October | 2021 | itsawonderfilledlife

Archive for October, 2021

Surprise!

Posted in Walking with God, tagged #beholdiamdoinganewthing, #peaceofthespirit, #surprise, #surprises, #theadvocate on October 5, 2021| Leave a Comment »

I have a love-hate relationship with surprises … I hate to be confronted with surprises, but I love to plan them for others.

The other day I got to surprise a couple of people and it was such fun (at least it was for me). Their reactions were unplanned, without the filters that give us the ‘right’ words to say.

I remember, many years ago, when I was having a milestone birthday. We had booked a sitter for our daughter and went out to a nice restaurant for dinner. When we arrived back home, just before entering our house, I looked over to him and said, “thanks so much for not planning a surprise birthday party, because I really hate surprises” … lets just say, his face said it all … I gulped and opened the door to (you guessed it) a house full of people.

That was an undesired surprise, but then there are other surprises that are simply bad. When a loved one dies, a job is lost, a dark secret or a lie revealed. Those surprises can crush a person, changing the trajectory of life.

The thing is, every surprise we encounter is old news to God. He knows the good, the bad and the ugly that is coming in our lives. He knows the resources that we will need for the surprises to come.

That’s not to say that we actually choose to use or rely on those resources, but he has provided them. As a matter of fact the resource of peace through the Spirit is there for those who choose to accept that in our lives. He is never pushy, but there for our taking … if we so choose.

For those of us who have chosen, it is unfathomable to consider living this life, with all of it’s surprises, without the assurance that we do not have to face them on our own.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it.
Isaiah 43:19

Read Full Post »

The Purpose Driven Walker

Posted in Walking with God, tagged #briskpace, #puredelight, #slowwalks, #takeyourtime, #thepurposedrivenwalker on October 3, 2021| Leave a Comment »

If you drive or bike by me while I am out for a walk, you will most likely see a woman, face forward, moving at a fast clip that ensures that the wonder-dog is in full panting mode. A brisk pace from beginning to end is what my daily walks are all about. I have a destination to reach and that is the end of the walk.

That’s me … the purpose driven walker.

For a few months there’s been a niggling in the back of my mind concerning these daily scurries around my hood. It has been poking me more and more until I finally had to admit the challenge being presented to me …

how about a slow, meandering walk for a change?

It is a bit embarrassing to admit that it took me months to try this out.

Finally, a couple weeks back, as I tied my runners I determined that my canine buddy and I would challenge the idiom about a dog and a new trick.

We wandered. paused. looked left. and right. and even turned back a few times. we stopped to watch the sheep nibbling on grass. we watched the gentle wind send the trees swaying overhead. we listened to the birds songs. checked out flowers, and shrubs. we breathed slow, deep.

Our walk took double the time we normally walk. We wandered, and lingered, and ambled and dawdled, and maybe even dilly dallied just a bit.

And, you know what?

it was pure delight!

There was no drive, no purpose, other than to enjoy the very moment we were in.

This slower pace may just become a more regular way to walk.

the one who acts hastily makes poor choices.
Proverbs 19:2b

Read Full Post »

I Made a Promise to You

Posted in Marriage, The Hubby, WONDER, tagged #anniversary, #coventalpromises, #faithful, #imadeapromisetoyou, #marriage, #notifbutevenif, #promisemaking on October 1, 2021| 4 Comments »

Months ago I began writing a blog post. The title, above, was all I wrote. Though I do not remember what exactly I planned to write, I know that I planned to reflect on our anniversary, as we reached the milestone of 32 years married.

And here we are, 32 years under our belts and a title for a blog post.

So, what is a promise?

a declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen (Oxford Dictionary)
a declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

But, these are nouns, things like a piece of paper, a marriage certificate, a legally binding document.

A marriage is more than paper and ink, more than a one-time declaration.

Marriage is a living entity. A moving, breathing organism. So, to define a promise we also need to look at it’s verb definitions:

to tell someone that you will certainly do something (Cambridge Dictionary)
to undertake to do something in the future (Free Dictionary)
to give ground for expectation (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

It is here, in the verb definitions, that our understanding of what a promise is takes form and brings understanding … understanding not just in words, but with feet to put it into practise.

Let’s be quite honest here, promises are not easy.

To make this marriage promise-making even more difficult, they are promises made in ignorance … trust. For neither knows what events, challenges and decisions are to come, that will poke and prod us as individuals and as a couple, that will change us, that will change the face, behaviors and mind of the one to whom we make these promises.

to have and to hold from
for better for worse
for richer for poorer
in sickness and in health
to love
cherish

Hubby is not the man I made those promises to …

and I am not the woman who he made those promises to either.

We have changed. Changed in how we live and think. Changed in how we spend our time. Changed in how we spend our money. Changed our location of living. Changed in our perspectives about issues that are important. Changed in how we see the world. Changed in how we see each other.

yet …

(and I can only speak for me)

I made a promise to you …

till death us do part …

And a promise should not be kept with gritted teeth, but with intent to make good what was said.

For the promise I made did not come with a caveat … no conditions or limitations.

It was not a promise to our marriage if … but even if.

Marriage is the covenant that God chooses to show, to reflect his holiness.

This promise-making is what can bring us closer to understanding the love of God (the groom) for His bride (the church). His promise is eternal, unconditional, unwavering and has far more to do with the promise maker (God) than the one to whom the promise is made (the bride).

It is not promise making for the sake of our happiness, but to bring us closer to THE promise-maker!

We must continue to hold firmly to our declarations of love, of faith. The one who made the promise is faithful.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts