Saturday Evening Thoughts...

I witnessed again (for the second year in a row) an amazing thing. Street pole vaulting. How on earth can guys and gals fling themselves 18 feet into the air by just a pole?? And don't they lose their stomachs every time they free-fall to the mat? And aren't they afraid of losing an eye by the end of their pole that tends to fall in every which way?? Okay, maybe it would just be me that would lose an eye...but still!

So the amazement of this got me thinking. The past few nights, thinking has gotten me in trouble and cost me many, many hours of sleep. While I was away in Alaska, I often thought and borderline worried that I wouldn't have any work to come home to. I managed to get everything done before I left. And now that I'm home, I just might have more than I can handle! But, the work and the Lord is good because there are things around the house that need to be repaired and replaced and again, while praying I felt the assurance of my Father that He will provide!

And in Him doing so, I've felt, in my flesh, so very overwhelmed. But only because I'm looking at the to-do list through my eyes and not His.

While watching these men and women catapult themselves into the blue sky, God's words filled my heart and reminded me "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" and "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord Almighty."

And I was encouraged and reminded that although the weight of the tasks before me seem unbearable, Christ has gone before me. God is granting me these opportunities to meet new people in these many photo assignments, to grow in making a gut-wrenching decision, and to show others the truth that it is Christ who enables me to persevere and not my own abilities.

Isaiah 58:11
The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Oh, how I very much want to be like a spring whose water never fails. Never runs out. Never runs dry. Always ready to spill forth and fill up those who need encouragement, need a friend and need to hear the truth of Salvation that comes from Christ alone.

Accomplishing these tasks and making these decisions seemed so impossible before but now I know that Christ is my strength and even though I messed up and drank a sweet tea from McDonalds and therefore will not sleep again tonight(!) I will be able to persevere tomorrow because He is my strength!

And I look forward to doing it all with the grace and love of Christ shining brightly from my face. Today has been a day that has physically worn me out, but at the end of myself I find Christ and that's the best place to be.