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Lord, Make Me Willing to Wonder
by Abby Kelly If I only wrote of what God is teaching me, how exciting it is, how I am growing, all of His goodness and the excitement of living Real Life in Jesusthe life I shadowed for so many yearsyou might get the image that all of my lessons come wrapped in exquisite silence. You might picture me sitting on the back porch with my Bible, journal and pen furiously writing down what I hear Father whispering to me through His Word. And all of that would be true. I am blessed in this season to have unprecedented time to soak up God's Word. And I'm so grateful for it. I do learn a lot in those quiet hours. But, some of the hardest hitting lessons are just thathard hitting. They hit my ego, my sanity, my peace of mind, my confidence. Just such a lesson has been pummeling me against the stones of residual unbelief. In the wake of this storm, it feels like my mind has been thrashing with no upward or outward orientation. Perhaps you can identify: It's all in the numbers. No, I haven't been obsessing over the scale, calories in or calories out as you might suspect of a former anorexic. I haven't been contemplating hours of exercise or the number of peanuts in a one ounce serving. It's been another numerical conundrumthe fear of money. (I actually discovered a term for it: peniaphobia. Look it up!) Here's how it manifests in me: This week I have bought and returned and bought again an outfit (and almost returned it again). Another item I bought and returned and various others I have fretted over and worried through the halls of my mind like a stone between restless fingers. I have also panicked over credit card fraud, which resulted in closing two accounts and requesting new numbers. (One turned out to be real, the other I was in error.) I have lost sleep over whether I should or should not buy something for the house. I have been consumed with whether my budget is correct or if I missed recording an expense. I have hounded my husband for not telling me he bought a Kindle book for $1.99. Maybe you don't have this problem. However, in the last week I have spoken to two other married women who alluded to wrestling with these unwanted fears too. So, whether you fret about money or not, let me ask if this resonates with you: I live in a constant state of "what if", living as if all the "what if's" could happen and I must take preventative measures. I'll share some other specifics with you; try them on for size: What if the government shuts down again and the military doesn't get paid? What if my husband is one of the hundreds forced out of the Army? What if I need to work and can't find a job? What if we lose the renters in our house who are covering the mortgage? These thoughts were very common when I dealt with anorexia: What if I get fat? What if I eat too much today and can't workout tomorrow? What if my family gives up on me? What if there are more calories in that than what I counted? What if they actually put dressing on my salad? So, my self-protective, chicken-heart believes that it's best to live as if these things might happen, live hyper-vigilant. More painfully trueit's best to live as if God isn't good just incase He withdraws His blessing that has been so generous to me for more than 34 years. My eating disorder was one giant, frightened step back from a looming "What if?" It was my shattered response to a terrifying unknown. It manifested in rejecting loveWhat if they stop loving me? Extreme anxiety in school and other challengesWhat if I fail? Fear of enjoying anythingWhat if I get used to this and it's not here tomorrow? Terror of the unknown cropped up in my marriage and almost short circuited forgiveness. After discovering my husband's addiction to pornography, even after he addressed it, we worked on our marriage and I had no evidence that it remained, still I held him at arm's distance, skeptical and suspiciousWhat if it comes back? Paralyzing, invasive fear is the side effect of living in a perpetual, hypothetical state of "What if?". As I discovered this tendency to live in prevention mode against all possibilities, I realized that I rebel against wonder. The same thing that I admire in carefree children and happy-go-lucky puppies, I fight against tooth and nail as an adult. I do not want to experience wonder. I do not want to embrace "maybe" or, "what if", or "perhaps not". Then God got really personal. I heard Him whisper, "If you rebel against the unknown, you can never know me." Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth,so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." To pursue the heart of God is to step willingly into wonder, amazement and, invariably, into the unknown. To trust Him is to acknowledge and embrace what I cannot fully know. Oh My Father, I want to wonder. I want to know wonder and amazement and awe and true, Biblical fearfear of you and you alone. Please, gently release these shackles of safety. Teach me to trust you and to walk in wonder. Teach me to ask "what if" with anticipation, joy and peace. Learn more about me on my website: http://predatory-lies.com/about-me/ Please find my book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Predatory-Lies-Anorexia-Kelly-ebook/dp/B00HFGMBJA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389645006&sr=8-1&keywords=predatory+lies Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |