New Beginnings
In the last week, our family has had both the anxiety and joy of multiple new beginnings. We celebrated the birth of our first grandchild last week and have enjoyed watching our daughter as a mom to her precious gift. Our twin girls started their day before the sun had a chance to rise or the birds had a chance to sing their morning songs as they began their Sophomore year of high school. This year will bring even more new beginnings as they will soon be behind the wheel and starting their journey towards independence. Rob has begun building our home inspection business and I am actively pursuing my writing and professional marketing as a speaker and author. Lots of new beginnings.
I recently read a blog post from a new friend I met at the She Speaks conference (https://wp.me/p2wBHh-21Y) and she is at a time of transition and potential new beginnings as she heals from the recent loss of her daughter of over 19 years. As I read her post, I understood how this time of transition and new beginnings sometimes feels empty and quiet. We try to intently listen to God’s direction, to find our new purpose and sometimes we are met with silence…so we wait, we pray, we listen and we wait some more.
As I reflected on the day today, and all the new beginnings, I thought back to less than a year ago. Less than a year ago the only thing I could have predicted was that Hope and Helena would be going into their Sophomore year of school and driving. Our daughter nor her father and I would have predicted that we would be holding a precious new addition to our family. We did not know the transition plan for our old company and the path it would lead us with our new Home Inspection company. I did not know, nor could have predicted that I would shift from writing for others to finding my own voice. We didn’t pray for any of these things individually, none of these items were even on our radar of possibility.
When I pray, it is easy to narrow my prayer to my wants, versus God’s desires for me. When I narrow my prayers to what I know, I place limits on what God can do in my life, in all our lives. Nothing is impossible with God as long as we place Him in the center of our lives. He brings peace in loss and sadness, He opens doors that we didn’t even know existed, He pushes us to answer our calling when we may feel inadequate, He answers the unspoken prayers we did not dare to pray.
Today I pray that you not only read Proverbs 3:5-6, but that you pray these verses over your life. I pray that in doing so and as you listen, that your path be made clear and that you continue in your service to the Lord. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV).
