I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world.
MOTHER TERESA
Afew years ago, God urged me to start journaling—to write out all the passions He placed within me and all the goals I wanted to accomplish, which He then expanded into something a thousand times more exciting than what I planned. I wrote down the good and the bad and the fears that I still held tightly as I slid back and forth between feelings of inadequacy and bravery. All that free writing so early in the morning before the sun said hello became the foundation for what now rests in your hands.
I learned long ago that we have an exciting God who loves to send us on adventures to fulfill our part of His high purpose—there is something specific about ourselves He wants us to understand and embrace and embody. Psalm 46:5 (NIV) says, “God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.” This doesn’t mean our purpose on earth, Christ’s plan for us, is always simple or easy. But it does mean He is always with us as we maneuver in and through our God-shaped adventure.
Do you trust Him enough to make the leap?
My grandparents lived in a little house built in the early 1900s that rested at the top of Queen Anne, a well-loved Seattle neighborhood with roots as deep as the hydrangeas in the front yards. In the dining room, the nearly floor-to-ceiling picture windows showcased the most gorgeous eagle’s-nest view of the city below. It was the perfect perch to watch boaters parade by on Lake Washington in rain or shine (a little rain doesn’t bother Seattleites) and my favorite place to watch fireworks on the Fourth of July. On the windowsill sat a small, light version of binoculars, known as a monocular, and it fit my small hands well. This one-eyed version was my favorite as a child, and my brother, Erik, and I called it a periscope, one that freed our imaginations to soar. We pretended we were pirates looking for treasure as we learned how to focus in on a boat or the opening of the Fremont Bridge below. Closing one eye and bringing the device to the other, we’d see nothing but blurry scenes. Yet with a few twists of our wrists, it all came into clear focus, so close that we’d reach out expecting to touch it.
This is how I see God’s hand in the callings He’s given me. At first I see nothing but blur and haze as I struggle to view what I want to see. And then His strong hand turns that little knob and everything becomes perfectly clear.
In Genesis 1:3, God said, “Let there be light,” and those four words continue on today in my life and yours. Light will never be pushed away and fail to shine on the earth. The ocean will never forget how far it’s allowed to come and flood the entire earth.
And God will never forget the plan He designed you for when He knit you in your mother’s womb. Out of every place in this beautiful world and out of every point in our earth’s history, you are here now.
For a reason.
We have this one wild and precious life—let’s live it fully as God envisioned at the beginning. The Bible so aptly includes the story of Esther, a common girl who suddenly found herself queen, who was born “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14 NIV) as she was strategically placed in the unique position to save her people. And you, too, sweet friend, were born for such a time as this.
God allowed certain experiences in my life to expand my love for Him into a full-blown passion. Life changed in a way that only He could orchestrate through pouring His power into my life. God and I still chuckle together about how He is changing my fears into passions and my “I’d never” moments into “I can’t get enough” experiences. If you’ve ever woken up one morning feeling that God may be asking more of you, then I pray He speaks to you through my story.
Out of every place in this beautiful world and out of every point in our earth’s history, you are here now.
Allow Christ to adjust your monocular as He brings your calling and future into focus. Grab another cup of coffee and settle in as we learn together what exactly His calling means for each of us.
