“Be ready to lose it all to protect your peace.”
As noted in my earlier blogs, I’ve been doing a lot of adulting these past few years. One thing I realize is that if something is upsetting my peace, either change it or accept it. Nothing changes by complaining about what is happening to you. I’ve been figuring out what some of the things I am willing to accept in my life and what has to change, because my peace is more important than other people’s convenience. Like Jesus’s parable about the unjust judge, the judge makes a right decision in the widow’s case not because it was the right thing to do but because he was afraid the widow would strike him.
Fortunately, God is not like the unjust judge. If your complaint is just, a good outcome will eventually come from your complaints to him. However, it may not be on your preferred timeline. Yet, no matter how you slice it, God’s timeline is better than your own. He is looking at the whole picture of your life, where you are only looking at a brief section of it. I realize that if God gave me everything I wanted, when I wanted it, I would have ruined the gift He gave me by either my selfishness or lack of maturity.
A quote I heard this week is that “If you mishandle God’s power, you can’t ask for more of it.” God knew all my prayers and requests in the past would have ended up being mishandled by me. Therefore, I did not receive them. I am glad that I didn’t get what I wanted in hindsight, because although they are what I wanted, they were not what I needed. I had to figure out who I really was and what I really wanted from life. In the end, I realized that what I wanted was whatever God wills for me – good or bad – because when I try to go after what I thought would make me happy, my life became lonelier and less fulfilling. How do you figure out what is God’s will? If you feel peace in a decision, you’re probably following God’s will. It also doesn’t hurt to pray either!
On reflecting on the ending of Lent next week, I had three things I was trying to do this Lent – almsgiving (win); fasting (failed – forgot what I was supposed to avoid); and prayer (failed – the prayer time I wanted to add, didn’t happen). I don’t think that my Lent failed, though. The purpose is to use this time to get in right relationship w/God. Did I talk to God more this Lent? Yes. Did I listen to Him? Not sure but we’re still talking, which is good!
Until next time!
R.R. Peace, Author and Poet 