John 15

Sunday, July 21, 2013

As I write this, I'm totally getting my Irish on with some tea, Mumford and Sons and wearing my most bogan, old track pants and jumper. My phone is on silent and I only intend on answering if my best friend, Kathy, was to call me. Everyone else can hold that thought for tonight. I will get back to you tomorrow.

This week has really tried hard to punch me in the face and a couple of times, it felt like it was getting the best of me. However, I know at the end of it all, Jesus is right there and knows what he's doing. I'm thankful for the wisdom of some great friends, particularly Kathy, Candace, Michelle and Shona this week. They've put up with my grumbling, thrown chocolate at me, given me hugs and shared their godly wisdom with me as well and for that, I thank God for each of them.

It has been one really big rollercoaster ride, which is an ironic metaphor, especially considering I'm actually not allowed to ride rollercoasters, so I can't speak from experience on that one. I really need to come up with better metaphors in future. It's like one day I'm smiling with the world, fist-pumping and feeling like I can dominate anything set out in front of me and the next day, the smallest thing can happen and I'm struggling not to break down publicly. Therefore I've decided it best to stay home tonight and also because I'm physically unwell. When I refuse chocolate and don't watch all the Dockers game, you know I'm unwell. I started feeling sick last night with flu-like symptoms and I'm feeling pretty average with it today, so didn't think it was worth the risk of going to church, especially in the cold.

I was texting with Michelle earlier and she had a wise perspective on it all that has left me feeling a lot better. She said it sounds like I'm going through a John 15 season. In John 15 in the bible, Jesus is speaking about trees. He mentions that sometimes it's necessary for some branches that are dying to be cut off so that stronger branches can grow. Lately it feels to me like some things are changing in my life and as the old saying goes, change is a necessary evil. It's only evil because it's uncomfortable. If we always did what was comfortable, we would never learn anything, we'd never grow and never get anywhere in life because we'd be stuck. Sounds like a boring way to live to me.

"Easy living, you're not much life for me. Easy dying, hey you look just about the same. Would you please take me off your list, easy living?" - Switchfoot, The Beautiful Letdown

Seriously, if we only always did what was easy and comfortable, we wouldn't really have fun in this life either. Therefore if God takes me through something that's tough, especially if I know for a fact that God is right there leading me through it all, I will hold on to him through it, follow him with his word and keep close to him in prayer. I will also keep in good contact with those amazing men and women he's put in my life to give me wise advice through these inconsistent seasons that try and push me around. I may bruise, but I will never break and God has promised me this. Yes it hurts when we go through seasons of change and growth, but they are definitely for our own good, especially when God is the one leading us through them.

I'd like to end today with a challenge: If you are feeling God leading you through one of those seasons and you're a bit scared because you think it will hurt, embrace it and let it take its course within you. It will be rough and won't be all nice, but God will never leave you at all and he will do it with grace and love as well. You'll be better off for facing it than ignoring it because if it's a God-thing, you're only delaying the inevitable anyway. Face your fears and punch them in their dirty face! :)