This year has been filled with memorable dates; some good, some painful. Today is one of them.
A Facebook memory popped up from this day last year when I started my #DeckDevotionals. While it was the first day of a very fruitful time with God, there was a lot more to it than that.
This was the day after the annual church bbq, which meant it was the day after my ex-fiancé had sent me a text about wanting me to keep fighting for “us.” My mind was spiraling for a moment and I was emotionally exhausted.
I was in the middle of beginning to make decisions regarding most important aspects of my life - relationships, ministry, career. And I knew that if I did not bring it all before God, it was going to get ugly very fast.
So the next morning, I sat myself on the deck and told God I wasn’t moving until I heard from Him. This continued all week long. I needed Him to tell me what to do with ministry - stay or move on. I needed Him to tell me what to do with this man - stay or move on. I needed Him to tell me what to do with my career (long story) - stay or move on. If there was one thing I’d learned at this point, it’s that I did not want to be where God didn’t want me.
He gave me every answer I needed, but it goes FAR beyond that.
On August 21st, one week after I started this deck devotional time, my family’s world turned upside down, and we’ve spent the last year handling it, together.
So today, as I look back, I see that God used that week to speak to my heart in a big way, at a critical time. But beyond that, He used that week to clear my heart of the clutter so it would be ready for what came the following week.
I was in a place where I wasn’t drowning in my own questions; my mind wasn’t spiraling, and focused on myself. I was ready. God made my heart clear and ready.
And I didn’t even realize how it all lined up until today. How good is God?
“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
Colossians 1:17
This day is another stone in the river bed.