Driver's License Restrictions: A: With Corrective Lenses

Yeah, you read it right.  Even the Texas Department of Public Safety says that I'm not allowed to "move about the country" without my corrective lenses.  And I'm pretty sure they know what they're talking about since they're main responsibility is the public's safety.  When Women of Faith put out the call of duty to share my thoughts on how to keep my eyes focused on Jesus, I laughed at the irony of this. 

My eyesight is terrible.  I can't even get out of bed without making sure my glasses are right next to the bed within reaching distance - because it is not safe for me or anyone else for me to have to go searching for them.  I think my vision is somewhere close to 20/200 without any help of corrective lenses - whether that's glasses or contacts. I am extremely near-sighted with a terrible astigmatism.  The thing of it is though, my spiritual eyesight can also become very "short-sighted."  I sometimes lose my way, get off course, or things are just generally very...blurry for lack of a better word.  There are spiritual corrective lenses that help to get me back on track though. 

The first corrective lens that I make sure that I have is The Word.  Like a map, the Word of God is based on fact - not perception.  So, no matter how close or far away, things seem to appear, the map will always set you straight.  It reminds you of the destination you've come from, the distance traveled, and your destination ahead.  And while things may happen along your journey that are unexpected, like a detour that takes you off your "anticipated course," that never changes the location of your final destination. 

The next lens that I make sure to have at hand is a steady prayer life.  The truth is, sometimes I just don't know what I don't know.  While it's sometimes nice to feel like I'm charting my own course, the truth is...I'm not.  My dialogue with God through prayer facilitates the opportunities that I have to hear from him directly. 

The final corrective lens that relieves my spiritual shortsightedness is fellowship with other believers.  Not only does fellowship encourage me to continue by the shared testimonies, but it also provides a channel of accountability for me.  People too many times misquote Matthew 7:1 as their get-out-of-jail-free-card.  However, we are told that we will know a tree by the fruit it bears.  Therefore, we should all be USDA fruit inspectors and shouldn't shy away from the same being done to us.  For me, knowing that I have women in my life that love me enough to do that is a sure way to help me keep my eyes fixed on Jesus!

"For I Know The Plans I Have For You"

Whew! Isn't this good news!  I am so glad that He knows the plans because I certainly didn't...don't.  My last blog post was in January.  And since then I have:

• Been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
• Had an emergency surgery (darn gall bladder)
• Lost a close family member quite unexpectantly
• Gone through a divorce

And...to top it all off, all this happened before the end of June.  In fact, within 30 days, I was diagnosed, had about four MRI scans, a surgery, a spinal tap, and a funeral.  I know, I know...it's almost comical when I think about the sheer volume of things that happened that could have broken my spirit.  And...on top of all that, I had just started my first semester back in school at Liberty University with a double major declared (Religious Studies and Marketing) AND I was smart* enough to take 18 hours my first semester back.  Yeah, you're right...it actually is quite comical.

If it wasn't for this little nugget found in Jeremiah, I'm not quite sure what I would have done.  It's wonderful to think that nothing surprises my God.  No matter how much of a shock it is to me, I can rest assured God is sitting on His throne bored by the "un-newness" (that probably isn't a word, huh) of it all.  I made it through the diagnosis and am doing fine.  I made it through the first semester of school with 15 hours completed and a 3.3 GPA.  I've tested many of the scriptures within the Bible (most of them dealing with grace and mercy) but I can attest that this one holds true as well. 

Jeremiah 29:11 - Checked off the list...God is faithful!

Blessings

Vengeance is Mine...I mean Yours

The D.O.V.E. Women's Ministry at Antioch Christian Fellowship, my home church, has recently kicked off a book club.  Our first book of the new year is one by Liz Curtis Higgs titled Bad Girls of the Bible.  The book details the scriptural stories of ten of the Bible's "femme fatales."  While reading through the story of Potiphar's Wife and Joseph, I had a sudden epiphany...

Most of us know the story.  Joseph was well-liked by Potiphar, the Egyptian captain of the guard, and the story goes that Potiphar had placed him (Joseph) in charge of his household.  In fact, Genesis 39:4 said that Potiphar had "entrusted to his care everything that he owned."  Which, of course, included Potiphar's wife.  To make a long story short, Potiphar's Wife, who according to scripture was a bit neglected by her husband and "bored", set her eyes upon Joseph.  After making her move and being rebuffed by a lowly Hebrew boy such as Joseph, she lied to her husband and accused Joseph of trying to rape her - which landed Joseph in jail.

Now, this is where my epiphany comes in.  I know that in the end, this was all a part of God's plan.  Joseph ends up being placed in charge of the prison, eventually started interpreting Pharoah's dreams, which ultimately led to finding favor in Pharoah's eyes and being placed in charge of all of Egypt - second to only Pharoah himself.  He was then able to save the life of his family and blah, blah, blah.  You may be able to tell where I'm headed with this.  While this pivotal Biblical story has already progressed and, to me, is one the best Biblical stories that is evidential of God's providence, I am still stuck back at the beginning when Potiphar's Wife is lying on him.  And this is where God opened my eyes to an area of my life that I need to address.  I am sometimes so concerned with what I consider to be the injustices of my life (especially those that I can directly attribute to others), that I miss the overall blessing and fail to see the beauty in God's plan.  I am really hung up on the whole "vengeance is mine said the Lord" thing.  Don't get me wrong, I am all for God avenging me...I'm convinced that he's better at it than I can ever be.  But I just wanna be on the sideline watching the vengeance in action and be able to stick my tongue out or give a "I told you so" once it's done. 

There are some things that people have done or continue to do to me that has really challenged me in this area.  Most of the time, I find it easy to cast my cares on God and allow Him to fight my battles at first.  However, as time progresses, I find it hard to leave my burdens at the altar.  Especially when there seems to be no fire and brimstone raining down from heaven to right my wrongs.  Not only is this a sign of immaturity in my spiritual walk, but it also still allows the devil to have the victory.  My prayer right now is that I begin to focus my heart on heavenly things.  That I worry more about the reputation that I have in God's eyes instead of the eyes of others.  I also pray that when I say that I'm casting my cares upon God and I tell others that I answer to but one and that's my heavenly Father, that they aren't mere words but my heart finds rest and peace in that. Amen...