Inspiration For Our Souls...

With the Yes To God study starting last Tuesday, it seems that blogland is abuzz with how this study is going to change the lives of so many lovely ladies here. Everywhere I turn I am being inspired by the openness and rawness of ladies whom I have not even met in real life. It just goes to show that we do live a spiritual life, even as mere mortals here on earth. God is touching our lives through Lisa's book; with her challenge to us to become authentic and to get real.

The indicators that the time is right for me to get real with God is all around outside of blogland too. In the last 2 days I have come across the following 4 quotes, and as I read them I could not help but think that they are telling me something. Have a read and see if you can pick up on what I mean:

"I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday, and I love today." - William Allen White

"Life is a wilderness of twists and turns where faith is your only compass." - Paul Santaguida

"You see things and you say, "Why?" But I dream things that never were and I say, "Why not?"" - Geroge Bernard Shaw

"Surrender your blunders to the Lord. He can use them to make the pattern of your life more beautiful." - Corrie ten Boom

Yes To God ladies, and others reading this post, do...you...get...it?

I know I do! Do not fear. Remember but don't dwell on yesterday. Love where you are today. Life will always take us in directions we least expect. Have faith. Don't question the "why" too much; only God knows all the answers. Imagine what life can, and will be like, and embrace it. Give up your past to the Lord; release it and let it go. He let us experience what we did to make our life so much better today...yes, TODAY!

The Corrie ten Boom quote came with a verse from Proverbs 16:3 -

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."

Therein is another instruction from our Amazing Father as to what we should be doing to become more authentic and to get real! Give it up! Give up trying to be in control. Give up trying to be someone that we're not.

When I think of the real Paula, the authentic Paula and who God wants me to be, I think back to when I was a child; when I had innocence and looked at the world as a wide-eyed child. I have to stop myself with my daughter and remind myself that she hasn't been there and done all that yet, so I must become like a child in some ways so I can appreciate all that is in front of me. Does this sound familiar?

Yes, Jesus told us in Matthew 18:3-5 that we must "...become like little children...", that "...whoever humbles himself like this child..." and "...whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." This could be part of our key to getting real with God.

We need to return to our Father. We need to welcome Him back in completely. We need to renew ourselves, plant ourselves back at His feet and say, "here I am Father, I need you, I cannot do this by myself anymore, and I am sorry for going against you and thinking that I could." We need to admit that we just cannot do it alone, that we need to uncover who is actually under all, as Lisa says, "the fluff", and we need to become the women that God originally intended us to be.

Where we are did not happen by accident. He gave us a free reign to do as we pleased, and most of us messed it up. I know that I did, and not just once, but twice, even three times. But I know now where I went wrong. I can admit that I made the WRONG CHOICE! I didn't do what God had told me I should have done. As a young child and teenager, He told me, but I chose not to listen.

Despite all this, the current pattern of my life is more beautiful that it's ever been. My life is not exactly how I would like it to be, but I dare say that if God were standing in front of me right here and right now, He would tell me that it's exactly where He wants me to be. That's good enough for me. I can deal with that. I don't have my sweetie with me, I am raising a child alone, I have health issues that wear me out, but at the end of the day, I have my Lord who sticks by me so amazingly that if I didn't know that He loved me so, I would actually wonder why!

So ladies, we need to elimate the fear, the yesterdays, the questions, the trying to live life by our road map, and we need to have some imagination and faith. And we need to do it TODAY! And most importantly, we need to show the same love for ourselves as God does. That might just be a big ask, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

Dear Lord, Thank you for the love you shower on us, your Girls, as we do life and now endeavour to do it real for you. Please give me the strength to not fear, to dream, to imagine, and to have more faith that it will be OK; that I will be able to let go and let you lead. The best is yet to come, as I know better now, and I am thankful to you for sticking by me all this time. In Your Wonderful Name, Amen