Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day

Yesterday was a bad day.

It started poorly.

The first thing—and I do mean the first thing I did after coming into the kitchen was stump my broken toe.

Um, yes, it hurt very much, thank you.

I sat on the couch and cried, resolving to not leave the safety of that refuge the entire day.

Then I made a critical bad decision.

Instead of hobbling across the room to get my Bible and Bible study, I picked up the laptop.  I mean, my quiet time could wait, couldn’t it?  I had all day to meet with God, and how much trouble could a one-footed woman stuck on a couch cause anyway?

Don’t answer that.

I read along, ignoring the clear pull in my heart to get in the Word, when someone knocked on my door.

Y’all, I live in the Middle of Nowhere, USA.

No one ever knocks on my door.

There stood two lovely ladies who need Jesus.

I know Jesus, and I know they don’t know Jesus, and I’ve just been given a silver platter invitation to tell them about Jesus, and

I  bailed.

In my head I know that I need to always be prepared with a ready answer for what I believe.

I know that the Word says not to worry about what I’m going to say.

But I worried anyway.

I stood there and thought, “My foot hurts, my house is filthy, I’ll stumble around and mess this whole thing up.”

Like I could mess God up.

Hello,  right there is one of the major reasons why perfectionism is a huge obstacle to abundant life in Christ.

It makes me think that it’s all about me.

It’s not all about my performance; it’s ALL ABOUT JESUS.

It’s also not just about information. Maybe, in thirty minutes around my kitchen table, I might have offered those sweet ladies the right information about Christ.

Only He could offer them transformation, which happens at and way beyond the moment we first believe.

I’ve asked and received forgiveness for my failure, and I wait for the power of Christ to continue its transforming work in me.  The more I know Him and rest in Him, the more I will risk for Him, and I’ll await His Words instead of fearing the weakness of my own.

Be blessed today,

Ginger

4 comments:

  1. You had me at "y'all". But you kept me because I can SO relate. I've bailed on far more opportunities than I've accepted, much to my disappointment.

    "The more I know Him and rest in Him, the more I will risk for Him."
    Amen, sister. I'm pressing in to know him better...

    Love this post. I'm going to link to it under the comment you left on my blog. Thanks!

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  2. This is wonderful, I'm so glad I stumbled upon your blog! I am encouraged by this (believe it or not) to know that there are others out there who struggle just like me.

    I will pray for your toe as well, that is terrible!

    Blessings,

    -Christiana

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  3. I've had a couple of those horrible days...days I chose not to go through an open door. Thank God for new mercies each day!

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  4. Ugh...the times I've bailed. Wise you are Ginger, not to hide it...repent, then lay it out so we all can learn and start fresh.

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