Step by Step

“Sometimes the night was beautiful
Sometimes the sky was so far away
Sometimes it seemed to stoop so close
You could touch it but your heart would break “

I sometimes wish I could remember the when’s and why’s of my life. For example, when did I happen upon Rich Mullins CD that included this song? It was a life-changer for me. I am a lover of melody and a daughter of the 70’s, so the folk song style appealed to me. But the words…the words are what drew me.

Years before I knew Him, the Father was at work in my heart. I was fascinated by the night sky. Even though I lived in suburbia, it was still possible to see the stars at night. The beauty of the dark was its enveloping sense that made me feel safe and warm. What we take for granted today, the movement of satellites, men traveling through space, even living in space stations, was new and somewhat unbelievable. I chased an understanding of all that space exploration meant.

“Sometimes the morning came too soon
Sometimes the day could be so hot
There was so much work left to do
But so much You'd already done”

“Let me hear Your loving-kindness in the morning; for I trust in You. Teach me the way in which I should walk; for to You I lift up my soul.” Psalm 143:8

The peace of the night is followed by the peace of the morning. Always an early riser, I find the Father in the quiet of the still air. The work of the day must wait. The promises, found and too often not believed, are many. Immersing myself in the Word, teaches me what work I must do, what promises I will see fulfilled.

Sometimes I think of Abraham
How one star he saw had been lit for me
He was a stranger in this land
And I am that, no less than he 

Abraham received one of those promises. “…indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens…” Genesis 22:17 As he gazed at the sky on that day when God had asked the unbelievable of him, he saw my star. An amazing promise of life everlasting was given in that moment.

Abraham did not focus on the uncertainty of God’s plan, but boldly set out to follow. How many times have I second guessed the Lord’s prompting? How many times have I said, ‘No, not now, ‘to God? As Rich Mullins says, “I am…no less than he.” God’s desire is to use me. His prompting is my action plan.

And on this road to righteousness
Sometimes the climb can be so steep
I may falter in my steps
But never beyond Your reach

Again, He promises. The climb will be steep; sometimes so difficult that my steps may falter, but I will never be beyond His reach. What task have you ever decided against doing because you felt inadequate? Have you ever said, “No, not me?” I know that I have many times. When God prompts, He places my feet on solid ground; and even when I run ahead of Him, choosing my own path, I am still never beyond His reach. When I choose to be a team player, we, He and I, can accomplish much.

Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days

So today, as every day, I seek You. It is morning. Coffee in hand I sit down to bask in the love that is abundant in Your Word. You, Father, are my God. I choose to praise You. I choose to seek You. I choose to walk in Your ways, knowing that step by step You’ll lead me. I choose to follow You all of my days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-b7TQMoZsM

Today, six good friends left for a Gospel sharing mission trip to Kenya. Each member of the group has a special place in my heart. The connections are very personal but ultimately each one chooses to walk with the Father and to obey the call on his or her life.

Several months ago I met with Stephen and Brenda to learn just how they share when on the field. I came away from that evening challenged to prepare myself much more thoroughly for my upcoming mission trip in October. God seems to bring them to mind constantly and so I have thought a lot about their purpose and its challenge over the past few weeks.

Each team member is charged with learning Bible stories from Genesis to Jesus being taken up to heaven. On the field, walking the people through the Bible, story by story, is a task shared by all. After my trip last year to Brazil, I came home with a great desire to be able to share the Bible orally with my friends who do not read. Imagine my frustration as someone who relies on her Bible for nourishment daily to discover that the ladies I was talking with had never looked at the Bible they were given the year before. We treasure our Bibles, we even buy multiple translations but their Bibles are as clean and unused as the day we gave them. My heart was broken.

So I embarked on a plan to learn those stories so that I might also share from Genesis to Jesus’ ascension. As a visual learner, I knew that writing, or note-taking, was the best way for me to learn. I was truly amazed to receive new insight into Scriptures that I have read many times. What a learning experience! This is not to say that I am prepared today to share all the stories but by October I will be. As I think about my friend Alda, I cannot wait to share with her the story of the women who followed Jesus. Just think of what a witness she can be to her friends once she hears how Jesus healed the blind man or how He loved Mary and Martha. What emotion will she feel when she hears the 23^rd Psalm?

184 pages handwritten burned into my mind. From Genesis to Acts, sometimes writing the same story from all four Gospels, I have learned or been reminded of the magnificence and love of the Father. All in for this adventure, I no longer wonder ‘what is God’s purpose for my life?’ It’s all about bringing Him glory; exploring the depths of my devotion to find the courage, wisdom, fortitude, and diligence to go, as often as I can, to share Jesus. I do believe that a certain amazing man, who never knew someone with whom he couldn’t share, would be very happy with me today. That’s a very good feeling.

“Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; for I trust in You; teach me the way in which I should walk; for to You I lift up my soul.”

Psalm 143:8 NASB

I’m a verb kinda girl. I guess it’s the English major in me that makes the ‘action’ words in a sentence jump off the page and into my mind. But it goes farther than that, because ultimately I am a problem solver. I often run past the easy solution to something much harder, much more demanding, much more difficult to accomplish. Too often, I play scenarios over and over in my head before I arrive at a feasible solution. I must take action.

Over the past 25 or so years, as I have devoted the earliest morning hours to studying the Word and talking to the Father, I have experienced just what David is asking for in the Psalm. In the quiet of the moments as the world awakes for another day, I feel His lovingkindness surround me. Like a warm blanket I feel His warmth, His love, His kindness preparing my mind and my heart for the day’s direction.

Those ‘action words’ seem to jump off the page into my thoughts.

“For I trust in You…” I have learned to have confidence in the fulfilling of His promises. We sing ‘it’s Your endless love pouring down on us” believing that His promise of eternity is trustworthy. He says that ‘I am with you always’ so He teaches me the way I should walk. Each day His words fill my thoughts. The temptations of the world aren’t far from my mind, but more and more frequently they are pushed aside. I am overwhelmed with His directions. I find myself choosing to ‘walk the way in which I should walk.’

The blessing of the day: He lifts up my soul. Trials, temptations, anger, bitterness, troubles, all seem to fade in importance. Perfect love yields perfect trust when I surrender to His lovingkindness in the morning quiet.