is calling me. I’m not responding to texts. I’m not wondering about next week. I’m not creating any checklists.

After my initial panic, I actually began to appreciate my quiet.

During this I hear the Lord telling me that He is enough and that with Him comes all I need. I can relax and enjoy. He's telling me that it’s ok to sit still. It's ok that I don’t have something to write that will blow someone’s mind. I don’t have to write the next bestseller. I don't have to have next week's plan ready to print and execute. I don't have to have it all together. I don't have to do anything.

It's okay.

Crazy huh?

When was the last time you sat still?
When was the last time you scheduled away your peace?

What if the Lord is waiting for you to be still so that he can speak to you?