TWILY Ministries
|Love Notes| August 2011
I
Can Definitely Work Like That!
Wow! One year this month; that's how long it's been, since I last sent
you a Love
Note. Even so, during that time, I was blessed, by
reading many of your emails. I think it's only fitting, then, to use this
return edition, to answer one of your most frequent questions: "Where have you been?", and to answer it plainly, let me just say, I have simply BEEN
distracted!
On second thought, that answer really doesn't suffice, because there was nothing simple about it. See, we get "simple"
distractions all day, but they easily come and go by merely pressing a
button; this one was different: I had gained some NOISY new neighbors, and they had settled in to stay!
Quiet evenings, quickly, became a thing of the past, and where I used
to be able to write
for hours, then, I was only praying "Lord, please send them away!",
coupling my request with the classic line
"I can't work like this!"
Well, the Lord didn't send
them away, and in fact, a few months later, He allowed EQUALLY
NOISY neighbors to move in on the other side. Now I was
baffled, so I began to pray from
a different perspective, specifically, "Lord, are you trying to tell me something?;
Do you still want me to write?" and His response
to that? "Yes" - He
was "trying to tell me something" and He still "wanted
me to write."
As I would later find out, that was the whole point of the matter; the SAME point He had been trying to tell me for quite
some time:
If you keep waiting for perfect conditions, before you get started,
you will never accomplish anything that I've called you to do!
Apparently, NOISE wasn't my biggest problem; it was only one of the things that I had allowed to HOLD ME HOSTAGE,
keeping me from completing - and in some cases, even "beginning"
things the Lord had called me to do; not only writing, but other
things as well.
What a revelation! It was tough to hear, but I could not even almost
deny it!
Can
you relate?
If so, no need to despair; we serve a loving God, and
although He will sometimes allow an uncomfortable situation, in order to help
get us beyond our weak areas, He also gives us sufficient grace to handle it;
and praise the Lord, His grace is sufficient! - 2 Cor. 12:9
Even so, we don't want to
test His patience, by not taking heed to what He reveals about our lives; it
would behoove us then, to STOP waiting for perfect conditions before going
forth in things "He's" called us to do. The "specific
thing" that He's given "you" - and me - to do, does NOT have to be perfect, before He can
use it to bless someone else! - I'm not talking about permitting
"sloppiness"; no, of course we should always strive to put our best
foot forward; however, we need to recognize when we have moved from, say,
"proofing" to "perfectionism!" The latter is nothing but a form of
bondage, and we know the Truth, so we're supposed to be free!
Again, praise Him for His patience because, even after
we have "gotten the point", sometimes we find ourselves
stumbling, instead of INSTANTLY putting it into practice. Case in point:
During my opening, I mentioned how much I've been blessed by
your emails, and as I head towards closing, I'd like to share just a portion
of one such email, received from a teacher in
Here now, is how it reads:
We came across your page, and found it very helpful for a bible study
project we are working on. My students just absolutely loved your site! As a
thank you, my students also found another resource that was very helpful, www.sitesname.org, and they thought you might like to share it
with others on your page.
We feel this would be a great addition to your web page
and would make it even more resourceful than it already is! Plus, I know it would make their day if they saw it up on your page,
to know that their hard work has paid off. :)
God bless and have a wonderful day!
Sincerely,
"Ms. Smith"- teachers.org
Now, when I read this email, my instant thought
was, "Awww...that's really sweet of them, taking
time to share their resource with me; I'm going to research it right now, and
add it to the website."
Well, before the search
engine delivered the results, I had already gone back to my old way of thinking,
saying: "Well, I don't know; I'm not really happy
with the site right now; I think I'll just wait until it's been redesigned!"
You get the picture, I'm sure; and thankfully, after pausing a bit
longer, so did I, and talk about a close call! - I WAS ABOUT TO FAIL MY POP-QUIZ
on the very things the Lord had been trying to teach me; so I couldn't
let that be my final answer!
I QUICKLY verified the resource, added it
to the website, and afterwards, emailed "Ms. Smith"
- in order to "make the students day!"
Some may be wondering,
though, "Are
such small gestures really important?" They sure are;
it's amazing what the Lord can do with our so-called "small gestures",
especially when He's leading us to do them. Whether that means someone adding
a resource to a website, resulting in making some students day, or someone providing an encouraging push (Thanks, Min. R! - smile), resulting in me, getting back to writing,
friends, if the Lord is doing the leading, and we're willing to follow, He will
bring the increase!
I'm
done, but in case you are wondering, I
still have those NOISY neighbors, but the Lord has given me a
temporary solution:
a good pair of headphones!
So now when I sit down to write, no longer are my ears
filled with unbearable noise;
instead, they're filled with instrumental praise, and Hallelujah, saints! - I can definitely work like that!
God willing, see you soon. Please keep praying
for me and I'll be praying for you. As always, I appreciate your feedback!
Love in Christ,
Joyce
© Joyce Bailey
August 2011