We live on a pond that offers the most amazing wildlife views. We watch large cranes swallow fish, enjoy otters scaring the geese out of the water, and can feed turtles anytime of the day. The sun slowly rises over it in the morning and it‘s a shady respite in the late afternoon. For my wandering anxious mind, it is a calming haven.
Last evening we decided to take some bread out to the turtles. Judah has been working hard on his bread throwing and made it to the water for the first time! The evening took a turn, as those that include toddlers can. When we told him that he couldn't eat the stale bread meant for the fish and turtles, he threw himself on the ground and began his toddler tantrum. So, Josh and I did what all great parents do and we ignored him for a moment to finish throwing the bread to the hungry and fascinating turtles. To be quick, Josh just chucked the last slice in the pond whole. Then, we saw the most absurd thing; two turtles fighting over one small, ripped off, piece of bread crust, while an entire slice floated by them a foot away. I mean, they clawed and they bit each others ankles over this tiny crumb, while a whole meal was available.
As we were walking back up to the house, I told Josh that I felt there was a lesson in what just happened. We laughed. Little did I know, the lesson would be for me. And, maybe for you too.
How often is God looking down on me just to find me squandering after a torn off, soggy, quarter inch piece of stale bread, when he’s offering me a fresh baked loaf!? If I’d only just look up, I’d see it, right there. If I’d only slow down long enough to breathe in its fresh aromas, I’d notice. But, alas, I speed ahead, head down and heart racing to fight for the soggy morsel.
Have you ever tried endlessly to make something work, that's just...I don't know...broken? The only true home it has is the trash can. But, I leave said object on my counter top for weeks in hopes of fixing it or creating something new from it. Eventually, it ends up in the landfill and I’ve wasted my time and energy on what was clearly broken and not useful. Tell me I’m not alone!
Friend, whether you are 15 or 95 God is calling you to something wildly outside of what you could ever fathom. But, in order to hear this call we have to leave the stale piece of bread, we have to look up and around us, and we have to have a wild determination to find it.
Step one : Leave the stale piece of bread.
One way to realize your calling is to pay attention to the closed doors. This isn't to say that you shouldn't fight for the desires of your heart, but to acknowledge when it is God who shuts something down.
Sometimes this may come in a nudge or a feeling you get when you are around someone. A side of you that comes out when you are in a place or with a person that just isn't the best version of you.
For a long time, I lived a life without boundaries. I fought for friendships that God had sweetly given me for just a season. I aimed to please everyone at all times, and thus, losing myself. My stale piece of bread was what people thought of me. It mattered more to me than anything. I could never hear God over the noise of the world and the opinions of everyone around me. I had to simplify my life. Simplify my time, the people I chose to fill it with, and even the stuff that distracted me.
God was calling me to a better life. One that fixed my heart and eyes on Him.
Step two : Look up and around.
Josh and I moved to Nashville and lived there for 3 long years. I hated it. I hated the way it looked and smelled. I hated the clothing style and the noise. Truthfully, it wasn't so much the hate I had for this place, as much as it was the hole in my heart, leaving Jacksonville created.
I was closed off to the idea that God could use me here, because well, I didn't belong here! And soon enough we would get to leave.
A friend of mine sent me a painted quote one day that said, "Bloom where you are planted." She said it made her think of me. It really rocked me. I was doing anything but blooming, because I was refusing to let one centimeter of rooting occur. I'd go on runs just to cry and ask God if He even saw me down here!? As if I was in some far off wilderness without water. (Lord, forgive me for that! How dramatic?).
That quote stayed with me. As the days turned to weeks, Jesus so patiently showed me that I could indeed bloom in a place I didn't want to be, because it was Him who brought us here. I made friends, we found a church family, served the homeless weekly, and our marriage grew stronger.
Wherever you are right now, look around you. Who's in your sphere of influence? Who do you see regularly? What opportunities to serve are already available in your community? What needs are present in the place you are in?
How about your season of life? More than just the place, but where are you in life? Are you married for 10+ years? Can you invite a newly wedded couple over to speak truth and life over their marriage? Are you an empty nester and able to love a new mom through her sleepless nights? Maybe you are single, and your freedom allows for serving opportunities that others don't have right now.
Ask God to show you how He is calling you, right here, in this place, right now. He will.
Step three : Be wild
If you believe that God would only call you to the thing that makes sense or seems wise, let me remind you of a few times that wasn’t true. Peter walked on water (Matthew 14:29). That didn't make sense. Yet, we continue to read and preach and be motivated by this crazy obedience today. If God asked Peter to walk on a bridge, he may have been obedient to do it, but surely we wouldn't be astounded by it. God called him to be wildly brave, with eyes fixed on a wildly capable God.
Matthew 4:18-20, "And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him."
We read past this so fast but think about it. What would it take for you to immediately stand up from your work desk and leave. Quit! Buh-bye! They didn't leave their fishing job with a promise of better pay or higher status. Quite the opposite. But, Jesus said so, and they did.
Is your heart in tune with His voice enough that you'd hear Him if He called you to something that looked so foolish? No one would understand, but your heart would know, it is what you have to do.
God is calling us to a risky and wild faith! it’s anything but boring and anything but predictable. Are you willing to put aside the stale bread to take on the fresh baked cake? Even if you can't see it yet?
Can you pause from your hurried life, to breathe and look around to see how God could use the place you are in today? And, finally, would you commit to the wild side? If you choose to let Jesus lead your life you can plan on looking a little foolish. You can plan on looking a bit untamed and unorthodox. But, you can also plan on a life that is full. Peace and joy will follow you in this call to the wild side.
Be wild my friends,
Jessica
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