Do Things Ever Become Clearer?
Accepting Looking Through A Glass, Darkly Is OK!
It has been a few months since my last post. During this time there have significant changes, both literal and figurative, in my life and by extension in the lives of those around me. We have shifted to a new country (Australia) and started a new adventure with some of our family. This meant we made a considered and emotionally difficult choice, which we believed was correct, and left other family in New Zealand.
Everything costs in life. It has taken me a while to accept this as a truism. Nothing is for ‘free’. (there may be a few few readers who are thinking, “But what about…that is for free.” Really? send me an email detailing what you got totally for ‘free’ - I am very curious)
As we get older we tend to start to weighing the cost of choices. This is usually the natural progression of moving from youthful ‘tomorrow is another day’ thinking to a more mature ‘if this …then that’ thinking. (Yes, some people never make the shift and need to be ‘other managed’ in life as they have not matured to manage them self. Usually, these people die young, are incarcerated or cause calamity for themselves and others).
Ultimately, nothing is ever entirely free or perfectly clear and in focus. At best we make decisions based on the information we have at hand and then commit. At worst, we close one eye, commit and hope for the best. So considered risk is very much part of the fabric of life. Our journey through life is never perfectly clear, in focus, sharp from foreground to background.
I believe this is why we were created to live in community - where we wisely allow others to cast their eyes over our perspective on an issue. We ask trusted people to feedback on what we are planning, thinking or feeling. Where we allow time to reflect and consider, gather information and make the choice we have the most peace about.
But mostly, we need to pray. We need community with God.
We need to pray because it is the closest we can come to walk with God in the Garden. Prayer, which is a form of worship, is the gateway to access His presence. “No man/woman is greater than his/her prayer life.” (Leonard Ravenhill) God’s word is a lamp to our feet. Prayer asks the Spirit to lift the ‘lamp’ a higher, so we can see further, understand better and walk with increasing peace and faith.
Our move to Australia has already brought the beyond expectation, the unexpected, the unplanned, and new variations of pleasant and not-so-pleasant. But that is life. I encourage you to pray - ask the Lord to shine His light on you and those you care about. Even if you ‘do not believe in God’ He believes in you. Always has and always will. You can speak privately to Him at any time.