Thursday’s Thinking Out Loud-from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power
Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power…
I can’t wait to share this post I found from a sister in Christ, someone I’ve admired from a distance for a long time. She had posted it on Facebook last week and as soon as I was done reading it, and could catch my breath and shake off my goose bumps from its powerful inspiration, I in-boxed her to ask for permission to share it. So I bring to you, without further ado, “The Cry of My Heart” from Diane Huntsman, an incredibly gifted writer. And by all means, if you enjoy what you read, leave a comment so we can encourage her to continue sharing her gift!
Cry of My Heart
“I found myself getting lost going on a lady’s Instagram from
Porterville; Honey Holden is her name. She’s a Godly woman, or so her
Instagram says she is. Her family is beautiful, or so they seem to be.
Her life seems practically perfect in every way… filled with such fun
and purpose, surrounded by many friends and family. She has what many
women want.“As I stared at her posts on Instagram, my thoughts began to wander from where I sat staring at the screen, thoughts that actually brought me back to truths eventually!
“We live in a era where becoming discontent is at the touch of a button, taking us to social media sites where we “wish” we could have this or that, or sites that show a dreamy life/person that we think we would trade lives with, and how about those thoughts of wishing we could be as awesome as that person we follow, that person we don’t really know but wish we did?”
As I read that first part, I felt the beauty of conviction because oh, how many times have I caught myself comparing myself to others, especially as an author, or my life to another? But Jesus tells us through Paul that we are blessed beyond measure when we can learn to be content in all circumstances. [Philippians 4:11]
Let’s return to Diane’s transparent heart:
“Today, from the moment I awoke, my mind was being tossed to and fro, from really vital stuff going on to I wish my lawn was green… and then back to ISIS and the severity of their threat, and then back to thoughts about my exercise regime, and then over to the seriousness of the drought, then back to what I am wearing to work tomorrow…. to and fro, important to the unimportant…then getting lost in someone else’s seemingly perfect world only to see how imperfect mine is.
And then the light goes on; the voice inside me says, “Stop it, Diane! Stop it this instant! You are being self-saturated and living in the land of trivialness.” (Yes, I talk to myself; but I don’t answer myself … usually!
"Then I stop and realize this place is the place my adversary wants to take me, the place where I forget the importance of knowing the temporariness of this life and the focusing in on the permanency of the next life, in other words, gripping with all of my strength to my heavenly hope!
"If Satan can get us to believe our successes here in this life are our number one objective in life, then we can miss out preparing for eternity. I believe we are distracted on such high levels that we are truly missing out on living now for that which is to come. What does preparing for heaven while living in the now look like? I’m talking about in the sense of really caring for others, loving people, sharing the gospel message, praying for our households, our government leaders, our drought, the ISIS threats and the billions of other prayer needs on the list. This is communing with the God who died for us that we might live.
"And what about reading, meditating, memorizing His promises and commands that we might have spiritual depth and understanding, not just go by what they tell us at church, but go by what we learn firsthand on our own as we spend time reading our Bibles, and allowing its truths to come alive within our lives! Are we really getting to know our God?
"Maybe we aren’t out killing folks or dancing on poles for a side job, but equally as disturbing as those two naughty activities are the rest of us who are living by wasting precious moments given to daydreaming of what we wish we had, allowing the imperfections of life to cause us to sink further still in our own self-pity while we scroll through our phones nearly hating all those who seem to have it so much better than us and making sure we don’t “like” the picture of that person who just radiates near perfection… or un-friend people who don’t measure up to our standard of expectation.
"I think we all need to throw our phones in the toilet and get our brains saturated in God’s words, instructions and promises so that we have a chance of making some kind of difference in this lost and bankrupt world we currently live in.
"ISIS is beheading people and we are pinning another pin on our Pinterest boards and liking or not liking another pic on Instagram! The drought is heading us to mandated water rationing and we are still vicariously watering our lawns. People don’t know about Jesus and we are busy renewing our Disneyland passes.
"To the professing follower of Jesus, if we really believe what we say we do, our lives should look so totally different. And please know I’m speaking to myself the loudest, so before you comment, know that I am talking to myself first.
"If we are truly saved, our lives should reflect it in every way we live, and if we aren’t, then we can keep living with our heads buried in the sand or we can look to the heavens, beat on our chest, and say: “God, help us! I am a sinner. Forgive me and empower me to live in newness of life with eternal purpose, with genuine love and care for others. Jesus, wake us up; shake us up. Get us living how You’ve intended us to live and forgive us for being lazy.
“I know You are returning soon. I know the gathering of Your church is nigh. We will be without excuse, fully accountable for our choices. May we choose You this day for the sand is quickly passing through the hourglass, and we’ve been given many opportunities to get it right. Hear the cry of my heart, Father; help us get it right.
"Oh, that we be found busy about our Father’s business.
From my heart to yours,
Diane"
No comments:
Post a Comment