In August I had the opportunity to go to a blogging conference. There’s no doubt I need better equipped to blog. I’ve gone back and reread some of my older posts and have literally cringed. Someday when I have time I will edit so they are less like a fire hose. I guess I did the best with what I had and what I knew at the time. Learning and growing in new venues and spaces…isn’t that what the live full journey is really all about?
“Did I choose to love? Did I point to you enough?” -Nicole Nordeman
So I took off to learn and grow at The Declare conference in Big D. It was right up the street from where I once lived which made for a beneficial adventure full of reminiscing, strolling down previously walked roads and connecting with great people. Stepping out of the airport I realized immediately…it’s still hot as blazes, flatter than flat and way too many off ramps for this directionally challenged chica. At one point trying to get to the hotel I felt like Chevy Chase “Big Ben, Parliament” as I kept circling but couldn’t quite get over to where I needed to be. The frustration mounted as I could see the hotel glaring in the distance….but how do I get over there??? Rounding the same tree over and over, stuck on the wrong off ramp. Not to mention the smell of tortilla soup was around every corner; savory, sweet and spicy; which kept me in a distracted state. Tex Mex is a real one of a kind delight, highly recommended :-)!
“Being a woman is worse than being a farmer; There is so much harvesting and crop spraying to be done. legs to be waxed, underarms shaved, eyebrows plucked, feet pumiced, skin exfoliated and moisturized, spots cleansed, roots dyed, eyelashes tinted, nails filed, cellulite massaged, stomach muscles exercised. The whole performance is so highly tuned; you only need to neglect it for a few days for the whole thing to go to seed. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I revert to nature-with a full beard and handlebar moustache…Dennis Healey eyebrows, graveyard of dead skin, cell spots erupting, long curly fingernails…no contact lenses…flabby flubbering around…is it any wonder girls have no confidence” -Bridget Jones
At the conference they challenged us with the question…who do you think of when you sit down to write? My first thought was Bridget Jones on an unexpected faith journey. So sharing hope in the struggle is still my main goal. Especially to those of us who take the long way around and maybe circle that same tree way more than necessary. And on my way home I was graced to sit next to a new college grad who was on her way to her first real interview in Baltimore. She was wide eyed, had her calorie app, and just got off the phone with her mom. I saw myself. I saw Bridget Jones. I saw many of my friends. We chatted a little about her major, her interview, her dreams and aspirations and afterwards I felt myself wanting to say to her… peace. In whatever you do, whatever you decide, if you make the move across country or not….peace. May you look at yourself, your surroundings and your circumstances and have peace on the inside, no matter what. I didn’t want to seem like a weirdo, so I kept it light and encouraging.
“And at the risk or wearing out my welcome..at the risk of self discovery…
I’ll take every moment, and every minute that you give me.” – Sara Groves
Growing up we would say “Peace be with you” every Sunday at church. But it turned into a game of whose breath smelled the worst or who could shake hands the hardest. Though peace seems really hard to put your finger on; I think of…settled, at ease, content, relaxed, open, and unafraid. That’s something I want for me and all travelers. It’s amazing to me as everyone waits to get their luggage from the overhead bins; though no words are spoken, the relief in the air is palpable. So grateful to have landed. To be on the ground. To be walking out of this closed, confined, germ brewing space…I wish that could be a time when we could all shake hands (with our hand sanitizer close by) and say…peace be with you.
Jesus said in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Yet how we like to complicate matters. The definition of Peace “freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility.” Tranquility, calm, restfulness, quiet. How I struggle with peace. I like noise. I welcome constant chatter. Maybe I’m a natural born noise maker. Yet to really listen, to be still, to quiet oneself, seems necessary in the plight of true inner peace. To know that peace that passes all understanding and circumstances. I’ve been trying to work on that. It’s not my natural bend. Sometimes I have to force it. But I know there is something beneficial to learn, to receive in the quietness. Peace.
As I was grappling with peace I was grateful for a devotional I was listening to by Beth Moore and she talked about “Grace and Peace” How no one can stand without grace and peace comes through grace. In Galatians 1:3, 2Corinthians 1:2 and Phillipians 1:2 they all start with “May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.” In His grace, I can have complete peace. In Him we can be the best version God created us to be and do what He’s called us to do. Revelation. Dream. Become. Whole Hearted. Live Full. Learning how to walk that out in the everyday is the harder part. Choosing life and believing better; one day at a time.
“For it is by grace you have been saved through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
So when you’re off your schedule or routine or went over your points…
When you get a little too irritated or those old dead thoughts or habits creep up…
When that bitterness or brokenness piers through…
When you’re having trouble listening or quieting yourself…
When you find yourself brushing against those insecurities or failures…
When you’re wondering if you’re ever going to get it right…
When you can’t get on the right off ramp…
When the tree you keep circling seems like the only thing you see…
When you look in the mirror and see your beard starting to grow in…
As your waiting to get your bags from the overhead bin…
Or that moment when your plane finally lands safe on the ground…
And you get to walk on…
Grace and Peace to you.
To Bridget. To me. To my friends. To all the fellow sojourners. Grace and Peace.
To that place in all of us that wants to be the best version of ourselves and live into the fullness of God’s best for our lives. Grace and Peace.
I hope as your summer is starting to wrap up and a new school year, football season, and the changing of leaves and temperatures come into full swing; May grace and peace be with you. Holding onto grace that brings peace. I’ll be holding on. I hope you do too. Maybe grace and peace could be a way of life for all of us. I’m game…how about you?
“To boldly go where no man has gone before…” -Star Trek
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