A New Season
Hello again, Heart-chords family! Spring is on its way here in Georgia! Warmer days have shone themselves on occasion, petunias have been stocked in the store garden centers, and the first splashes of color can be seen on the branches of trees as we drive down the road. Winter is awakening.
With the turning of the seasons though
has come the blossoming of a new season in my own life and the bearing of new
fruit. The deadness of winter is fading
away, and the Lord has taken me into a season of renewal now, of bringing me
into the life and youthfulness again that I had allowed to die during my
dormant season. The bitterness and
brittleness in my life were made pliable again by brokenness, and I was ripe
for a new casting of my vessel.
As many of you will remember, at the
close of last year, 2012, the Lord took me on a journey of discovering the
great depth of His unfailing love for us all… for me. He’s now beginning to reveal to me the
process of His great plans and is opening my eyes as I look back to see the
stepping stones He led me over. Although
I didn’t realize it at the time, that lesson was only the foundation for the
lesson He’s teaching me now in the spring of this year. I mentioned before that hope is my new lesson
in this season. It is, but He’s also
given me another lesson to learn simultaneously. True love.
Some would balk that I can’t
possibly be learning what true love is- after all, I’ve never even been in a
romantic relationship before- but it’s the truth. Like all girls, I knew what infatuation was
and I had accepted it as the world’s definition of love. But now the Lord is opening my heart and my
mind to understand what He calls love.
In the “love passage” of His Word,
the Lord gives us sixteen attributes of love.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is
not proud. It is not rude, it is not
self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices
with the truth. It always protects,
always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.” (1Cor 13:4-8)
This is God’s definition of true love, and one by one, He’s teaching me
each facet and helping me to embrace them into my heart and into my life.
I had heard before
that love changes everything, but it really does, doesn’t it? Through the journey of this lesson, the Lord
has brought a refreshing vitality to my life now. Every day is new and exciting in its own way
as He continues to prepare my heart for my future occupation as a wife and
mother someday. He’s given an
opinionated, stubborn girl a submissive desire for a man’s leadership. The girl that found it an inconvenience just
to unload the dishwasher now wakes up anticipating five o’clock when it’s time
to make dinner again. My bedroom used to
be my favorite room in the house; evenings when I would close my door, turn my
music on, and poke around on my computer used to be my favorite time of day. Now the kitchen has become my favorite place
to be and housework- cooking, cleaning, baking, doing laundry- has become my
favorite pastimes. It’s a busy,
exhausting, and never-ending work, but nothing can compare to the satisfaction
and contentment I feel at the end of the day as I reflect on my
productivity. I’m doing what I was meant
to do now, preparing to fulfill the noble calling of a housewife that God has
ordained for women. It’s our place in
the family and our part in supporting our society. As I crossed the milestone of leaving behind
my teenhood and embracing young adulthood, I began to feel the void of that
womanly role not being fulfilled in my life.
Love has inspired me to prepare for
keeping a home for my husband someday, but the selflessness of love keeps me
learning the skills even on the days when it isn’t “fun.” There are days when there are other things I
could be doing instead and probably enjoying more, so why do I devote my time
to learning the skills of a homemaker when no one is forcing me to? Because of love. I’m willing to sacrifice my time and my own
preferences for my future husband’s benefit someday because of love. And this love is overflowing and affecting my
relationship with my parents. I find
because of my love for them, I’ve become more eager to help and serve
them. My desire to learn homemaker
skills from my mom has strengthened my appreciation for her and has brought a
new connection between us as we make memories together in the kitchen and
around the house. The “mothering
instincts” of a wife and mother that God’s arousing in my heart has affected
the way I treat my father. My respect
for him has grown, and I run to accept opportunities to serve him and “take care
of him,” to take advantage of the little things as a way to show him my love. True love is selfless and puts others before
yourself.
Genuine love is patient. We think of patience as being the quality of
not getting easily frustrated, but the Lord’s teaching me that the patience of
love also means being willing to wait for its ripeness, being able to resign
yourself whole-heartedly to wait for God’s perfect timing for love to bud. Love perseveres and gives the benefit of the
doubt even when you don’t have all the answers.
Love trusts unquestioningly.
Sincere and authentic love is pure and demands to be kept sacred;
marriage is called holy matrimony for a reason. Real love is more than a feeling, for love is
faithful and loyal even when the excitement of the love emotion has tamed. Love is not an emotional high; love is a deep
admiration and respect. Love draws you
closer to God, not detracts from your relationship with Him. It rejoices in the other’s joy and shares in
the other’s sorrows. Love allows you the
freedom to be the person God has created you to be; it doesn’t arouse a need to
impress but gives confidence in being yourself.
It accepts you as you are, even with all your faults. Love gives a sense of security and comfort,
and it sees life not through rosy-colored glasses but sensibly and responsibly;
its perspective of life is viewed through an eternal lens. Love desires to support and encourage physically,
verbally, and with prayer through all trials and hardships in this life.
True
love has been God-ordained since the creation of Adam and Eve. The Lord created the beautiful thing we call
love, and authentic love- love which has been God-given and orchestrated- has
His smile of approval shining down on it and bears fruit in the life of whose heart
it is sprouting; the work of the Lord can always be tested by the fruit it
bears. Love also brings hope and
healing. See? I did say my lesson for this season
was hope. But there’s still so much more
about love I have yet to learn.
Love
does change everything. Through
this lesson, God has brought me out of a stale rut in my relationship with Him
and has brought me into new season, fresh and glowing like the fragrance of blossoming
spring just budding. But I had to be
willing to allow Him to take me into the new season. For animals hibernating in the winter, spring
is a time of waking up from lethargic slumber and of shedding their heavy
winter coats at the promise of warm weather again. To embrace the new season God wants to bring
you into, you have to be willing to make some changes. You might have to give up some things- shed
some things you’ve been holding onto and leave them behind. You have to be willing to wake up from the
easy slumber and follow Him when He asks you to step out from your comfort zone
and do some things that aren’t necessarily easy. You have to be willing to endure some
discomfort and inconvenience. But it’s
worth it, I’m learning. This new season
He’s brought me into in my life has been one of the best times yet that I’ve
encountered in my journey, and I feel closer to Him now than I ever have
before, knowing without a doubt that I’m walking in unity with His will. I sense something big about to break on the
horizon as God awakens His people in this time and brings them into a new
season in their relationships with Him.
My deadness is breaking away and budding into fresh new life as vitality
runs through my veins again, and it’s my sincere prayer and desire that each
one of you, dear readers, will lay hold of the courage to embrace the change
the Lord wants to stir in your hearts as well.
To surrender control, loosen your grip, and say, “Okay, here I am. It’s all yours. Take me where you will.” A new season is breaking forth, and God is
awakening His people. Let Him deepen
your intimacy with Him and bring you into the new place He wants you to dwell.
Ecclesiastes
3:1-8
*In this new
season in which the Lord has brought me, I’m reminded of a song we began
singing in my church fairly recently, This Is What
You Do by Bethel Live. It’s a happy song with an upbeat rhythm whose
lyrics describe my new season with remarkable similarity.
**Those of you that have been following my blog from its beginning will probably remember that last April I received the opportunity to participate in an event called McKeever’s First Ride. Again this year, I’ll be volunteering at the event, and if you live in the area, I would love to have you join me in participating in this beautiful day of ministry. McKeever’s First Ride is an event specifically designed to help encourage amputees in their situation and to boost their confidence in themselves through the emotional therapy of working with horses. However, there are numerous opportunities to provide your help in the event even if you have no experience whatsoever with horses. If you’re an amputee and would like to volunteer, the invitation is extended to you as well. Volunteers must be at least sixteen-years-old though. The event will be held at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds on April 20th, 2013. The deadline for volunteer registration is March 29th. For more information, photos, and registration, visit the McKeever’s First Ride website at www.mckeeversfirstride.com and the website of its sponsor Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at www.choa.org. Should you choose to come and be a part of this day as a volunteer or as a participant if you’re an amputee, you will be tremendously blessed by the opportunity to serve. I speak from experience. To read an account of my personal experience of the event last year, read my post from April 2012 titled Follow-up to McKeever’s First Ride.
~We’ve all heard of the phrase “pulling on her/ his heartstrings,” but heart-chords? I was struggling to decide what to name my blog. I wanted it to be a name that was both creative and meaningful. As I pondered, my gaze fell upon my acoustic guitar where it stands in my bedroom, and the Lord reminded me that our hearts- our lives- are instruments. They are constantly in song, but what melody our heart plays is each of our own decisions. They can play a melody for praise or for entertainment. A musician selects his songs according to his audience. So do we. Whether our audience is the world or the Lord, our song will be different. This blog is designed to first, increase my awareness in finding God and His guidance in my every day and second, to share the music lessons He teaches me in tuning my heart to learn the chords of praise He longs to play on my heart-instrument. Music is a powerful tool. Use it for His glory. “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:3
I rejoice with you in your springtime. You are a dear and precious daughter in whom I delight in. Making memories with you brings me great joy. Thank you for the challenge to enter into 'my' spring. I love you.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Momma! I so enjoy our times together too and look forward to making many more! I love you most! :)
ReplyDelete