Eat spinach right? That is how Popeye did it. We know though that true strength comes from within our soul. When I was younger my mom got me to eat spinach by telling me that Michael Jackson ate it with macaroni and cheese. Now, now before you judge me remember this was many, many years ago. Ha ha but it worked! I tell you this story just as a random fact about me and to present you with this video. Want to change your world? Michael nails it on how we can do that.
I’m back because of these words on my Dashboard:
“Let God bring your heart out of hiding”
I was floored when I read this as one of the top searches.
Dang.
So, I come with a wounded heart.
And though I present my heart to you with fear and trembling, my hope is for healing.
1 Peter 3:6
Like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
Here is an update from my previous post in which I compared my heart to a torn down/burned down liquor store. As you can see nothing has been built on that piece of land. What resides there? From the picture you see weeds. There are also two signs for political advertisements. This time in the picture I got a glimpse of what is in the rearview mirror… a church, pedestrian crossing sign, and rain. I think that this picture symoblizes a part of the restoration process that I struggle with and it’s called waiting. Walls have been torn down, and you feel like a pile of rubble, it’s time for rebuilding right? Not always. God has His timing for everything.
Which brings me to the next part of my picture, the rearview mirror, which I think captures what can happen during the waiting- looking behind. Seeing the storms in life, the rain that poured down and almost felt like you were being washed away. Wondering if you will make it through the pain of the next storm. Also in this picture is a church. Do you ever think church is for the perfect? The lie that causes impostering restoration. What about the pedestrian crossing? This could describe our minds reasoning to stop here for the others to cross and journey to restoration. It would be much easier to sit at the sign and watch, right?
Sometimes I want to give up. It’s the encouragement of people who love me that keeps me going. In our waiting let’s look forward to our promise from God never giving up or looking back.
I am struggling with the photo thing with no patience because of lack of energy. However part of my picture showed up, well enough to share with you what I was hoping to. This rubble used to be a liquor store on L street. Many of times in the past I have sat at a light staring at the store having mini conversations with God about how I knew this store was bringing destruction in people’s lives. My heart knows about addiction and destruction. I mean most the times I have gone past that building I was leaving Living Well. Those people in that liquor store were no different than me, looking for some way to numb the pain. Except I knew about Jesus and I have him in my heart. So I was hoping for that liquor store to become something else, a place that brought hope instead of destruction. Then the craziest thing happened… the liquor store was shut down, no longer in business. THEN my jaw dropped when I saw this, it was no longer just shut down, but tore down! CRUSHED! Wow. Could it be that I knew the deeper plans of God, or that He listened to me all those nights while sitting at that red light across from this what used to be a liquor store? Maybe, but I also know this picture represents my heart, my life. Though you crush, slay me, still I will trust in you is what Job said in the bible.
Many walls in my heart have been torn down, crushed, broken so God could rebuild me how He originally created me to be. This is still a process. I know that He began a good work in me and He will finish it. Sometimes it hurts to be a construction project. Sometimes I feel like I am forever going to be like a pile of rubble. But the truth is I am restored. I am restored. And so is this old liquor store which I believe is going to be used for God’s glory! Amen. Thanks for reading!
