FINDING GOD IN YOUR DAILY-NESS

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19

A text popped up on my phone yesterday from a ballet friend. (It’s kind of funny how dancers have friends and they have “ballet friends”.) This ballet friend of mine is one of those gals who just reflects Jesus.  She doesn’t have to try and reflect Jesus. She just does! It’s hard to put words to it, but when I see her, talk to her, watch her dance…she reflects Jesus, and I often ponder how I hope/wish/pray that somehow, someway…I might reflect some of Jesus to someone.

Her text asked me a simple question…”What’s new?” I started to text her back, but then I got stumped. There’s so much in, “what’s new?”. Where do I start? Nothing particularly life-changing has happened since we last talked, but I feel like my heart has softened more to the idea of just enjoying the daily stuff with Jesus as my companion. If I had answered her back truthfully, my text might have looked something like this….

“We are getting a puppy! Watching my boys giggles is theraputic for my soul! My sister had her first baby, and my heart is just so happy for my sister to become a mama…and the baby’s name is Rose just to make things even cuter! (My oldest son, Camp, is holding Rose in the picture above) Of course I still miss the ballet studio sometimes and find myself stepping through pique arabesque to get something in my pantry some days, but I am beyond relieved and thankful to have a simple life of being available to pick up my boys from school and just be mom. Navigating my dreams with God…that’s what we do, and it makes my heart dance always. We planted a garden in our backyard and it makes my heart full! God keeps reminding me to pray about ANYTHING. God keeps reminding me that His peace comes when I pray something through. I love sharing my devotionals with these readers out in cyber space even though I can’t see them or hug them, and even though I get caddy-wonk about the online world sometimes. Those gals are precious to me. Every once in awhile, I’ll just have a day where I feel a little overly emotional and out of sorts, but I have a husband who just steadies me…I don’t know…it’s like God gave me him to make me laugh, help me grow, and to help me stand when I get all caddy-wonk. I still can’t believe I got to marry him. He sent me to Barnes and Noble one night recently after the flu and a fever virus spent nearly two weeks in our house. He knew I needed to browse aisles of books for a little break :) We spend a lot of time with our big family, and I am just so thankful for little things like family dates to Mi Cocina, cheering on kiddos at baseball games, celebrating new nieces and nephews and just knowing we are surrounded by people we love. I got all gung-ho about “working hard” on my manuscript that is due in September, and then the message of the book came sweeping over me reminding me that God doesn’t ask me to chase, stress, and strive, but to rest, abide, and pray…and so I am. I fold laundry a lot. I wash dishes a lot. I refill sippy cups a lot…but I wouldn’t change it. I sit on my back porch…a lot. I walk the same route in our neighborhood most days, not really for exercise, more for soul-refueling. Music gives me a boost when I am cooking dinner. We read stories at night for bedtime, lift up friends, puppies, and math tests to God in prayer, and when the alarm goes off the next morning, we pop chocolate chip waffles in the toaster.”

That’s just the short of it. My “what’s new” is full and good and overwhelming all at the same time. My “what’s new” is full of imperfection, mistakes, and lots of grace in-between, full of mess-ups, start overs, trials, and busy and reminders to slow down again. There’s so much in a “what’s new with you?”, isn’t there?

So, I ask you, what’s new with you, dear one?

What’s going on in your heart? How is your heart, really?

I just want to encourage you today that God is in all your “what’s new?” All that your “what’s new?” entails….celebrations, struggles, joys, issues, hang-ups, hurts, and habits. In our daily happenings, we can experience God. In our daily interactions with others, we can experience God. When we’re down, we can invite God in. When we’re up, we can invite God in. When we see our daily stuff as walking with God, it’s all walking with God, and it’s all new and it’s all good. When we praise God and talk to God throughout our day, the thing is, it blesses Him, but it also turns around and blesses us. Only He could think of that.

Even the hard stuff becomes okay because the hard stuff pulls us right back to seeking God. We seek Him again and the joy floods back in. Joy is found in the seeking of God. Peace is found in the praying to God about our things all the way through to His peace that awaits us on the other side of prayer. Prayer is God’s prescription for us for peace. God answers. God still does miracles…I believe He still does the big, impossible kinds of miracles, and I believe He does the kind of miracles we need on a daily basis…miracles of feeling His joy, feeling His peace, and experiencing His presence.

I texted my precious friend back something short and simple rather than the super, long version…grateful for her friendship and so thankful I have her as a sister in Christ. And I went back to life as usual…simple things…that’s where the good life is.

The places no one sees you walking with Jesus are the places where your soul finds the deepest kind of rest and joy. The prayers you pray when no one sees are the moments you find the deepest kind of peace. The in-your-heart-moments you nearly without thought toss up a praise to God above for things like giggles, moments, and sweet pleasures…just because…are the doorways to more joy.

What’s new is that in all our things, God keeps pursuing us in the every day things. He’s always there. What’s new is fresh realization that He’s never leaving. What’s new is that He MADE us for dancing through life with Him.

I don’t know what’s new with you, but I know God is at work in, around, and through you. May you enjoy the peace of God in a new way as you bring all your answers of what’s really new with you…right to your Savior. He’s got new, fresh joy, peace, and perspective waiting for you, sweet one.