Wholly Satisfied

"Poor single woman! The world wants her to fornicate and the church wants her to marry!"

Excerpt from I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Josh Harris

     I came across this quote from a letter a woman wrote to Josh Harris which he included in his book I Kissed Dating Goodbye (which is a great read, by the way!!).  In the letter, she expressed her frustration about how both the world and the church view singleness as something that is undesirable.  The world says, "Fornicate," and the church says, "Marry."  Whatever happened to remembering the blessings of being single?

     Lately I've been thinking about singleness and the fact that it's a gift from God. A gift!  It's really amazing when you stop and think about it that way. Now, I know that grace is a gift.  Salvation is a gift.  But singleness? A gift?  That's pretty special!

     Both singleness and marriage are gifts.  Singleness is guaranteed; marriage is not. Singleness is a wonderful time to draw closer to the Lord and find satisfaction in Him--a time where there are minimal distractions and a time to find all of one's contentment in the God of the universe. After all, the goal in life is not to date or get married; it is to glorify God in whatever season He places you. It's sad that many people view singleness as some sort of a disease that they can't wait to 'recover from' once they find a boyfriend/girlfriend.  A gift should never be mistaken for a disease.

     Why do we often view singleness as something that should be 'fixed' or something to feel sorry about if it is indeed a gift from God?  I believe this is where the church has been influenced by the world.  The world says that one must have a significant other in order to be complete.  If you are in junior high/high school and you don't have a boyfriend, well you must not be popular.  If you're in your twenties and you don't have a boyfriend, you should try to improve your body image.  If you're in your thirties and single, well, I'm sorry for you, girlfriend!  

    Sorry? Why sorry? Isn't singleness a gift? Why view single people as half of a person if they don't have a significant other? The world has polluted the thankfulness that should be expressed for the gift of singleness with ungratefulness and discontentment.

     God has a different stage of life for everyone, however in a school system like we have in our nation, we get used to being in the same stage of life as our peers.  The kids we go to kindergarten with are typically the kids with whom we graduate junior high and high school.  After high school graduation though, lives go different directions and many unique paths of life are pursued.  Confusion and discontentment may follow as some peers get married while others remain single.

     I picked the picture of this particular river because there are different courses to this body of water.  Different sticks placed in this river will float different ways.  Using this river illustration, my course is not going to look exactly like your course, and your course is not going to look exactly the same as your best friend's course. And that's okay.

      I am thankful that I don't have to worry about the direction my life is headed.  Because I know to Whom I am entrusting my life, I can relax, let go from trying to take the helm of directing my life, and trust the One Who planned it all out for me before time began.

     Because the One Who directs my course is completely trustworthy, I can be content and wholly satisfied.  I don't need someone to satisfy me because I have Him.  I am a whole person in Christ, not half of a person.

     The only options available are not 1) Fornicate and 2) Marry.  A third option for believers is satisfaction--whole satisfaction and contentment in Christ and who you are as a new creation.  We're not slaves to the world and its way of thinking.

     I have lots of love to go around. :)  What a privilege to be able to direct all that love to the One Who loves me unconditionally.  If God chooses to bring a special someone to me, that does not mean less love for Him, simply a different route for that love.  For now though, I can choose to be wholly satisfied in Christ, not in myself or who I might be in the future.  What about you? Where will you find whole and complete satisfaction?
    

Never...Ever?

  
     "Never say never."  That always strikes me as funny. Um, 'scuse me. You just did. But apparently, it sounds cool so of course we don't stop and think about if it makes sense...?

     When I stop and ponder it, 'never' is a very strong word.  As defined by Merriam-Webster, to put it in its harshest terms, 'never' means 'not ever; not in any degree; not under any condition.'  Whew, it's pretty clear that this is an very long-lasting, if not eternal, condition.

     But most of the time when I say 'never,' I don't really mean it.  "I will never eat junk food again!" Ha.  "I will never procrastinate on homework again!" Ha ha.  "I will never again get so busy that I don't have time to exercise!" Ha ha ha.  'Never' is a little word that we tend to throw around flippantly and that is almost always used in negative terms.  It focuses on what one is losing and on something that one does not want to do again, i.e. never again procrastinating on homework.

     Recently there have been circumstances where I find myself dwelling on the fact that something will never happen again.  It can actually be pretty depressing! "I will never have this opportunity again." "This will never be a possibility again.'' 

     I have come to the realization that most of the time this is self-centered.  Of course, when using 'never' to describe something that has actual potential to help your body (cue illustration of not eating junk food again), 'never' can be a beneficial thing.  But most of the time when we say something will never happen, it is focusing inward and on what physically benefits us.

     It struck me that I don't think about the positive 'nevers' often enough. "I will never have to bear God's wrath for my sin.''  Never. Ever.  ''I will never be separated from God forever in hell.'' Never. Ever. ''I will never have to bear the loss of parents who do not know Christ.'' Never. Ever. 

     When looking at it this way, 'never' can be turned around to be a very positive thing!  I can change ''I will never have this opportunity again'' to ''I will never have to wonder again if this activity/action would be beneficial for me because God has said no.'' 

     This may seem silly, but it has helped me to have a more well-rounded, trusting view of God's purpose and sovereignty for my life.  Rather than focusing on the 'nevers' that will never benefit me physically, I can focus on the 'nevers' that will never have bearing on my eternal security.  Everything becomes brighter at the foot of the cross.  May Jesus take our 'nevers' in this life and use them for His glory!

Faithful

The title of this post may appear contradictory, seeing that my last post was in August...talk about being faithful with blogging...ah hem.

Ah, this past semester.  Definitely a trial in my life--hard classes, balancing home life and school work, adjusting to being back home from an absolutely fantastic summer with Worldview Academy, finding joy in all circumstances...I could go on.

But in the middle of studying like crazy, some grades that didn't reflect the information that I knew, exhaustion, and at times wanting to throw up my hands and give up nursing altogether, God was there.  He was faithful.  Through sometimes sporadic times in the Word, He was faithful.  When I felt like quitting, He was faithful.  During late nights of studying, He was faithful.  He IS faithful.

Oh it's good to relish His faithfulness! I am so thankful that He never gives up on me and that He is constantly there leading and guiding me.  But, I am also called to be faithful. 

Colossians 3:23-24 says:
"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.  You are serving the Lord Christ."

I am serving the Lord Christ!  What a privilege and high calling! I want to be faithful in that. 

I don't want to be like the servant in Matthew 25 who hid his talent in the ground and was not faithful to invest it for his master's kingdom.  I want to invest my talents in the Lord's ministry, whether that be at school, home, or church.

I want to be like the 10 virgins (in Matthew 25 as well) who faithfully tended to their lamps so they would be ready when the bridegroom arrived.  I want to be faithful in preparing myself daily to step out into a world that needs Christ.  I will not be prepared to advance the Lord's kingdom if I have not met with Him and learned more about His character that morning.

The Christian life is a call to be faithful.  I have found that this is not easy!!!  Not. At. All.  It's hard to be faithful, especially when life is so busy!  But that's the whole beauty of faithfulness--it's not easy. It takes hard work to be faithful.  That's what makes it so rewarding.  And that's what makes God's faithfulness so precious--He perseveres with me and never gives up on me.

I love what Jesus says to the church in Smyrna in Revelation 2:10--"Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life."

'Unto death,' folks! That's a long time!  Faithfulness isn't something that sprouts up overnight--it's cultivated daily, slowly, step-by-step. 

This could be wearying...until one reads the last part of that verse.  We will receive a crown of life!  That is the ultimate goal.  To hear those words, "Well done, good and faithful servant," and to receive a crown of life, only to cast it back again in thankfulness and amazement.  I will remember this when I'm feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. There is an end goal, and in that goal is motivation--motivation to be faithful.

Going into my hardest semester of school yet with this perspective will help me on those hard days.

"Well done, good and faithful servant!" I just want to give up and drop out of school, but that would not be faithful with what You have given me to do now, would it, God.  "Well done, good and faithful servant!" Grr I'm complaining again.  God, please help me be faithfully joyful!  "Well done, good and faithful servant!" I cannot think of one place that I will use this information, but I want to be faithful to diligently study and learn it because that's what God's placed in front of me.

It will also give me motivation on the good days!

"Well done, good and faithful servant!" Thank you, God, for helping me to balance school and home life well today. "Well done, good and faithful servant!" Thank you for helping me see how I could serve this person.  "Well done, good and faithful servant!" Thank you for a wonderful time in Your Word this morning!

I want to hear those 6 words spoken from Jesus Himself.

What about you--at the end of your life, are you going to hear those 6 words? Will you run this race with perseverance? Will you be faithful?

An Echoing Tune

“These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.”

C.S.Lewis

I love this quote.  For one, C.S. Lewis penned it very eloquently, and secondly, I relate very well to the thought process that he is describing here.  You see, I am very good at echoing tunes.

I am a people-lover.  I’m not sure what the technical, scientific term for that is…if there is one...which there probably is. Homo-sapien-phile?  Eh, that just sounds weird.  Let’s stick with people-lover.  I enjoy making new friends and I treasure old friendships.  I love finding ways to connect with people, and once we connect, we stay connected for a long, long time.  Saying good bye has always been hard, especially when there’s the prospect of not seeing the person again. 

I love memories.  For quite a long time, I would journal when my family and I went on trips.  I would journal about each day and all the things we did during that day, including little details, such as what we ate for meals, funny conversations, and the scenery.  I have gotten out of that habit now, probably because now when I go on trips, they are for extended periods of time instead of a week here and a week there like when I was younger.  Maybe the thought of writing extensively about each day over an extended period of time is intimidating.  But when I did journal about every little thing each day, I remember wanting to preserve that moment. To catch those memories and upon re-reading my journals in the coming months, to be able to re-live those moments again.

“ Well wait,” you might be saying. “What does this have to do with you being good at echoing tunes?” Well hang in there with me! I’m getting there. 

Memories are wonderful.  People are wonderful.  Like C.S. Lewis said, memories are good images of what we really desire.  Thinking about the past and all the dear memories shows that we desire good things, things worth treasuring.  But there’s a catch. And that catch is something that I’m prone to fall prey to.  Lewis goes on to say, “But if they [the memories] are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers.”  [Note: every little grammar-inclined brain cell in me wants to change ‘worshippers’ to one ‘p’ but since it is part of a quote, I will resist…] 

Memories are not real life.  Yes, that may seem obvious, but think about it.  Have you ever had an experience that you wanted to go on for a lifetime? I’m sure you have. We all have.  You want to re-live that memory over and over in your mind.  So much so that it becomes part of your real life—an echoing tune, something that is constantly ringing in your head.  This is what I am guilty of.  I am guilty of presently living in the past. 

Echoing tunes.  Hearing a beloved tune for a few times is pleasant and refreshing.  It gladdens the heart and brings joy.  However, after a pleasant tune is echoed frequently on repeat, it can become distracting.  Ah, distraction.  And not only can this tune bring distraction, but it can also bring discontentment. Discontentment? Why yes. Discontentment that you can’t be back in the past right at the moment when you originally heard that tune.  If this is ringing a bell with you, you’re not alone.

When something distracts me (which is bad enough) and further makes me discontent that I don’t have that thing (which is even worse), there’s another word for that. Hmmm…what could it be? Ah ha—an idol.  If I am distracted from where God has me here and now by a memory, and then proceed to grow discontent that I cannot be living back in the past with that memory, this fits both criteria to make it an official idol.

This is where I go, “Wait! I love my memories! Does this mean I can’t think about them ever again?!” My goodness of course not! Memories are meant to be, well, remembered. But the first step in to dethrone the memory idol. I must confess it to the Lord and repent of putting my memories above His rightful place in my life. 

Secondly, I must turn off the repeat on my echoing tune.  My memories must not resoundingly echo in my life and thus become a distraction to me.  In turning off the repeat, I can intentionally turn my mind from an attitude of discontentment to one of thankfulness for the memories God has given me.

This is sometimes hard for me.  Maybe it’s hard for you too at times. Maybe you mourn when certain seasons of your life are over.  I encourage you with the same things I encourage myself with—that where you are right now is God’s perfect plan for you.  The fact that you’re not back in that season of life means that’s not God’s best for you right here, right now.  Psalm 30:4-5 says:

“Sing praises to the Lord, O you His saints, and give thanks to His holy Name. For His anger is but a moment, and His favor is for a lifetime.  Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

Tears and mourning are good and have their proper place. But joy comes with the morning.  Joy in the unfailing love of Jesus and His perfect plan for our lives. Thank the Lord for those sweet memories, and thank Him for the opportunity to live for Him right where He has placed you. 

I don’t want to live my life to an echoing tune. By God’s grace, may we fully thrive to the tune that He has perfectly placed in our lives right here, right now.

Ta-da! It's a blog!

Hi there and welcome to my blog! This is my first venture out into the blogging world, and since I like to write and pen my thoughts, I figured why not? :)  As the title of this blog indicates, one of my themes of life is 'Strength Through Joy,' taken from Nehemiah 8:10b which says, "The joy of the Lord is my strength." Ultimately, joy is found only in the Lord and through that joy, He gives us strength.  Some of my posts will likely be on this topic (since it is the title of the blog, after all...) and some will most likely not be on this topic.  I cannot promise how often this little blog will be updated, but if it's been a while since I've posted, don't give up on me! There's this little thing called school that sometimes takes priority...  Anyway, happy reading and God bless!