My guest today in our "Comparing Ourselves to Others...and what it does to us" series is Christine Wright. Christine and I "met" last year on Holley Gerth's God-sized Dream Team and let me tell you, she is one inspiring woman. She lives her favorite Scripture verse Joel 2:25, "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten..." and shines as an example and a reminder that God does indeed have plans for us - for today and for the future. Please join me in welcoming Christine here today, and be sure to visit her at Living Joel 2:25. ~ Laura
I saw her again yesterday. The mom I've known
for over a decade now. Actually, I don't know her...I just know of her. We smile and
nod, having seen each other in various settings for years, but never meeting,
much beyond a short hello.
I do know a few things though.
She's good. As in really good. At life. At mothering. At just being
her.
She's delightful. Absolutely delightful.
Three kids - who behave because they want to (who does that??), an
uncomplicated marriage, and a sense of style that just works, if you know what
I mean.
Here’s the thing, I almost wish she'd be good in a
slightly annoying way...but she's not even that. Even her way of being
delightfully good, is well, delightfully
good.
And here's where it gets worse. I have a difficult
time after seeing her, and I can’t stand that.
I prayed over it one morning, saddened I felt that way. She's only human and surely has flaws, so why am I upset after I run into
her? I took it to God and confessed these feelings I'd been having.
In return, God said something I wasn't expecting,
"She's who you always wanted to be." I knew instantly what He was
talking about though.
For someone who flies by the seat of her pants, I sure
had the rest of my life planned out by the time I was in high school. Complete with a white picket fence {slightly embarrassing, but true}.
To sum it up, it would be delightful. Dare I say,
I’d be delightful.
Complete with kids who behave just because they want to,
a simple marriage, and a sense of style that just works.
I guess I don't need to say much more beyond life
happened to those plans. A divorce, years of wilderness walking, and a
sense of style that is just barely beginning to find it’s way back from the
drudgery of “faded jeans, black shirt.”
{And no white picket fence in sight.}
Who did you want to be? What were the plans of your
heart? Does life feel miles from where you thought it would be at this
point?
Here's what I just love. God uses it. He
honors it.
God takes who we are today. With the kids who are arguing in the backseat over who
gets the headphones. With
us in the same black tee shirt as yesterday (or worse, yet, a brand new black
tee, with the tags still attached and hanging out of the back - looking so
pitiful the nice man collecting the Goodwill donations has to help you…don’t
ask me how I know this...), and puts it to use for His Kingdom.
He takes the me who's now remarried and working
desperately to learn from past mistakes, and helps me when I stumble again.
And again.
And no matter how far off course our life has gotten from our original plan, we are delightful
to Him! His plans for us are good! And every single thing in our life, the good, the bad, the times we
fall, the times we’re delightful, the times we walk around with the price tag
hanging out of our shirt, He can use for good!
And now when I run into her around town, I no longer feel
crushed. God has shown me how He’s taken those old plans and used me in
ways I never could have imagined. It might not have been a perfect walk,
but He’s redeemed and turned them it good. Every single {now delightful}
step.
The Lord your God is with you, the
Mighty Warrior Who saves. He will take great delight in
you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with
singing. Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)
*****
Christine Wright, founder of God-sized Dreams.com,
lives to inspire others to take bold leaps of faith and trust Jesus with
everything. Joel 2:25 is
her favorite verse, “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten…”
and she knows He can restore everything.
Christine is married to Mr. Wright and
has four kids, ages 17, 15, 8, and 4, who keep her laughing and scrambling for
more coffee. She writes for Christian Women's
Voice Magazine and is a contributor for Believe.com.
You can find her blogging at Living Joel 2:25.
Photo Credit
Linking up with Sharing His Beauty, Soli Deo Gloria
Oh Christine this is so so so good!!! Thank you for writing this and sharing it!! LOVE
ReplyDeleteThank you, sweet Kristin!! :)
DeleteThank you, Laura - for the opportunity to share here!! Love your heart for this subject - it is so important. Much love, friend...
ReplyDeleteI've found that those who appear delightful have challenges, too - just maybe different challenges - sometimes in areas we handle gracefully and have trouble understanding when others don't get it. It's just they're delightful in ways that are hard for us to be perfect in:) I've learned that God delights in me - He just had to reveal just what was beautiful in me: 'cause I wasn't finding it on my own:) P.S. I love white picket fences. Would love one - but that's not something he planned for me, either!
ReplyDeleteSo true!! And good to hang onto in the tough times. Thank you for sharing that! : )
DeleteI keep referring to words said by Deidra Riggs when I saw her speak at Compel... "You are the only person that God sent to this world to live your life." I keep saying them because I need to preach those words to myself. I was so encouraged by your post and so glad I came by today. Thank you, Laura, for hosting Christine at your place. Thank you also for stopping by my place today.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Beth
Oh, Beth, you went to Compel?? Wow - I'm sure that was a wonderful conference. What you shared rings so true! Thank you. : )
DeleteOh yes, Christine...that awful comparison. It's just a killer. And yes, God will use it all. That is an encouragement for yesterday, today, and tomorrow. God uses cracked pots!
ReplyDelete