I know you probably can’t see it, because all you see is what you’re not doing, right? What’s falling through the cracks. That phone call you wanted to make to your friend who’s hurting, the meal you’d planned on providing a long time ago for the one in need, the opportunities to reach out to others that your heart longs to say yes to. I understand. It’s a perpetual struggle for me to see past all that I’m not doing as well.
But here’s what I see in your life. I see God shifting your dependence from yourself to Him. Because each time you fall short, each time you feel like a bad friend, or wife, or mom – those are invitations, sweet soul.
Intimate invitations to cling to the Cross.
Or as William R. Newell puts it:
“To be disappointed with yourself
is to have believed in yourself.”
"Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."
~ Isaiah 43:19
I know this all to well. Illness can stop me doing a lot of what I would like to for others. you give acceptance and encouragement. Thank you.
ReplyDelete"acceptance & encouragement" -- you're welcome & praise God!
DeleteThank you. Love the post and I always need it!
ReplyDeleteit's certainly a truth i always need to hang onto, too.
DeleteWonderful post! Thank you for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeletei'm so glad you were encouraged, kathryn.
DeleteOk, so I feel really du---...silly. I guess I am new to following blogs. Only recently did I decide to follow one. This is my second. So, T, I get today's post in my email (I didn't realize that is what I would get) and not until i nearly read the whole thing did I get it that this was your post, not a note to me! I was thinking, wow, what exactly did I share with you that you wrote this to me? Well then, I was thinking, wow, how fitting it was to read this today. Thanks for this reminder of what God focuses upon. And challenges me to have that same focus with loved ones in my life and even acquaintences. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteit's hard to put to words how much my heart is overflowing to have you "walk" with me here . . .
DeleteOh boy, this is the lesson I keep coming back to over and over in life. Yes, I had to learn especially through illness to be dependent on Him, but each time I am feeling better I'm right back at trying to do it all. I guess I'm a slow learner. :) Thank you for your wonderful words of love and wisdom. You truly minister to our souls.
ReplyDeletewell hey, i'm a slow learner AND a slow responder -- package deal! ;)
Deletei'm right there with you in the classroom of life, my friend. i forget, He reminds me, i forget again, He reminds me again. and with no less of an abundance of patience every single time.
"here’s what I see in your life. I see God shifting your dependence from yourself to Him," Gospel girl. and it's truly a beautiful sight to behold.
Hi Tanya, I just found your blog and I'm loving it. You sound so much like me, with some of the things I've thought about. Especially about the self-protective walls. I wrote about that same struggle in a book about my journey to being a "sweetly broken" child of God. And I'd love to share it with you. It's at sweetlybrokengirl.blogspot.com. It's my prayer that it helps draw others closer to God's healing love as they begin to see themselves and God honestly. Please keep up this wonderful blog of yours. And I'll be back to see older posts. Take care and God bless. - Heather K
ReplyDeletedearest heather,
Deletei am so delighted that you found me. after you left your comment last month, i enjoyed browsing through many chapters in your book and saw first-hand the definite similarities of our journeys. i was swamped at the time, though, so i unfortunately didn't have a chance to respond to your and other comments here to tell you how much i appreciated what you shared.
but cool story:
this morning, i was rethinking my topic list here on the blog, and wanted to include a category for pain, but didn't know what i wanted to call it (b/c pain didn't capture the essence of soul aches that i was looking to express). and then i found it -- "brokenness." THAT's the word that captures this soul journey of relational struggle (whether with God, with others, and most times for me, with both).
and then i came back here to respond to my comments and smiled when i was reminded of a visit from another sweetly broken girl.
thanks so much for sharing the sacred gift of your insights. i'd be honored for you to journey with me as the Lord continues to write His story of glory through and over all the broken places in our lives.
blessings to you and yours, sweet soul,
tanya
Thank you, friend. Always thank you.
ReplyDeletehugs of you're welcome.
DeleteSuch a great reminder. Thank you, friend. You are such a blessing.
ReplyDeleteas are you, my friend.
DeleteBeautifully said, Tanya. I love a good invitation and the "invitation to cling to the Cross" is one I will always accept! Love your words here and thanks so much for linking up with Wedded Wed. I hope you got my email response. Let me know if what I suggested works, my friend! :)
ReplyDeletei'm so grateful for your spirit of encouragement, beth. may God's power continue to be made perfect in our mess, our weakness.
Delete(and thx for the coded button. i'm all set now!)