Life was much simpler when I was
a child.
I knew exactly what I wanted to
be, who I wanted to be and I made sure that I was unashamed about telling
people where I was going and what I was going to do. These days, I am less sure
of myself. For most of the part, it is almost as if some alien has inhabited my
body and is taking over parts of me that were important to me when I was
growing up. Ironically, it is as if I am suffering some sort of identity
crises. You would think that being in God would make that a rarity but I have
found out that the more I know God, the less of myself I seem to know or even
like.
Sometimes I comfort myself with
the thought that it is the harsh glare of the word that is causing this. That in
the bright light of God’s truth, who I truly am comes to bear and the truth of
that is ugly in itself. Yes I am a sinner but I have accepted that my sins have
been paid for by Christ Jesus and I am the righteousness of God in Christ. Yes,
I am filled with the most obscene thoughts; the kind that would make people run
in the opposite direction if they caught a glimpse of them, but I have accepted
the truth that I am transformed in my mind with the reading and washing of the
word. Yes, I have the most horrible of habits; a temper that used to make me
think I was schizophrenic. But I have accepted that in Christ, the old me is
gone and the new me is on display.
It seems that the fight of being
a Christian is a never ending one. For nearly 3 years I have been filled with a
restlessness so deep that falling into it seems like a death that I will not be
resurrected from. I have been consumed by the feeling that I am not living up
to my full potential and that I am not where I should be. While some form of
discontentment might be considered godly, I am unsure that this sort is from
God. It borders on torment and one thing I am sure about is that the Spirit of
God given does not produced torment.
I remind myself constantly that I
am a work in progress. I may not be where I want to be and that thought,
terrifying for me as it is, is truth as much as I want to reject it. The greatest
hindrance to being whom God has called us to be is ourselves. Sometimes we
fight him because we have our own ideas of whom we should be and how we should
get there. Maybe this is where I am? The fighting stage; I want to surrender
but I am afraid that I will not like me when he is done. I already do not like
me in so many regards since my intimate walk with him began.
There are many things I am yet to
understand, things that I want to understand. I just want to know that I am
walking the path chosen for me and not for someone else. I am consumed with the
need to know that I am doing the right thing at this point in my life. This need
for divine validation is not one that I am familiar with and I am at a loss. I
have asked and prayed and all I get is a nudge to trust as far as my eyes can
see. Maybe that is my problem. I want
the whole blueprint laid out and broken down to me in my language. But when did
God ever do that? His blueprints are always made known in the fullness of time.
My greatest challenge at this point is to rest in him and just trust him as far
as the light ahead of me shines. God
grant me grace…amen.
We seem to be fighting the same battle! The only thing I got recently was 'do not expect such speedy answers, just wait'. I stopped fighting, it hasn't been pleasant but I'm taking it one day at a time. Stop fighting it, it's easier :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to have you back here. I almost gave up on you.
ReplyDelete