To BE

I was wondering how many times I’ve overheard positive words spoken over children. I realized that I don’t recall many of the words spoken over my life, however I do know how certain people made me feel. As a mother and grandmother, I’ve spoken a ton of affirming words over my brood. “You are strong, compassionate, able, and smart.” The building up of little hearts and souls comes without any guarantee that they’ll receive our words, but we plant them anyway.

And oh, how many times the words come with an expectation. Parents expect a child will be good, fair, loving and kind. A teacher expects a child to and be scholarly and will apply themselves to learning. An employer expects a dedicated and honest worker. And the government expects us all to be law-abiding, tax-paying citizens. These are not bad things to aspire to be. But it’s a fact that there is a myriad of expectations placed on us as we mature.

All of these qualities are gained by having experienced a character-building situation. Ever see two kids with one toy? They each must choose between being selfish or sharing.  Wisdom is gained by success and failure. And each kid will see the outcome differently. I’m so glad mistakes do not define us. We all learn as we grow.

In a spiritual way we almost see an opposite expectation in the Garden of Eden. God came and walked with His people in the cool of the day. It wasn’t to evaluate their work; it was about relationship and connection. And even later when Moses was given the laws, the fourth requirement for God’s people was that they take a Sabbath rest. To cease striving, to stop working, to let go of fulfilling one’s weekly obligations and to simply spend time with the Creator God.

Sometimes I can get lost in my eagerness to be a good mother or a supportive friend and I overcommit myself. And when my schedule is too packed, I have very little time for relationship or even reflection on relationship. It is in these moments that I hear a negative voice in my head telling me I’m not… (fill in the blank).  Not enough, not good enough, not smart enough… basically that I’m falling short of an expectation. So the questions that follows are: ‘Whose expectation am I striving to meet?’ And ‘Why do I feel so stressed over it?’

Perhaps this is the time to start speaking encouragement over ourselves. We can remember that we are made in God’s image. He will never leave or abandon us. He holds our hand in our times of trial. He is compassionate and loving toward us and nothing can separate us from His love. He sent Jesus to reconcile us to Himself. These truths ring true through every generation, even now.

And if I forget and I continue to strive and not remember who I am in Him. I can always go back to the book of Genesis and reread chapters 1-2 and see that everything God made was good. It was disobedience that led to pain and hardship in the world today.  God created a perfect paradise, and He has already opened the door for access again for all who will believe. As a father is with his child, we too can bring Him delight just with our very presence.

Oh Lord, help me to remember to sometimes just ‘sit and be’ with You. Not do, not go, but just be. And may that bring You pleasure. Amen.

Blessings all,

~Debbie G

– So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 (created in His image)

-And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day… Genesis 3:8 (togetherness)

-Keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. Ezekiel 20:20 (to rest in Him)

– Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Revelation 3:20 (relationship)

#drawingcloser #letitbeginwithme #writerthoughts