Lessons

Amazing, how no matter what I face, I always have lessons to learn! Lessons about who I am, who I am becoming, who my God is, about my life, my goals, my relationships... This process has been no different. Some of the lessons are familiar, apparently I don't have them down yet! Some were new ones this time around. Some have involved others, some I've had to face on my own. I have coveted prayers during this year, but not just for the house stuff...for the me stuff too!

One of these lessons I would like to share, just a bit of. I keep revisiting this one, but this time I had a new piece. I am not the center of the universe! I know, shocker, right! I seem to need to be responsible for everything and everyone and look, no I hunt for what I've done or said or should have done or said to make it better, to prevent it, to keep peace and harmony. I have to consciously work at letting things go. I repeat to myself more often than I'd like to admit "It's not about me!" That person being mean on the phone, not about me! The cashier cursing, not about me! The phone message I left that hasn't been returned and my husband's bad day at work, not about me! Most of what I encounter really has little to do with me. I have to let it go!

I cannot own everyone else's feelings, emotions, bad days, challenges, struggles...I can only own mine.

I can, however, support my husband, children, family, friend, or even stranger in working through their feelings. I can be a listening ear. I can be a shoulder to cry on. I just might be the one God uses to meet that need.

And this is the new piece. The thing I knew, but didn't really "get." If I am truly His temple, His hands and feet, if I embody the risen Christ, then it is never about me and always about Him. Who does He need to minister to today. What does He need to say in this moment. It isn't about what Jesus would do...but rather, what He is doing in and through me.

When I'm facing a long line at the store, a sales person with a bad attitude, someone being rude, I will ask God to bless the people I'm encountering. I ask Him to give me the words, the actions, even the expressions that this person needs from Him in the situation. I know, it sounds a little strange, but it totally changes my attitude, my outlook and my experience. What could be a nasty situation has all the potential to bless...and I want to be a part of that!

I invite you to join me in this, to see each situation and encounter as raw material for God to use. And please, let me know what happens!

I also encourage you to look into The Ultimate Journey from Christ-Life Solution, based out of Des Moines, Iowa. Their three phase class is life changing! (Feel free to ask me more about that, too!)