About a month ago, something really amazing happened to me. I didn’t win the lottery, run a marathon, or bake a cake that didn’t fall flat. What did happen was that I very specifically saw the hand of God move in my life. I felt his joy and blessing raining down on me while I cried in the shower and reveled in what He had just done for me.
Over the summer I was perusing the web, not really knowing what I was looking for. I came across a site called (in)courage. They open their site to guests to submit posts quarterly for potential publication. It was closed for submissions at that time, but said it would be reopening in September so I marked my calendar and moved on with life. You see, I have felt for some time that I am supposed to write, but I haven’t known how to go about it, or what specifically I should write about. And life has certainly kept me more than occupied, which made it difficult to even think about how I might go about tackling such a huge thing as “writing.”
When my computer brain reminded me that it was September and it was time to visit the (in)courage site, I found that they had indeed reopened their forum for guest blog post submissions. So… I prayerfully wrote and an anxiously considered pressing the submit button. As I prepared to send in my post, I very clearly felt the Lord speak to my heart.
Kristin, your job is to write and send it in. Then, you’re done. You’ve done what you are supposed to do and the results are up to Me.
I felt so peaceful. I felt released from the pressure to say all the right words in the right order. I felt released from that final edit and wondering if I should have quoted a different verse. God is the Heart-toucher, and He will use my words as He sees fit. (sigh of relief!) I submitted my post and truly knew that, whether my post was used or not, I was going to be just fine. I do tend to reign in my expectations so honestly, I didn’t expect (in)courage to use the post, and that would have been okay with me.
You might imagine my shock when I opened my e-mail five days later and read this:
Hi Kristin – what fun it was reading your post!
Thank you for sharing your beautiful heart and words with (in)courage! We’re delighted to let you know that we want to share your submission with our community!
WHAT?? I was so shocked. And so excited… more excited than I have been in quite a while. It makes me cry even thinking about it right now. Not because I am excited that someone wanted to share my words, but because I am so touched that the Lord would hand me this gift. Back to my crying in the shower… God was affirming me. His presence at that moment was so profound. I knew He loves me and just wanted to give me the gift of having an opportunity to trust Him and watch Him move. Wow. God told me,
Look what I did for you because I love you!
Now here I am, sitting in a corner chair in the guest room of my house. I am watching an online course (for the second time!) that is teaching me to use the tools I have chosen for creating this website. This feels like the beginning of something significant in my life. You see, God also used this whole experience with a guest blog post on (in)courage to start me down the path of beginning my own blog. It feels so good to be resting right in the middle of His lap… knowing this new beginning is surrounded by His will, His way. I hold no expectations for what might become of my writing- except that I know I will be blessed as I obey the Lord and peacefully place all the outcomes into His so-much-more than capable hands.
Has the Lord moved in your life in any amazing or unexpected ways? I would love to hear about it!