A little over a week ago, I asked God to give me to a Scripture passage, a verse, or maybe even a word to chew on. I thought I might open my Bible to an "aha" verse, but instead God gave me a word.
Reflect.
Reflect. I immediately jumped to the conclusion that I need to "reflect" or ponder my life. I've been stretched this summer with a busy work schedule. My mom's health is tenuous, with weekly doctor's visits at inopportune times. The way I figured it, God told me to think about my purpose as a daughter, worker, wife and mother.
I shared God's one word revelation with a dear, wise, friend and told her my thoughts. She encouraged me to look up the word in a dictionary or thesaurus, and then to start a journal. WHAM! -It was as if God had used her suggestion to hit me in the head with a two by four. Using my computer's thesaurus, the first words that came up were not pondering words, but rather imitating words. Words like replicate. Echo. Mirror. And then came revealing words. Show. Display. Exhibit.
God whispered, "I made you in my image. Now reflect my nature. Be a servant. To your coworkers. To your mom. To everyone you encounter."
Now that's no easy task. For me, right now, it seemed nearly impossible. In my typical, independent self, I wanted to deny his whisper, deny what his word, reflect, was supposed to mean. Luckily, we were ready to embark on our annual family kayaking vacation, so I thought I could leave the whisper behind.
But, as so often is God's way, he decided to drive home his point during my one solitary paddle. On a beautiful inland lake, on a gorgeous, September day, I captured this image:
Look closely. The photo appears to be a picture taken of the sky, with the sun shining brightly from behind fabulous cumulus clouds. It is not. This photo is of the lake, with the reflection of the sky in the water. The give-a-way is the small ripples at the bottom of the photo.
Here is the photo of the sky:
Reflect. I immediately jumped to the conclusion that I need to "reflect" or ponder my life. I've been stretched this summer with a busy work schedule. My mom's health is tenuous, with weekly doctor's visits at inopportune times. The way I figured it, God told me to think about my purpose as a daughter, worker, wife and mother.
I shared God's one word revelation with a dear, wise, friend and told her my thoughts. She encouraged me to look up the word in a dictionary or thesaurus, and then to start a journal. WHAM! -It was as if God had used her suggestion to hit me in the head with a two by four. Using my computer's thesaurus, the first words that came up were not pondering words, but rather imitating words. Words like replicate. Echo. Mirror. And then came revealing words. Show. Display. Exhibit.
God whispered, "I made you in my image. Now reflect my nature. Be a servant. To your coworkers. To your mom. To everyone you encounter."
Now that's no easy task. For me, right now, it seemed nearly impossible. In my typical, independent self, I wanted to deny his whisper, deny what his word, reflect, was supposed to mean. Luckily, we were ready to embark on our annual family kayaking vacation, so I thought I could leave the whisper behind.
But, as so often is God's way, he decided to drive home his point during my one solitary paddle. On a beautiful inland lake, on a gorgeous, September day, I captured this image:
Look closely. The photo appears to be a picture taken of the sky, with the sun shining brightly from behind fabulous cumulus clouds. It is not. This photo is of the lake, with the reflection of the sky in the water. The give-a-way is the small ripples at the bottom of the photo.
Here is the photo of the sky:
God used his creation to remind me of his whisper. "Reflect my nature."
Yet still, I wanted to challenge his whisper. I thought to myself, "Sure. It's easy to reflect you when the water of life is smooth and still. But what about when the water of life brings waves that crash and churn? How can I possibly reflect you then?"
Yesterday, while I enjoyed the last of summer's beach days, I snapped this photo of an unruly Lake Michigan:
The sun danced and glistened off the cresting waves and bounced in wide streams of light across the water. The sun's reflection was beautiful and wide. I realized that even in the churning challenges of life, I can reflect God. I know that at times it won't be easy. I know that I times I will fail. But I also know that God is there, encouraging me every step of the way.
Reflect.
James 3:17-18
Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.
