What Happened in The Waiting

I wish I could tell you that I quit college, went home, and life became all I dreamed it would be.

But life doesn't always work out that way.

And usually it's our own unwise choices or the unwise choices of those we love that become the cause of our discontentment.

I only stayed a few months before I hit the road again ... with a guy.

After living approximately six months away from home with this person, I discovered that being verbally and physically abused would become a lifestyle for me if I stayed with my decision to make it on my own.

Apart from God.

Until I got a wake-up call from the Man Himself.

When God calls you out of your sinful place, you listen. Because if you don't, your life will be like that chaff that burns quickly. I had a choice to make. Go home with my tail between my legs in shame, or face the possibility of spending eternity in hell - on earth and in the beyond.

I could really go HOME and one day enjoy a mansion in heaven, or I could never see home again.

Home is the place where we sometimes hurt the ones we love, but the back door is always open - and there is always a seat at the table.

- Jeff Goins, The In-Between

Thankfully, my parents promised I could come home, so long as I was willing to live under their authority in their house.

Only a fool would refuse a seat at the table. Because that's where God prepares a place for us. And when we rest in His place for us, goodness and mercy surely follow us all the days of our lives.

This is what happened in the In-Between:

I waited for love ... and found the love of a Savior. I discovered that God loves me as the person He created me to be. It no longer mattered what the kids in fourth grade thought of me. It no longer mattered whether or not my crush loved me in return. Because in the waiting, Jesus became my first love.

I waited 4 years for marriage ... and the man of my dreams and a new son. The first five years of our marriage were incredibly tough, but we discovered that in the darkest places we found the deepest intimacy. And I learned all the more that no matter what my husband thought, God saw and heard everything that went on in our step-family when no one else was watching.

I waited another year to have my own kids ... and have been blessed with four incredibly different children. I've learned to enjoy the waiting as they grow and mature. This journey in life goes faster than the blink of an eye, even when it seems to be dragging a one-ton weight. I know. My step-son is now 23. He was 4 when I met his father. My oldest is almost 14. The youngest is nearly 9. Enjoy the process of who they are becoming. Now's the time to savor the moments and take the time to teach them all you know. Tomorrow they'll be on their own journey, facing their own in-betweens.

My husband and I waited 10 years for the prophetic promise from God to come to pass ... and today we are gratefully advancing in each of our careers, watching God do amazing things in the in-between moments. God promised my husband would become a company man - while he was working union, being shifted from company to company as he went from job site to job site. But God knew what He was doing. And we had no idea what enduring the in-between had in store ...

Join me tomorrow to find out what the in-between did have in store.

This week, I will be preparing for another journey ... to a new season of life for our family. A new in-between. A new season of waiting and discovering and savoring the ordinary moments in life that lead to the extraordinary events of life. I will leave a post each day, Monday through Friday, for you to enjoy and think upon as I prepare for and make my trip. These posts will lead up to where I find myself today, and I hope that they encourage you to enjoy the wait.

Read yesterday's post here: http://alyciawmorales.blogspot.com/2013/08/get-me-out-of-here.html

For more info about Jeff's book, please visit: http://goinswriter.com/ Jeff has some great giveaways for ordering The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing. You won't want to miss out! (He's also written several posts to give you a taste of the material in his book and what others are saying about it.)

On Saturday, enjoy my review of The In-Between.

Friday {in focus} - Cross Over

This isn't the prettiest picture. The light's a little to bright. The lines aren't even. It's not straight.

Just like obstacles in our lives. We're presented with ugly circumstances. We're blinded by distractions. The path is too crooked.

But we all have a promised land. We all have a call on our lives. We were all created for a God-specific purpose.

If only we would cross over. If only we would allow God to divide the sea, bring that wall down, or destroy the Goliath standing in our way. What stands in your way?

Jesus overcame all of it when He died on the cross. He conquered death. He provided abundant life.

And we, through the name of Jesus, have been given that same power. The power to speak to the mountain and have it move. The power to cross the Jordan. The power to slay Goliath.

It's time to cross over and enter into the life that God has called you to.

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying:

 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.

~ Joshua 1:1-2

Easter Devotion Five: Woe Is Me

Photo Courtesy of SSPivak

None of us enjoy grieving. Losing a loved one draws out emotions we prefer to keep at bay. We don't care to celebrate death. Instead, we mourn. We don our sackcloth and shed our tears.

It's in our human nature to wish our loved ones remained in their physical form with us rather than pass on into eternity. And frankly, it's quite selfish of us to desire they stay here full of pain and agony. Especially if we know they have accepted Jesus as their Savior and could spend eternity in heaven, free of pain, suffering and tears.

Just as the disciples gathered after the crucifixion of Jesus, we gather together to say goodbye at the funeral home.

Just as the disciples did after Jesus' death, we mourn and weep.

"Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene...
 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.
 And then they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe." ~ Mark 16:9-11

The disciples forgot what Jesus had told them before He endured the cross. They forgot that He promised them this was not the end. They forgot He promised them He would rebuild the temple. They forgot He told them He'd send them a Helper.

They suffered in their pain, rather than rejoicing in the abundance of life.

Jesus reminds us in John 16 that the pain and sorrow of labor is but a fleeting thing. The joy of new life replaces the anguish, and the anguish is quickly forgotten. (See verse 21.)

"Therefore now you have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you." - John 16:22 

God promises us that our sorrows will be turned into joy. A joy which no one can ever remove.

As a mother of four, some mornings feel like joy suckers woke up in the place of my children. The bickering and antagonizing begins with the opening of eye lids. It's not the way I'd choose to start my day. I could quickly lose my God-given joy.

But instead, I turn to Jesus. I pray. I read the Word. I fill myself with God's thoughts and ways before the break of dawn. I remember the promises of life He provides for me. 

"You will show me the path of life;
 In Your presence is fullness of joy;
 At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
 - Psalm 16:11

When I remember this, I refuse to allow another's attitude to steal the joy from my heart and my day. I don't have to. God promises it belongs to me. 

How do we receive this everlasting joy? Jesus tells us in John 16:24 it's as simple as asking:

"Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."

When we seek the Father's will for our lives, when we ask these things in Jesus' name, our joy will be made full. God will provide what we need to fulfill His purposes for our lives. And when we walk in that, we find our hearts flooded with His presence and the joy that comes from an abundant life and fulfillment.

Lord, help us to put off a spirit of sorrow and replace it with Your abundance of life. Help us to find joy and to celebrate life, rather than wallow in our tears and sackcloth. Help us to believe in Your Truth, receiving the blessings You've promised us in this life. We ask that Your will be done in our lives, in Jesus' name. Amen.       

Join Me for an Easter Celebration

Photo Courtesy of Patrizio Martorana

Easter Sunday is on April 8th, one week away. In honor of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I will be posting daily this week. I will share my thoughts on the events leading up to His crucifixion.

I hope you will join me in celebrating abundant life over the next week! The first post will be up tomorrow, April 1st, at 3:00 PM EST.

And Happy Resurrection Day! To life!

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." - John 3:16-17