Cracking the Nuts of Life

My momma and I have the dearest relationship. I thank for the Lord daily for how she raised me to know our Lord in a personal and tangible way from such an early age. She is more than just a mother; she is my friend and godly life-partner to share the joys and cracks of life with while speaking truth into mine, sharing life experiences and imparting wisdom the Lord has given her through her years.

Just this week she light-heartedly was sharing with me the joys of her day which bring smiles to my face every time I read them. The line "Chloe is enjoying the joy of cracking nuts" resonated in my mind for quite some time following reading the email. To better understand why this was so meaningful, you must know that Chloe is just a three year old child. To her, cracking nuts is a brand new activity, never experienced before. The idea that a durable, solid structure can be crushed by her very own hands, is so empowering to her. She loves that SHE is capable of opening it all by herself. Though she can't crush it on her own, with a simple tool, she suddenly can. What tops off her joy, is that there is edible surprise and reward for her labor.

What are the current nuts of my life? What is it that I just can't crush on my own? Learning a new language. Living away from family and friends (and pup dog) that I treasure deeply. Conquering the public transportation systems. Living alone and renting an apartment. All the newness life has brought me in the last four months.

In my own strength these tasks are impossible to crack. With just a simple tool, His Word and the gift of prayer, these tasks are easy. He takes the impossibility of them away, the burdens, the challenges. There is nothing on this earth that I can't crush in His name even the enemy's attempts to tear down God's good, good work. And how can that not bring joy and empowering passion to our lives?!

The best part, once you crack into these "nuts" God has for your life, His blessings and joy in the unknowns are plentiful. With a new language, I can worship God in a new ways with new believers and with new songs. I ask Him before each lesson to give me listening ears and a retaining mind so that I can swiftly learn this language; on my own, the language is tiring and impossible. With a new language, I can read the Bible with new diction giving new convictions, hope and ways of seeing His truths. With His eyes, I get to experience the strengths of cultural norms such as hospitality here in Serbia. With Him guiding my steps, I have the joy of meeting and exploring new people and places. I get to meet people from all over the world and share Christ with them. With His plans for me to know Him more, I get to be challenged in new ways that draw me nearer to my personal Father to experience new ways He provides. All these would be lost without using a simple tool, a gift He hands to each of us.

That same joy Chloe experiences when cracking a nut, is how I feel everyday when I recognize who my Father is through the power of His Word. It is empowering and life-giving. That is a joy that never ceases! I wouldn't change a thing. Thankfully He knows the best nuts for us to crack, and He gives the best surprises and rewards inside!

I am amazed how the Lord reveals Himself in such simple, relatable  ways. I am so grateful.

Go with the Flow

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23

 

For those who know me well, know I am a Proverbs advocate. I still find no irony in the fact that there are 31 days in a month and 31 chapters of Proverbs in His word. That means I read each chapter of Proverbs 12 times a year and still find conviction, truth and wisdom in them each time. I set the verse above as my Skype profile line around a year ago to remind me how life-giving or life-suffocating my words can be to others. I recently took notice of this verse being there and began thinking about it.

This particular verse is one of my favorites as I enjoy talking...maybe a little too much. I love sharing and living life with others, but protecting the heart is so crucial for life-giving conversations, actions and way of living. I fall short of life-giving words all the time even when my intentions means well, and I am praying often that the Lord lets only the Spirit speak out of me. One translation of this reads as a command, “Keep your heart pure."  In order to do that one might say, we’d have to turn off our televisions, avoid our computers, skip going to the movies or walking the streets in public, stop reading the newspaper, etc. I have often thought how nice it would be to go live in a secluded cave, island, castle, tree-house or cool location of a get away sometimes, but that’s not what Jesus said, “As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world” John 17:18. For as long as we’re here, this is where we’re meant to be. I am meant to be here in Serbia with its frustrations and joys that come with it. Surrounded by constant temptations. struggles, pulled this way and that, we are called and equipped by God to choose wisely, and it is a choice. Even if we secluded ourselves from others or from this world, we are still in this world and sin comes from the heart. 

Choices start in our heart. For "the heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps" Proverbs 16:9. Recently, I began to ask myself questions such as, do I  “lay up His Words in 'my' heart” Job 22:2 as well I as He calls me to? As I am learning the Serbian language intensively right now, it reminded me this very thing.  If we know His Word, we speak His Word. The more Serbian I know, the more I am speaking it. This month I have begun to memorize the forth chapter of Proverbs along side studying Serbian. I pray for discernment by His Spirit for what His plans are for me constantly, but I rest in knowing He establishes my day by day steps.

In Hebrew the word, leb, can be found several times in Proverbs and appears nearly six hundred times in the Bible. It translates as “inner man, mind, will, heart.”  This is the place where we experience, seek and know God. So for out of it springs our love for Him- our worship, honor, and obedience to Him. It is a love that can't be contained if it is a true wellspring. Here in Serbia, there are springs of water every few blocks, as a constant reminder to me that if my heart is full of Him, it will overflow relentlessly of Him...

...even when life goes a little out of my personal desires. This week I had few, what I would call, frustrations. Here are a few to share:

• My computer decided to wipe itself clean of all its files, docs and pics due to Windows 10 update.
• A bird pooped on my phone, of all places, which was fun to clean up.
• Got the opportunity to learn much culture through paying my bills at the post office (Yes, this is where you pay water, electricity, phone, internet bills), learn how to stand in line by breathing down others' necks in order to be officially in-line for your turn, to find out three times I was in the wrong line, and to practice my Cyrillic letter skills by translating into Latin lettering to discover I didn't know the word anyway.
• Had my class change its time 2 hours longer than normal which made my team cancel their meeting.
• Had a bus come 42 minutes after its arrival time to make my entire team have to reschedule their team meeting two hours late.
• Walked into a freshly painted door when trying to push it open and ruined my shirt and painted my arm. 

Looking back at these events, I saw a progression of heart surrenderance. At first I was frustrated but by the end, I genuinely just laughed. Nothing was in my control. I couldn't have prevented one of these from happening. I am learning to live by "going with the flow." A lot of times I have no clue what is happening anyway as it is a foreign language or way of doing things. This verse came to mind all week.

Flow is a wonderful thing. Every minute of every hour, our beating hearts send blood flowing through our bodies, keeping us alive. We don’t have to think about it. We don’t have to plot, plan, or scheme. It just flows. In the same way, when we fill our hearts with God’s wisdom, when we love and trust instead of fret or getting frustrated, God does something amazing. He turns our mess into righteousness. We go with His flow. 

When I went with His flow, I was at peace with how things were going, laughed and enjoyed taking in the culture.