Scary Paths

"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalm 8:11

The graveyard path stared me down. It was the safest route to school, she said. Yet, my first grade feet stood motionless--planted in fear at the opposite corner. I cowered my head into my mother's side. No words of comfort, no logical argument could persuad me to cross that street and enter the gates of death.

Then, the friendly crossing guard lady approached, holding open a small, black, silk change purse filled with rainbow sweetness.

(Pull up some courage and join me for the rest of this scary tale at {re}fresh...if you dare!)

Curing the Straighten-It-Out-Aholic in Me

Hello. My name is Dawn and I’m a straighten-it-out-aholic.  

Wherever I go—a doctor’s waiting room, a church pew or a restaurant—I fight the urge to straighten out the piles of magazines, tithing envelopes and menus like it’s a disease. It’s not OCD because I can successfully leave those skewed piles alone, but I don’t like it.  

Ask my daughter who noticed my madness in her preteen years and challenged me while in the pediatrician’s office, whose end tables had lost the fight with toddlers all day long. “Don’t touch them, Mom,” she chided. “You can do it. Leave (those magazines) alone.” I ignored them, but my heart raced until the nurse called us into the examining room. 

(Pssst! Leave your messy piles for just a minute and click HERE for the rest of the story...and maybe a cure?)

Turn Around: Letting Go of Your Best Laid Plans

 

 

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." Psalm 32:8 NIV

 
I accepted a job, against Godly counsel, that looked promising in every way: more money, better and cheaper health benefits, a lucrative 401K plan, and still close to home. Within eight weeks none of that mattered as I found every facet of my life turned upside down. My pride kept me going, holding onto this job that I just knew was right, but screamed, "TURN AROUND! WRONG WAY! DO NOT ENTER!"

Month after month things grew worse, at home and at my job, but I was in this job to stay, like I had something to prove to God, and planted my feet firmly under my desk. Then one day, I lost my footing...

 

(Slip over to Encouragement Café for the rest of the story, won't you?)

Walking in the Dark

"Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." Psalm 37:5 NKJV

Mom taught me how to navigate through the dark.

She was (and still is) an early riser - like 4 AM early. I've always like the mornings, but not that early and certainly not in highschool when studying and a part-time job pushed me past midnight. So to compensate for our opposite schedules, we learned to maneuver around our tiny, two bedroom apartment with only natural light or darkness, especially when the other was sleeping. 

Walking in the dark is slow going at first as you train your other senses to be your eyes. But then, when you've mastered the traffic pattern - commited it to memory - you start picking up speed and it's almost as easy as walking in the light.

But, you do miss the light - being able to see far ahead.

Right now, I'm feeling my way around in the dark, seeing only shadows, and I'm kinda missing the bright lights. Headed to another writer's conference in July carrying the same book in my sachel as the year before - the one I know God's commissioned me to write - the story that tells how God healed my wounded heart and freed me up inside and out, where God offers that freedom trail to other sisters - I'm hungry for more light. 

I've spent the year growing up in the dark, committing God's ways to memory, honing my senses to hear His footsteps and look for shadows of His presence so I might follow His lead, and move a little further down the trail.

In Psalm 119:105, David writes:

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."

We don't have to see far ahead if we stay in close relationship with our heavenly Father, learn to trust him. His word, His promises will shed just enough light on our path, like a small lamp or a candle, that we won't trip. He promises that if we commit our way (our hopes, our dreams) to Him and His purposes, He will make it come to pass.

At last year's conference, God set this lesson before me: "Do not despise the small beginnings." And it's been a year of just that - small beginnings that when strung together form a long path that leads toward the bigger goal. In the midst of small beginings we get to feel our way through the dark slowly and safely until we're moving almost as easily as we do in the light.

Do you ever feel like you're walking around in the dark? What are some lessons God's teaching you as you walk in the dark? What promises has He light your path with that keep you trusting and moving forward?