Live again
Live again
“Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature”, Gen 2:7
“Just a few more minutes”, my soul whispered behind the sliver sized crack between my eyelids. My mind took on the challenge with a series of commands! “Don’t you dare twitch, steady your breathing so they don’t know you are awake”; followed by, “I hope these new black out curtains invites them into a deeper slumber”. Meticulously, I dared shimmy out of bed, taking ten minutes what would have taken half a second any other time powered by my want for quiet time to read while sipping hot chocolate and just think before the start of the day. Elation filled me as my feet touched the floor. “Success”, my mind cheered! Sometimes, I forget that youth permeates every inch of children. Their zeal and energy only exemplify a part of the gift youth gives but the supersonic quality of the ears of preschool children cannot be surpassed. Two short steps from the bed’s threshold, I heard ever so sweetly, mommy I’m hungry. Victory over. The internal war between the blissful sounds of my children’s sweets voices and the tinge of frustration with disappointment arising out of unmet desires waged. The balance between the responsibilities of mom life and the desire to pursue other interests eludes me. Mom life is a blessed life yet some days in forgotten corners whispers of dreams deferred cry out breathlessly for life as they seem to whither more with each passing day. Fueled by guilt at the notion that I may be called to motherhood and other ministries as if motherhood is not fulfilling enough pushing the timeline further away daring those dreams to fade waiting for a new season, the next season. This part of God’s letter to us suggests a few things about the remnants we have set aside as we entered our motherhood journey so let’s explore this in today’s devotion.
God not Guilt
Mom guilt. The umbrella that some judge internally and externally as a measure of motherhood. Some wear it as a badge with the veiled complaints reaching for applause for what has been lost or missed in the name of good motherhood. We hear the comments and may use it as barometer to assess our own success as moms. The term mom guilt is stated and some of us accept it as reality so let’s address this out gate with scripture because God does not call us to live guilt led lives. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Romans 8:1. Satan will use guilt to keep you from moving forward to keep you from putting water on that dream. Whether it is guilt of the past or the present, it is a ploy for Him to keep your focus away from where God wants you to cast your gaze, away from where God wants to lead you. Guilt or the absence of it does not equate to our love for our children nor does it negate or validate the honor we enjoy from mothering them. It does not dismiss or acknowledge the blessing we know they are to us or diminish the responsibility we own in rearing them. Guilt of wanting more to mom life than mom alone suggests that we are only worthy of one gift. We serve a God of abundance not a God of just enough. Eph 3:20 “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us”. The idea that mothering our children is all God has provided for us to do would be like being grateful for having food without a place to live or clothes to wear yet feeling guilty for desiring a working vehicle. The desire for more of what God has does not suggest lack of gratitude otherwise there would only be one gift or fruit of the spirit. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” Ps 37:4. Look carefully because it says desires plural not desire singular! God puts more in us because He has more for us.
Will these dry bones live?
“Can these dry bones live? Only you know.” (Ez 37:3). That is the only appropriate response I’d say Ezekiel could have given. Another way to look at this question is, can the impossible be possible? When the question is posed by the Creator I can’t think of any better answer but to say I don’t know you tell me. As moms, we face the decision of delay or denial often. We decide if we will pursue advancement in our careers or areas of leadership in our lives now or later or at all. Even on a smaller scale, we have to determine day by day if we will even get a shower in before midnight or on the busiest of days if we might get one at all to make sure our children have been taken care of to the fullest capacity first. At various points, we decide to fuel our desires or hold them at bay knowing each delay results in the potential for it to dissipate further. These denied dreams seem to disintegrate into a whisper of what once was and in time turn to dust. So, let’s turn the question back to God? Can these dry bones live? “Thus says the Lord God to these bones: ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live’” Ezekiel 37:5. I am convinced if the desire still exists then God intends to bring new life into it. What is dead is not done with God. God can do a work with it if we present it to Him and believe Him for it.
From the dust
We cannot know how God might use the dust of our dreams and desires but scripture offers a few examples. HE might reshape it, reengineer it or repurpose it.
· Reshape it. God used dust to make man. No part of dust looks like a human being but God saw what a human eye cannot. God might take the dust of our desires and reshape it into something seemingly all together different. Maybe you go from skilled executive to party planner extraordinaire for example.
· Reengineer it. The Israelites crossed the red sea on dry ground which I suspect was dusty from its dryness. God delivered them from Egypt over dust into their promise land. He might bring about the deliverance of you or your family over dust too. Along this same line, when the wall of Jericho fell, I imagine a dust plume arose. Through the dust was the promise land. On the other side of our dust, our promise land might lie as well. The dust may serve as the vehicle to what God has in store. Something that serves a purpose to show His glory but does not serve as the destination. May the unfinished college degree will provide the skill set needed to build into another venture.
· Repurpose it. John 9:1-11 Jesus spit into dust to make mud. He rubbed it on the eyes of a blind man. After the man washed it off, he was able to see. Our dust might be the miracle that helps us see Him in a new way and the light the way for others. Maybe, instead of becoming the top chef we dreamed of, we cook for the homeless or serve the sick and shut in. Such a gift can pay dividends for the kingdom while bless us in ways we could not have imagined.
The ways God can use our dust knows no bounds. God is not bothered or deterred by the state of our dreams or the apparent lack of life in them. All He desires is for us to trust Him with it. When we trust Him with the remnants, we can trust He will do something only He knows can be done. If the desire remains, then God remains in it with the intent to use it for marvelous things so let’s take heart and don’t be discouraged at the state of things now. Let us instead prophesy to those dry places believing He will breathe new life into it for our good and His glory.
Sow the seed: God is not deterred by the state of our dreams.
Nurture the seed:
· “Our God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think”. Eph 3:20
· “Thus says the Lord God to these bones: ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live’” Ezekiel 37:5
