I love to write. I always have. My freshman year of high school, I had one of those special teachers…Dr. Calhoun. He was tough, he was exacting, but at the same time he taught us and taught us well. It was 9th grade English and I fell in love with words. When I entered 10th grade, I realized that all I had to do was wait a week or so and there were students petitioning to exit his class and I could transfer in which I took full advantage of my Sophomore, Junior and Senior years. Yep, 4 years of Dr. Calhoun. He taught us words and, even more so, taught us life.
In both my senior year and my first year of college, I took creative writing. I don’t remember the teachers name but I do remember their encouragement.
Some 40 years later, I learned new words. I learned the Word. God’s Word. And I still love writing, but I struggle with one simple thing. Who am I to write about God? What expertise do I have? I’ve been stumbling over this concept for over ten years. Yet, and this is somewhat a big yet, are we not called to share God’s word?
Currently, I have no answer to my dilemma.
As I go through my days, I often see God moments. It’s not that they jump out and scream, “Hey, I am a God moment…snap to!” It’s more often a whisper. I hear God’s “voice” in two ways, never seems to be in between. It’s either a whisper, caught in the wind, blowing by me. “Hey Deb, are you noticing this moment? I’m here.” It’s where God is moving, shaping, molding me or another. It’s as if he is quietly working away in the corner as we laughingly think we are running our own life. We travel along on this journey thinking I got this. God rolls his eyes knowing if He let go of the rope, we’d fall flat on our face.
Then there are the times that God is loud, not a couple decimals up, but painfully put my hands over my ears loud. “Seriously God, I got this”. I’m headed the right way, doing what I think is correct. And there He is. L.O.U.D. He’s not yelling, but He certainly is commanding. And if I am listening, if I am not holding my hands over my ears or letting the child in my head guide me, then He will use me. For His word, for His children, for His purpose.
As I reflect on 2016, much of the year revolved around truth. Truth in the media, truth in our candidates, personal truth, truth defined where we stand. Where do you choose to live? Do you live in truth? Hopefully 2016 shaped some of that for you.
We received a Christmas card that said, “Be the joy you want to see in the world.” Be the joy. For me that is the word for 2017. #Joy
True joy can only be attained as part of the fruit of the Spirit. To be joyful in the Lord brings light to the world. Evil cannot exist next to joy. Evil, like a fungus, needs darkness to grow. Let your joy bring light!
What do I want for 2017? I want to listen more. I want to walk where He leads. I want to speak with His word. I want to speak joy, experience joy, share joy and in all ways remain joyful. May 2017 be a joyful year for all of us.
Psalm 100:
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
