Thy Will Be Done

     The morning light is seeping in, though it's dampened by the grey clouds and swirling snow. The past few days gave us delightfully warm temperatures, but today we are back to January in Northern Minnesota. My Love headed off to work this morning and requested that due to the state of the roads and driveway, I not go anywhere. So, Buirlen and I are all cozy and ready for a snow day.
      Lately, I have been mulling over what it means to pray, "Thy will be done." We had been studying prayer at Wednesday night Bible study and this came up, and it has just stuck in my mind. So, I've been studying it. Throughout my life, I've often heard people add this to their prayers and it had always kind of rubbed me wrong. I kind of felt like, "why do we need to say that, I don't want to say that. I just want to ask God for what I want." But as I've been dwelling on and studying it lately, the concept of "Thy will be done," has been blooming in my mind in such a beautiful and peaceful way.
    My brain tends towards worry. I've found that I can turn about any mole hill into a mountain with very little effort, and this is not healthy. I've been known to agonize over things and wonder what I should do, which direction I should take. I want to do what God wants me to do, but if it's not an issue that is clearly spelled out in His word, how am I to know for sure. But after thinking, reading, and studying about praying, "Thy will be done, " I began to understand something new.
      I texted Luke at work and asked him,

         "I'm studying about praying that God's will be done. I decided that if I'm praying this way, I can just move forward trusting that the doors that open before me or close are opening/closing because it's God's will. And this all sounds so peaceful and relaxing because, if I've been praying that the LORD's will be done, then I don't have to agonize over whether a move is the right decision. Is it really that simple?" 

And he texted back, "It is." And that knowledge was so awe inspiring to my worrisome brain. 

    Lessons, they are everywhere....A lot like adventures. Perhaps, they are one in the same. 

Yesterday's tropical temperatures made for an enjoyable walk to the mailbox!

Happy Thursday!

James 4:15

"Instead, you ought to say, 'If the LORD wills, we will live and also do this or that."

"True peace comes from knowing that God is in control." ~Unknown

Life's Adventures.

      As Spring moves forward I've been noticing the wonderful music that God makes. The frogs in the swamp across the road are always harmonizing, The birds sing the melody, and I think there is some sort of bug that likes to add his chirping to the mix. I love it all and it is a sound that really fills me with peace when I stop, close my eyes, and just listen to it. I especially like leaving the window open at night to hear the sweet song as I fall asleep. God is so good.
     Last night, my Love and I decided to meet some friends in town for ice cream and then we went for a walk by the lake. It was lovely. Sharing ice cream with a sweet baby, smelling the lilacs as we walked the trail by the lake, and just enjoying the evening with good friends.

A bouquet from our little adventure. 

Then there is this,

way back towards the beginning of the new year, I planted an avocado pit. We had tried a couple of times, unsuccessfully, to get one started by suspending it in water. I decided to try again by just planting it in dirt. So, I had a lovely jar of dirt sitting on my windowsill for months. I finally gave up on it and stuck it in the laundry room to be dealt with later.  When I eventually got around to dealing with it I started to dig down in the dirt and realized that the seed had in fact split, and so I put it back on the windowsill. Awhile later, I still saw nothing so I was going to give up on it again but decided to check it first. I carefully dug down and low and behold there was a sprout. So I let it be. I'm glad I did because once it finally showed itself, it has gone to town in the growing department.
     Today may you realize that The One who conducts the choir and designed the growing process loves you so very much.


“Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.” ~Andy Rooney

Metamorphosis

     The first day of Autumn happened a week ago and the colors of the season are beginning to show their faces. I love Fall. With the coming of Fall has come new changes. I started a new job recently. A job that I was so excited to get and have loved from the get go. I am a teacher. Finally. Years of college were starting to wear on me and I wondered if I would ever stop being on the student end of things. And then, just like, that I get a call saying the job is yours. I love working with kids. It is energizing and oh so fun. I love it when the kids call me Mrs. Williams and I love telling funny stories from my classroom. Like I've been fighting a cold lately and the other day I blew my nose during class. One of my third graders giggled and commented that Mrs. Williams was using her nose for a trumpet.
      One of the topics we have been studying lately is Insects. Some insects go through a process called Incomplete Metamorphosis. The three stages of this are egg, nymph, adult. As I was thinking about this the other day, it occurred to me that in a way, as followers of The One who gave us life,  we are going through these same stages.  You see, after the egg hatches into a nymph it must molt multiple times before it finally emerges as an adult. So often in life, we go through changes and think we are finally there only to realize that there is yet another step ahead of us. This can get frustrating. But you know what, I think that we are going to be in the "Nymph stage" as long as we walk this earth. Because know matter what we learn or how we grow, we are never going to get it all figured out. And that is perfectly okay. In fact that is how we have been designed. God wants us to learn and develop and grow in Him. But until we finally meet Him face to face we will always have learning to do.
     This is truly a lesson I need to get through my head. So often, I look at myself and get frustrated. I get frustrated because I don't understand something or because I see so many imperfections in who I am. But I'm human, I'm never going to be perfect. But Jesus, the One who loves my soul and died for it wants me and you to know that we are doing okay. Keep allowing yourselves to learn and grow, allow The One who loves you to guide you through the changes and ups and downs. As new understanding comes we will molt and then do it again. We are Nymphs. But someday, we will meet Jesus in person. And on that day we will molt for the last time and be complete.  Paul says in    1Corinthians 13:12 "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."
     So, I encourage you, don't get discouraged. No matter where you are in life or in your understanding of who God is, allow yourself to rest in the hand of the One who designed the system. He will get you through. Keep growing, learning and going deeper with Him. Happy Monday




"We are all butterflies. Earth is our chrysalis.”
  ~LeeAnn Taylor