Maybe

Last night at small group, Carlee walked in with a huge smile on her face and these balloons and Maybe Banner in her hands.  “These are to celebrate all of our Maybes.  Too often we don’t let ourselves get excited about what maybe might be, because we’re afraid of being disappointed.  But tonight, we’re going to enjoy the fact these opportunities are in front of us, in this moment.”

Maybe a writer’s contract, maybe a new business adventure, maybe moves to new cities, maybe a break from the mundane, maybe law school, maybe an end to a difficult season at work, maybe a relationship, maybe an awakening of our hearts and our city.

So often these Maybes come, and we allow them to boss us into a corner of anxiety, doubt, and fear where hearts grow hard.  We recount our track record of “no’s,” and  brace for the moment when the door is slammed along with our spirit.  We anxiously demand to know where this is heading before taking a step forward.

But what if the Maybe wasn’t intended as a source of torture?  What if the Maybe is actually an invitation to a beautiful surrender?  What would we gain if we didn’t demand it to turn into a yes or no immediately, and we took cue from Emily Dickinson to  dwell in possibility?  What if we allowed ourselves to be infused with hope?  Because sure, there’s a chance it may fall through the cracks, and perhaps we’d save ourselves a bit of heartbreak by living in the land of worst-case-scenarios.  Oh, but what if it doesn’t?  What if this is in fact it?  What if this is the thing that brings us more joy and courage than we dared to dream?

So my charge to you tonight, whatever your Maybe may be is to be bold.  Steady heart.  Don’t fear.  Step into the glorious season of Maybe and all God is wanting to teach you in and through it.  Because chances are it’s going to be well worth it regardless of the outcome.  This season is intended.  Allow this moment, this opportunity, this spark of what might be, serve as a reminder of the desires placed deep within you.  And that you have a very good Father who is incredibly passionate about breathing life into those exact spaces. You are seen, known, cared, heard and fought for.  Don’t let the Maybe tell you otherwise.

To Those Who Wait…

The in-between.

Really?  Here… again?

Oh, God…haven’t we walked this season already?  Couldn’t You do more with me if we just fast forward things a bit?

And yet.  You have me here.  In the gap between the past and future.  The coming and the going.  The dreams and the reality.  The echo of “not quite yet.”

And in the waiting the ugliness of my heart is drawn out- pride, discouragement, anxiety.  The need to DO, to please, to control.  And the honest truth that sometimes (and sometimes more than just sometimes) I want the answers more than I want You, Jesus.  I want to lead people to Your feet, instead of sitting there myself.  I want to encourage people to allow You into their brokenness and sin more than I want to repent of mine.

“Oh, God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

As I confess, You invite me:

Right there, my child, that restless place in Your heart.  That’s where I am starting.  That is what I long for…what I am jealous of.  Come.  Be still.  Am I enough for you?  If all you ever could do is sit with me, would that be enough for you?  I know the stirrings in your heart.  Trust me, we will have crazy adventures together.  But will you wait for me?  Will you let me lead?  Will you sit still long enough to listen instead of running ahead of me?  Will you let me prepare you?  Will you trust me that I am at work in this moment, that I am not wasting your time?

Not surprisingly, song lyrics immediately come to mind:

“You can do more in my waiting than in my doing I could do.”

Yes.  Yes.  Remind me of this.  Allow me to be, be here- in this moment with You, the day You have in front of me, and the lives of those You have surrounding me.  Let me not miss Your face because I am too busy trying to figure things out apart from You.

Maybe you too are in a waiting season.  Longing to hold a baby who is still thousands of miles away because adoption finances haven’t yet come through.  Desperately praying for a new job that hasn’t appeared.  Crying out to God for healing of a beloved who is walking in unbearable pain.   Waiting on logistics to line up so you can carry out a God-given vision.

The truth is we all are waiting for something, because we live in the in-between of a Kingdom that has come and is still to come.

And so I pray for you and I- that we may be still and rest in the knowledge that Our Father truly knows our hearts and with a loving hand guides us step by step through this crazy, mixed-up world.  May we choose joy for the grace of today instead of fear for tomorrow.  May we find our hope in Him who is always faithful.  May we yield to His purpose of this season- be it purification, preparation, or whatever else He may have in mind.  May the words of Bethany Dillon’s “To Those Who Wait” become our own.  May His heart become more our own.

And remember through it all you are not alone.

“When I Am Among The Trees”

When I am among the trees,

especially the willows and the honey locust,

equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,

they give off such hints of gladness.

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,

in which I have goodness, and discernment,

and never hurry through the world

but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves

and call out, ‘Stay awhile.’

The light flows from their branches.

And they call again,

‘It’s simple,’ they say,

‘and you too have come

into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled

with light, and to shine.

“When I Am Among The Trees”  from Thirst by Mary Oliver

Confession:

I am a bit in love with spontaneous downpours.

If a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

…then there is is a chance this video could be worth a million.  Coverage of the flooding in Middle TN.  I can’t believe this is my city.

Going Barefoot for a Purpose

I absolutely love going barefoot. It is by far one of my favorite things. I have been known to ask, “Where are my shoes?” multiple times in one day, simply because I don’t keep them on my feet (and I have a tendency of losing things…). Usually I do it to feel the sand underneath my toes, to let the cool water tickle my feet, to be barefoot during worship, or to relieve them from being contained in those silly things we call shoes. However, I have always preferred wearing shoes for things like crossing cobblestone and walking on the dirty streets of campus. However, tomorrow I am venturing into the unknown.

Going barefoot for a day on campus.

“Why in the world would you do that?” you might ask?

Check out this video:

Please go barefoot tomorrow, if only for a few hours and help draw our nation’s attention to this issue.

To pledge your support and for more information check out onedaywithoutshoes.com