Five Minute Friday: Grit

I just stumbled upon this blog where every week, she hosts a "five minute Friday" blog event where she picks a topic and we are to write about it in five minutes, without editing. I think that's a great idea and since this blog is about a messy life, what's more messy than letting me just go on a verbal rabbit trail without over-thinking about it and editing!  I think it's a great idea for wanna be writers like me, to just let it all out. In her words, she says,

"We write because we love words and the relief it is to just write them without worrying if they’re just right or not. So we take five minutes on Friday and write like we used to run when we were kids."

I totally love this idea except for the running part. I never ran as a kid, but I digress...

This week's topic topic to write about is "grit". First of all, I actually looked up the word grit to see how I could incorporate the word into the messy journey I'm on and all I can think about is the grit grades (I think that's what they are called) on sandpaper. And what is sandpaper used for? It's a refining tool that woodworkers use.  

I think refining is the word that the Holy Spirit is putting on my heart lately, because that's what He's doing right now. Everything I'm going through, from the confusion and frustration of things not going how I want it to go is all part of His plan to get me focused on Him and keep my eyes off my circumstances to make me more like Him.

Refining is an ongoing process that will continue on until the day we go to be with the Lord. How will we respond to the refining process? Will we pout and kick and scream because it hurts, or will be turn our eyes off of ourselves and on to Jesus which is the whole point of being refined?

Aaaannnnd my five minutes is up. That was harder than I thought it would be, but it was still a nice exercise in writing!

It's Not About Me

Again, I have so much jumbling around in my heart and head, it's taking me forever to figure out how to put it into a cohesive thought, so bear with me!

Yesterday, while listening to my BSF leader teach on suffering and comfort, she mentioned a quote by Oswald Chambers that has stuck with me since she said it and I cannot stop thinking about it.  I think it has seriously changed my perspective and it couldn't have come at a better time. Chambers says;

"If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a multitude of experiences that are not meant for you at all, they are meant to make you useful in His hands." 

I think as someone who tends to the selfish side of things, when I'm facing a rough time on this journey I'm on and things don't go as I have planned them, I so easily fall into the trap of "why me?" and "what have I done to deserve this?"  All that does is put me into the center of my circumstances and once my focus is off of Jesus, fear, anger, and confusion sets in and turns into that downward spiral of self pity and doubt.  Instead of trying to see things in God's perspective, I'm blowing up balloons, putting streamers up, and getting my party hat ready for the biggest pity party of my life.  

So if there's one thing I've learned, it's the pain, anger, and confusion that trials bring is that it's not about me. It's just not. When you look at it with God's perspective, It's about Jesus and the sanctification process and the amazing part is that, as Hebrews says, it's for the purpose of sharing in His holiness! Check it out:

...but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, (aint THAT the truth!) but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:10b-11.

We are able to share in  God's holiness when we go through the discipline of enduring hardships.  And yes, being pruned and refined through a trial is often times, very painful because Jesus is removing junk from our lives in order to put in its place, a "peaceful fruit of righteousness".  Not only does suffering produce righteousness, it is also to produce steadfastness, as James 1:2-4 says;

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness (love that word!). And let steadfastness have it's full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." 

To top it all off, we are not to wallow in self pity when we face trials, but we are to, as James says, "count it all joy". He wasn't the only one to say that either. When Paul wrote to Peter he said;

"But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed." 1 Peter 4:13

I guess what I'm trying to say in this long rambly post of mine, is that instead of focusing on the bad of my circumstances, I need to look to Jesus, who already endured suffering on the cross for me, so I can rejoice in my salvation and use this time to see how I am becoming more like Jesus, which is the ultimate goal!

Life is a Messy Journey

I have to say that I've been sitting here for over an hour, trying to figure out how to start this millionth attempt at consistent blogging. I don't know why I want to blog, I just know that I do so I'm trying to figure out my shtick.  I'm a terrible homemaker, so I can't go that route again. I'm not really that crafty and the craft supplies I own are in storage right now, so I also can't go that route.  All I have is Jesus and a heart full of stuff that just wants to get out, so I think I'm going to re-start my blogging journey going down that route. 

I chose the title "A Messy Walk", because I feel as a Christian, that's how life is.  Following Jesus isn't always rainbows and puppy dogs and unicorns. Following Jesus is messy. Being obedient to His calling in my life is messy. Trying to figure out the journey He has me on is REALLY messy, because of my failures along the way. Failures are messy.  Life is just messy! It's a good messy because it's through the mess that God reveals Himself in HUGE ways, but it's messy nonetheless and sometimes even painful. 

So that's what this blog is all about.  It will be just me sharing my heart and how Jesus is revealing Himself to me as I go on the path He has set before me. I'm not even keeping this blog to a specific theme because I will hopefully write about anything and everything.

So there ya have it. I'll just leave you with this because it really touched me when I saw it (God bless Pinterest!)