Greater than 10...in view of 20.
It's like when I count my son's birthday. Zeplin recently turned 8...which is practically 10.
10 makes him a virtual-teenager at 13, and 13 is rounded-up to 15. 15, of course, is a shadow of 16 (driving!) and 18 (graduation!).
18...well, he may as well be 21!
Dramatic, sure, but it is a legit conversation I find rolling around my head from time to time.
As I type I am 35, very nearly 36. I may as well be 40...which is the foreshadow of 50....are you
picking-up what I'm laying down?
None of that had anything to do with anything.
Back to today's devotion.
Annie, our author of this devotional and my current girl-crush, lived in Scotland for a time... six months, I think. She loved it and the college ministry that she was doing and the experience as a whole was affirming to her. It may be of interest to know that Annie is a Southern gal, as in, from the south of the USA. (Not all readers are Americans! How clever! Shout-out if YOU are from Scotland, have Scottish ancestry, or can fake a Scottish accent like the best of 'em!)
One lovely fall day, whilst in Scotland, Annie asked God a question and, as she writes,
"...quietly in my heart, I heard God say, You can do college ministry anywhere."
This was God redirecting her life. She continues,
"And I knew. I sat back in my chair, a little in awe, and said out loud to no one and everyone, 'Oh. I'm going back home.' Back to Nashville."
I can attest that we can ask God these hard questions. Some of you know me from the ministry I had worked with at the Los Angeles Dream Center. I lived there for a couple of years and can still recall the day, vividly, when Amanda, Tyler, Dustin, and I were all in the hallway of the former Queen of Angeles hospital. We were not injured or sick, this former hospital was the location of the LA Dream Center, and we were all volunteers within the ministry.
This is us performing in The Joy of Christmas...
my face is white 'ala Big Crosby's "White Christmas"
Someone asked me if I was a lifer...would I stay here, at the DC, indefinitely?
The vivid portion is my sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. It is also my un-premeditated response: no.
Had I answered my truth, my understanding, I would have said yes. I had no desire to leave nor felt any urgency about leaving anytime soon. I loved life there. I loved the DCTD ministry and the other staff. I loved the youth and the church, Angela's Temple. I loved living in Los Angeles and working at Starbucks (Sunset and Mohawk) on the side. I loved going for runs around Echo Park. I loved Pastor Barnett. But I told my friends that I would not be there indefinitely, and that I was actually preparing for my departure.
Again with the dramatics.
The thing is this, I don't know
where that came from.
I don't remember
asking God about my time there,
but it was like my spirit knew
and -if not me- someone
just had to ask the question,
and I would know the answer.
From that hallway conversation to my driving away on a cross-country road trip with my sister, the duration was -maybe- 2 months. I don't remember exactly. I just knew it was time to ask God the question of "where next?"
We don't have to be afraid to ask God hard questions. It is like we forget Who He Is and imagine that He is sitting in Heaven, clueless.
Or we fear His response.
It takes bravery to ask the hard questions and listen for hard answers. But knowing that God works for your good and that His answers can be trusted is a great remedy for fear. -Annie
Be Brave: What is one question you've been afraid to bring to God?
Ask Him the question right now, out loud, and listen for His answer.
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