I just read two great things by Max Lucado that super applied to me. One, a weekly email devotional that I get, was about servanthood and reaching out to those who are "overlooked". Believe me, fat people can emphathize with being overlooked! But it's my call not to feel sorry for myself, but to reach out to others. I'll admit, there are times when low self-esteem drags me down so much I don't even try. I think, "They don't want me to reach out to them, they want someone better". But Max had an interesting challenge. I'll quote him:
"Every day do something you don’t want to do. Pick up someone else’s trash. Surrender your parking place. Call the long-winded relative. Carry the cooler. Doesn’t have to be a big thing. ... “Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort” (1 Cor. 15:58 MSG)."
I also like to read the quick daily message on his webpage. Today's was about dealing with disappointment. He used two examples - Miss Haversham from Great Expectations who stopped living her life when her fiance called off the wedding, and Paul who ended up in jail instead of ministering in Spain, but used the time to write letters that became our New Testament epistles of Philemon, Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians. Guess which one we're supposed to imitate???
As I sit here at 30 without a house, husband, kids - or even the potential for any of those! - disappointment is a topic that comes up frequently. But maybe - just maybe - God intended for me to hear those two messages together. Could it be that hiding in my house sulking isn't what He intended for me to be doing with my life? That feeling sorry for myself isn't part of his great plan for me? That my way isn't better than His way? Shocking, I know. So I will be praying for God to turn my focus outward - looking for what I can do for others, not what they can do for me. And I'll keep working on that tenth commandment. :)
"Every day do something you don’t want to do. Pick up someone else’s trash. Surrender your parking place. Call the long-winded relative. Carry the cooler. Doesn’t have to be a big thing. ... “Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort” (1 Cor. 15:58 MSG)."
I also like to read the quick daily message on his webpage. Today's was about dealing with disappointment. He used two examples - Miss Haversham from Great Expectations who stopped living her life when her fiance called off the wedding, and Paul who ended up in jail instead of ministering in Spain, but used the time to write letters that became our New Testament epistles of Philemon, Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians. Guess which one we're supposed to imitate???
As I sit here at 30 without a house, husband, kids - or even the potential for any of those! - disappointment is a topic that comes up frequently. But maybe - just maybe - God intended for me to hear those two messages together. Could it be that hiding in my house sulking isn't what He intended for me to be doing with my life? That feeling sorry for myself isn't part of his great plan for me? That my way isn't better than His way? Shocking, I know. So I will be praying for God to turn my focus outward - looking for what I can do for others, not what they can do for me. And I'll keep working on that tenth commandment. :)
2 comments:
Hi there...found your blog via OH. I just want to tell you that I was in your shoes 4 years ago...no house, no husband, no kids. Please don't rush it. I did and ended up with a house (big mortgage), but divorced and no kids. Better to wait for God's best for you than to force fit something "good." His timing and way are best.
In His Grip,
C
hi spinkin!! oh my gosh, i have those feelings too--if you read my blog you'll know! i like C's advice of don't rush it, its so easy to feel sorry and sullen sometimes though. hmmm...we should talk about it. ;) i love you!!!
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