Taking the heat

As the month of May is winding down, I’m so thankful for positive things that are happening in my life but this month has been a LOT overall.

I’ve been in prayer over so many things lately. Big things. Some are mine, some are for friends, some are more broad, some are unspoken. It seems there are so many needs right now. It’s also been a quiet response season for me

Recently I had a close friend reach out to me and ask me to pray for a situation. I could tell it was pressing and I offered space for her to talk to me, should she want to. She made sure to stress trusted me but also made a statement that has stuck with me. She said “I don’t need Earthly guidance, I need heavenly direction.”

I’m a very transparent individual, an open-book, if you will. I have degrees of trust circles (which I call cat circles) and certain topics I only discuss with certain people BUT I’ve never been afraid to share pieces of myself and my story with others. Given this fact, I also recognize that I often desire to talk something out with another person. My mind is constantly roaming and processing situations.

It isn’t bad to talk things out with others. As a matter of fact, it’s biblical that we share one another’s burdens. We sharpen one another and challenge our thought processes. However, we are also called to cast our burdens upon Jesus. So I began examining how often do I seek the weigh in of friends around me when I should be casting my care instead?

I was mowing my yard earlier this week and thinking about how sometimes my children will want to do something and I may prefer to do it myself because I have more experience, or I have a particular desired outcome, I want to position myself to “take the heat,” if needed, etc.

I thought to myself “I don’t tell my children no to control everything. I just really want to position them for success as best as I can. I can sometimes see things or know things their limited experience doesn’t afford them to.”

And quick as a blink, the Lord said “That’s true for me too.”

He was confirming to my heart that he may be silent right now, I may be chomping at the bit to get something accomplished and I’m having to wait and don’t understand why, I may be growing impatient with my inaction…HOWEVER, he is in control. Not because he needs to overpower me but because…

He can see the pieces I can’t.

He knows what’s ahead where I cannot decipher what’s beyond my current viewpoint.

He is much more experienced than I am.

He is looking to “take the heat” on my behalf (or prevent the need for anyone to).

I haven’t been expressing a lot of my thoughts to anyone around me lately, just quietly contemplating things. I also haven’t been casting them onto the Lord the way I should though. And so in that moment, in my yard mowing, when I wasn’t thinking of a plan or trying to solve anything, my heart was still and I was reflecting with the Lord…he took a moment to speak to me and remind me of these things.

To offer very simple but much needed heavenly guidance and a shift in perspective.

I’m thankful for people in my life that I am certain are God-positioned. People I know I can trust whole-heartedly. However, I’m also thankful for the lessons the Lord continues to instill in me as he is removing barriers I’ve built in the name of “religion” and not relationship with him.

♥️