Hi Mommas ! I hope this finds you healthy and well as we’ve all been tackling the first few weeks of fall.
As God promised (or maybe “warned” is a better word), I’ve been experiencing a bit of a “valley” the last couple of months. There have absolutely been highs in the “in betweens”, but I’ve definitely experienced a few lows. Although I’m feeling like, some days, I’d love to just wallow in my self pity, this will (hopefully) be much more uplifting than that.
By no coincidence, I was listening to the radio this morning and “Do It Again” by Elevation Worship started to play. If you’ve never heard this song, I highly encourage that you take a few minutes today to sit down and listen to it. And I mean listen. Soak up every word. Believe, feel, and know the truth of the words that you’re listening to. And after that, worship the heck out of the God that we serve because of it.
We’ve all heard the saying to “step out in faith“, right? What exactly does that mean though? What does that look like? These last couple of months I think I’ve gotten a glimpse...
I’m a planner. I have a plan for just about everything. If there isn’t a plan, I get a bit “goofy” - I’m quoting my husband here (all out of love, I’m sure). But.. what happens when our perfect plans differ from God’s? Especially when the question becomes, “God, how isn’t this what’s best? How is it that you don’t agree that this is a good thing?” I’ve recognized that this is a good time to use the aforementioned, “Brittney, step. out. in. faith. Know that your Heavenly Father has your best interest in His heart.” I have to be honest though, sometimes stepping out in faith, feels more like “stumbling” out in faith. There are days where I still feel like I know that I’m asking for something good, something fulfilling. I know that I’m not asking for too much. But the thing is, Mommas.... we don’t know. And here.. I stumble. I want to believe I know what’s best. I want to believe that I know when the right timing is. But, really, I don’t. So here... I stumble.
Friends, God doesn’t condemn. He doesn’t get even. He doesn’t prove a point. He loves us, faithfully, and so, so well. He knew that we would live in a sinful, sometimes ugly, world. He promises, though, in Romans 8:28, that He will use the ugliness for good. (Not) Ironically, our pastor just taught on this a couple weekends ago. It always amazes me how He comes through and tells me exactly what I need to hear, when I need to hear it. So, I think I’ll keep on stumbling.
The song “Do It Again” that I referenced earlier says, “Your promise still stands. Great is your faithfulness. I’m still in Your hands, this is my confidence, you’ve never failed me yet.” This is the truth. This is a platform that we can all stand on and know that it’s never going to change. So, I’ll keep stumbling.
What about the hurt, though, that comes along with this truth? We know that it’s not if we will experience hurt, it’s when. As Christians, though, we can rest knowing that we never have to fight alone; we never have to hurt alone, because the battle has already been fought, and it’s been won. He is faithful and present in the vallies. He promised that He would never forsake us. Sometimes it may not feel like it, but He is so close. He is right. here. And the best news... He isn’t going anywhere. So, once again, I’ll stumble through this truth.
I feel like it’s also worth mentioning here that I feel like, as humans, we do a terrible job at comparing grief. “He has it way worse, I can’t even imagine. I have it way worse than she does, she should really stop complaining.” We don’t have to do that. We can, instead, decide to share the grief. Not only can our Savior faithfully walk alongside those that are hurting, so can we!
Friends, I won’t promise that we will like it, and we may even do so reluctantly, but let’s decide that we will keep on stumbling, stepping, and running with this beautiful truth. His beautiful truth. Together.
Until next time...
Your,
(stumbling) Christian Momma