It was a game I loved playing as a kid.

I wonder how well I would like it now?

Freeze tag. Statues. Name it what you like, it was a game of pauses.
​Hold still. Stop for a moment.

In the game you had to wait until someone tagged you before you could move again. Sometimes the wait was seconds, sometimes you had to beg someone to release you from your hibernation.

The adult game of Freeze tag ebbs and flows in my life. Pauses here and there move in to the rhythm I am trying to keep.

Sometimes it’s wonderful.

Sometimes………AARrgh! Not so much.

I make my plans. I set up the markers of success, my timeline of accomplishment.

I go on my way asking the Lord to bless my footsteps, never looking back.

Then something happens and I am marching in place.

Signaled to pause, I fight it.

Cautioned, I forge ahead.

No progress is made, yet the cadence of my feet hitting the ground goes on.

Pause seems like surrender, Lord.  If I stop now, will I ever get started again? Will my opportunity pass me by? Time marches on, why can’t I?

Daughter, your plans cover only the ground you see. My plans take you to places you can only find by My help. You’re not in a game. You are in authentic situations producing tangible results.
I have placed a call on your life but you won’t see it in its entirety until the last step is done.

I have given you pauses for My purpose. I have given you release, also for My purpose
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Both the pause and the march are holy to Me when done in obedience.

Isaiah 55:9 "For {as} the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (NASB)

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This post was written as a response to the word, 'pause.' Five Minute Friday is a community of writers who set their timers for five minutes and free write on the prompt of the week.
You can read more posts HERE. 

It’s shameless, really, what I do when he’s asleep.

I watch him.

Surveying the lines on his face, noticing the grey hair that has pushed out some of the dark brown. He still has the same profile I recall 35 years ago.

The face of my beloved has drawn me in all these years and I have not ceased to praise the Lord for that. It’s not to say that we don’t have our bad days, when our faces convey frustration, disgust, and even anger. But when the waters calm once again, we see each other in light of the promise we made before God so long ago.

Face to face we are known, loved, and embraced.

It’s how we get through life together.

I am reminded of Philippians 4:13 where Paul writes these encouraging words to the church in Philippi, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” But to REALLY know what this means we need to look at the previous verses.

Jumping in at verse 11 Paul says, “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.” (Emphasis mine)

The secret to getting through this life strong is making a habit of focusing on Jesus, our example of a God-pleasing life.  

Regardless of the circumstances and what I have at my disposal, I CAN do all things God has called me to do because my strength doesn’t come from me. My success finds its beginning in Christ.

As I gaze on my beloved, I am content.

As I gaze on my Beloved Savior, I’m enfolded in His love, understood, and empowered to live a life that glorifies God.

Are you in a crisis? Have you found the strength you need to go through it? Jesus is there for you. Call on His name to find the secret of a victorious life.

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This post was written for the Five Minute Friday Link-up and the word prompt of the week - Secret. To read more posts on this subject click here. 

Philippians 4:11-13 “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (NASB)

When we moved from the upper Midwest to the hills of the Ozarks in Missouri, I had to adapt to new surroundings and a different vocabulary.  Pop now meant my dad and soda was the carbonated beverage I hoped to order at the diner. That’s okay, I’ll get used to it, I thought.

When we moved from Missouri to the Pacific Northwest, I had to adapt to a weather pattern that was 9 months rainy and overcast vs. 3 months sunshine. Okay, I’ll bring an umbrella and light jacket wherever I go and relish the fleeting sunrays while I can.

When we moved from the Pacific Northwest back to Missouri, I knew what to expect and settled in my comfort zone.

When we moved from Missouri to rural South Dakota, raising the town population of 65 by ten percent with our family of 7, I learned to lead in my first call as pastor’s wife.

Many more times I would move to a new setting with new local quirks, adapting my responses and actions in accordance to the expected norms of the area. But through the adaptations of me one thing remained the same – the anchor that held me steady, the Rock upon which I stood was Jesus, the Word of God, and my calling to follow Him.

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines adapt in this way - to make fit (as for a new use) often by modification.

Adaptation is crucial to surviving in diverse locales. What works in the desert will not be effective in the rainforest. And though adapting to new environs may mean shelving certain desires for the sake of the call, I know that God will give me opportunities to work on neglected gifts or fruit of the Spirit I wouldn’t otherwise have attended to.

A pastor’s wife and mother of 5 has, by virtue of serving her family faithfully, developed leadership qualities beneficial to the church.

Anyone can appreciate the unique qualities of people and places all over this globe if they look through the eyes of our Heavenly Father.

After all, joy glows even brighter on a cloudy day, doesn’t it?

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How has God helped you to adapt to the place you are in currently?

 
[To read more posts on the word ‘adapt,’ click here -  Five Minute Friday Link-up. ]