Welcome back to my blog! It’s been a couple of weeks, and that’s been due to a busy moment in life, starting a new batch of classes, settling into our new space, as well as battling my own mental health. Life is always in flux, moving and changing constantly, and many times we can adapt, but there will be moments where adapting breaks. We become unfamiliar with the new rhythms that show up, and often this leads to confusion and cloudy heads. I’m being a bit honest today, not in order to gain your sympathy, but to help you know that it’s okay to not be okay.
This season in particular has showed most people that life is in flux. I like to laugh with dear Danielle about how everything shutting down gave us a minute to breathe, because the majority of our marriage has been the art of shifting and changing with the new environments that present themselves in our lives. The goal of life is not to find the easiest route, it’s about growing and changing into who you are called to be.
At the start of this year, I chose the word “faithful” to be my focus. To trust God with everything and to lean on him in every moment, to be full of faith. In this year we have had to pivot and shift directions, try to make sense of what to do next and why things haven’t gone to our plan. I am so thankful that my plans are not nearly as good as the ones God has for us. In the past I have tried to compromise to make my plan work, even when all the signs around me were showing me that this wasn’t the place I will thrive in.
When good soil is present, new life bursts through.
In this season of Spring, I am reminded of how beautiful plants bloom, as long as they are planter in good soil. North Carolina has quite a bit of clay, and I remember a small patch that was by my house growing up. I used to get it wet and make marbles, but nothing ever grew there because clay isn’t a place where plants could grow out of (unless there are, I don’t really know because I am not a botanist).
I don’t need to focus on how I think my life should be, I need to listen to where God is calling and be rooted in him. If I am to be full of faith, I need to let go and choose to listen. If I try to do things my way, I’ll compromise on my calling, the values and traits placed in me will be wasted. I want to be planted in good soil, so life bursts through.
Fear not, be full of faith.
There is currently a robin outside of my window. The sun is shining and it’s a beautiful morning, in this moment I am reminded of what Jesus says about the unknowns. “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” This moment in Matthew 6:26, re-centers me in the midst of my anxieties. Even in this moment of my unemployment and worries that I am not worthy of the calling that God has placed on my heart, I look at the robin outside and know that if God provides everything a robin needs, I too am provided for ten-fold.
All of us have been made in the image of God. We are unique creations, each with a deep purpose for our lives. We are worthy of love, so much so that God sent his Son to die for us, bridging the gap that was far too wide. His son defeated death, and we will celebrate that this Easter, and in doing so He saved us and gave us his Spirit to lead our lives.
God provides for the robin and he provides for me, but the beautiful thing is that he desires a relationship with me.
I want to be faithful, full of faith in my incredible creator. In the moments where I struggle and feel lesser than, I can have faith that God is here with me. He reaches out to each of us to remind us that he created us and says that we are worthy of love. There is a seat at the table for us, no kids table that is separated, but a table with your name at the seat. Plant yourself in good soil, work on yourself and be intentional with how you are living. In moments of fear, choose to fear not, that won’t mean the fear will leave, but choosing to let God be in control will give you the faith to move forward. In all things, be full of faith in the creator that calls you worthy of love.
-Joshua Thomas
About the Author: Joshua Thomas is a writer by day and superhero by night. When he’s not writing and crimefighting, you can find him reading a good book, sipping warm tea, taking pictures, or dreaming. The young writer doesn’t fully know what he’s doing, but is enjoying the journey of it all. You can follow his hipster photos and Jack Kerouac musings on Instagram @joshua_thomas__
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