Walkabout in Favor

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a Bon Voyage party for one of my friends. Her company is sending her to Australia for approximately one year. I think it could be longer. I was so intrigued about how she got this position, so of course I asked. She told me that she didn't apply for the position or even know about it. She continued by saying that her boss recommended her for the job. Now, if that isn't favor . . . I don't know what is. I am convinced that favor is God raising up people to use their power, their ability and their influence to help you. The opportunity came, she was prepared and now she's headed down under.

Sometimes we don't know our own strengths or our own capabilities until we face a challenge, have to make a decision or have to take on additional responsibilities. I have experienced this in my own life. I don't know when I started to fear flying. It must have been after 9/11. When I worked at my previous job, one of my clients wanted me to visit them about once a quarter, if that. They were located in Dallas. I probably protested that decision so much, until an ultimatum was made. Never-the-less, I got on that plane. I flew to Dallas, met with my client and came right back home. When I decided to change jobs and interviewed for my current position, I was asked during the interview if I had a passport. Thinking nothing of it, I said yes. I got the job and one month later I was on a plane to Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. I thought, Lord you have such a sense of humor. What was revealed was that if I wanted to be a higher power career woman and be in a position of great responsibility and work for an international company, I was going to have to trust in God and get over this fear. I thought, okay . . . I get it. Had I of tucked my tail between my legs and told myself that I wouldn't be able to handle the stress of travel, more like the phobia of flight, then I would miss out on so much. I wouldn't get to travel to places that I have not been able to. My view of the world would have been so small. I wouldn't be able to learn to embrace new cultures and test my own abilities when it comes to tolerance and understanding. Sometimes our destiny is revealed to us, but our own fears or hesitations get in the way of us fulfilling it.

In saying that I wish Eb all the success in the world. Who knows her eternal "Boo" may be an Aussie and God needed to get her to Australia somehow, right? Whatever the future holds for her . . . I hope she'll walkabout, letting her light so shine before men, wherever she goes.

Master of my fate? Really?

So, this morning my husband sent me this email he received and in it had a scripture from the B-I-B-L-E. I am sure I will blog about it when I get home, this evening. Anyway, I want to share the scripture with you, because I think it will help to put some things in perspective for you as it did for me when I read it. I’m not trying to be hypocritical, but sometimes I too believe that I am the “master of my fate, the captain of my soul” – William Earnest Henley and all the success I’ve achieved, I achieved because I did, what I considered to be “all the right things.” God says something different. You can read what he says in Psalms 20. I came upon this devotion that explains things in simplicity ( I thought it to be really profound) and I hope you read it in its entirety, because yesterday’s events were a testament to achieving our dreams when we recognize our own humility and acknowledge the favor of God.

*disclaimer: these are my beliefs, so after reading the intro, if you don’t get it or don’t view it the same way, it’s okay to stop reading

Pslams 20

If we just believe in ourselves we can do anything. To prove this point we parade out our list of famous people who have “pulled themselves up from their own bootstraps.” But David recognized an entirely different reality in life. He would not recognize what masquerades as conventional wisdom, even in some Christian circles. It is the Lord alone who can truly help us in the day of trouble (v.1). The only “sure thing” in life isn’t a blue-chip stock, a strong national defense, or education, it is that God would set us securely on high. Many of us boast of our “track records” with far less impressive of a resume than David. One of the greatest warriors and military leaders to ever live understood that his victories were a result of something God was doing, more than something he was doing. His humility wasn’t ornamental; it was the real way he understood his life and his God.

We are told almost from infancy to “chase our dreams.” They are ours to catch, or lose. David would have laughed at such a view. Our heart’s desire, our purpose for living, can only be fulfilled and realized through Him. David recognized what we often don’t, that God is sovereign, that He alone can grant us our hearts desire and lead us to His perfect purpose for us (v.4).

Who saves us when we are in trouble? Social Security? A solid investment portfolio? A strong national defense? It is so easy to trust in what seem like the pillars of a strong society. Yet, all these can crash. The roaring 20’s gave way to the Great Depression. The mad dash for wealth and financial security led to the great stock market crash. The Maginot line protecting France from Germany, considered impregnable, was bypassed in hours by the invading German army. The Great Atlantic wall, designed by the wily German general Rommel to keep the Allies from landing in France, was breached in hours .

There is only one safe place to put our trust, and that is in the name of our God (v.5). Those whom God loves, He protects, and ultimately saves. The only place to make a perfectly guaranteed investment is in heaven. It is the only place that is not vulnerable to the ebb and flow of the future and catastrophe’s of this world, where moth and rust destroy.

David, a man skilled in war, a leader of armies and countless campaigns says, some boast in chariots, and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord our God (v.7). Chariots and horses can bow and fall down (v.8), but those whose trust is in the Lord do not.

Too often, what we call trust and faith is little more than a thinly disguised lie. We don’t really believe God has given us all we have, we are the ones who so very wisely took care of ourselves. We acquired the necessary skills, we have the pre-requisite drive to succeed, we made the shrewd investment, we responded correctly to the calamity, and that is why we are where we are today. The human belief in self sufficiency is so firmly rooted in most of us, that faith and trust in God is merely a religious nod we give to cover our bases, spiritual insurance, just in case we may have received a bit more help somewhere than we realized.
Like Nebuchadnezzar, who could only see his position in his world as a result of his own efforts, we are modern Nebuchadnezzar’s (Daniel 4:29-37). The truth is that the best of us are no more than turtles on a fence post. In the country, when you see that sight, you are certain of one thing, he didn’t get there by himself, someone put him there.

Who gets the credit in your life for your accomplishments? Not the patronizing credit we so glibly give at church “God has been good to me,” which frequently we say without believing in any case, but the real credit. In your heart of hearts, who do you credit with all your success and the success of any decisions or actions you have taken? When Nebuchadnezzar forgot who put him where he was, God knocked him off the fence for seven years. He grazed in the field like an animal. When God led him to regain his senses, he saw the fence post more clearly, and said so.

What will it take to bring you to your senses? Success does not breed wisdom, humility does.

The day the world stood still

Today . . . .Was the day the world stood still. It stood still to witness a great change in America.

Mothers, fathers and children of every race and every creed witnessed what will inevitably be a historic period in this country. I watched in awe as Barack Obama took the oath and witnessed Chief Justice Roberts almost screw it up. I watched, from my parents living room, the millions and millions of people whose expressions symbolized what my heart felt these last few months. The unspeakable joy that change in America has manifested this day.

I listened to the speech that will forever be echoed through the hearts and minds of all Americans like the words of Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy and Frederick D. Roosevelt and couldn't help but wonder if they were there to witness it all, because in my mind our spirits live on long after our bodies have turned to dust. What a prophecy that has been fulfilled. Martin called it and he knew America would indeed embrace it. Why? Because like Obama said in his speech . . .

"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."

Our common link is that we all have struggled. Be it a struggle for racial or educational equality, peace, financial stability or justice. Now we must unite as one people. We must put our past hurts behind us. We must educate ourselves and our children, because as I am finding out from reading the works of WEB Dubois and Frederick Douglas education leads to freedom.

We have now moved from Before Obama (BO) to During Obama (DO) and I can't wait to see what my children will witness After Obama (AO). The skies are the limit and my hope in all things great has been reignited. Let freedom ring!