Dreams and Storms... My Anchor
Our family has been given a dream.
When we finally said Yes to this dream...
We jumped in the boat and
began paddling towards it.
Our dream...
To bring two children home.
To adopt them into our family.
To make them our son and daughter.
This is the dream God wants for all of us.
To bring us home.
To adopt US into HIS family.
To make us HIS sons and daughters.
This dream... This boat
has not lead us to calm waters though.
We have paddled through storms with enormous waves.
If I am completely honest...
These storms have been very difficult for me.
Sometimes these waves have been small.
Just enough to make my feet stumble on the boat.
But other times these waves are big.
Waves that if I let them,
could capsize my boat
and wash me to shore.
Waves like being told
6 months into the process process
to give up and the let go
of the children you have fallen in love with.
Waves like hearing that
all exit letters have been suspended
and adopted children are not allowed
to leave the country with their legal parents
for a least 1 year if not more.
These waves are the ones
that make me wonder...
Did I really get this dream right?
Did I step into the wrong boat?
You see, I don't like resistance.
So when I have had a dream in the past
and the waves started coming
I assumed I must not have heard God correctly.
I would manage to paddle through the small waves
with with my own strength.
But when the big storms rolled in
let the waves crash me back to the shore.
James 1:5-8 says...
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
Why do I let the waves blow and toss me in the sea?
Why do I so often doubt
the dreams God gives me?
Recently my two oldest boys had a dream of their own.
They wanted to run the color run to raise money
to help bring home their brother and sister.
The day of the race came and they were so excited.
They started out strong!
But soon realized how difficult
it was going to be to finish the race.
It was much harder than they had expected.
Yet they persevered through it.
There were lots of vibrant colors all around them
and they remembered WHY they were running.
They saw the beauty in the journey.
Here is a quick video from their run!
This day made me remember,
why we jumped into the boat and
sailed off into unknown waters
over a year and a half ago.
Why we were paddling towards this dream.
It made me realize...
Most things in life
that are worth fighting for
do not come easy.
But there can be beauty in the fight.
In my times of doubt,
I repeat the words I heard God say to me
when we were first given this dream.
I remember His Promise.
That he will make it happen.
I remember that...
it is not my own strength
that will paddle me through the storms.
It is only with the strength of the Holy Sprit
that I am able to keep my boat
from crashing into the rocky shore.
I use to rely on my on strength.
I now know...
I need Him.
I heed his strength to help me through the storms.
When the storms come,
it does not mean that I stop paddling
Storms mean...
God can show up in real and amazing ways!
I heard someone once ask..
"Are you going to choose
what is right or what is easy?"
I use to think that if a dream was really from God
than it should not be hard.
That everything should always be easy and go perfect.
That there would never be any storms.
I don't believe that anymore.
In the bible, James tells us this...
"Perseverance must finish its work
so that you may be mature and complete,
not lacking anything."
James 1:4
As I study God's word,
there are pages and pages
of men and women of God
who were met with resistance
over and over again.
But that did not stop them.
They preserved through the storm.
And through it,
God did something bigger
than they could ever have imagined.
Not only did the dream come to be,
but through it,
they were given a greater understanding
who God is and His never-ending love.
Joseph had a dream...
it did not come into fruition until almost 30 years later.
(Genesis 37-50)
Yet he continue to persevere through the storms.
His faith in God kept him fixed on His dream.
The waves did not crash him back to shore.
He had an anchor.
God!
We have been given an anchor too!
Hebrews 6:19-20
I was recently reading the book
"Flesh" Bringing the Incarnation Down to Earth
by Hugh Halter
and I read the following.
"Did you know that the Anchor
was the earliest Christian symbol?
The cross did not become the symbol
until 300 years later.
Why an anchor?
Because God's people,the true Jesus followers
were constantly on the run,
on mission, in trouble, in prayer,
building community, experiencing sacrifice and loss
and they needed a symbol that reminded them
that they were safe and secure."
I love how Hugh puts the next part the most...
"While the symbol of the cross became
and still remains a symbol
that focuses on what Jesus did for us,
the anchor is a symbol of what He is for us
while we live for Him.
The anchor is a symbol of a sent people.
It really doesn't cost anything to wear a cross.
But if you see the cross
not only as what Jesus did for you
but also as what He now allows you to be a part of,
you're going to need an Anchor!"
This journey has been hard.
Our boat has been crashed into
by the waves of many storms.
These waves have tried to send us back to shore.
But we will continue to paddle
not with our own strength but with His.
We will not throw our paddles in the water
and let the waves crash us back to shore.
WE HAVE AN ANCHOR!
Jesus Christ!
He secures us.
He anchors our sousl in Him.
He gives us the strength to pereseve through the storms.
Resources that the Lord has used to speak
to me recently in addition to his Word!
Jennie Allen's Book Restless
Here is Jennie's Blog: http://www.jennieallen.com
Hugh Halter's book Flesh: Bringing the Incarnation Back to Earth
Here is Hugh's Blog: http://hughhalter.com/blog.htm
Also Check out: IF: Equip for awesome daily devotionals
that can come straight to your email if you want!
When we finally said Yes to this dream...
We jumped in the boat and
began paddling towards it.
Our dream...
To bring two children home.
To adopt them into our family.
To make them our son and daughter.
This is the dream God wants for all of us.
To bring us home.
To adopt US into HIS family.
To make us HIS sons and daughters.
This dream... This boat
has not lead us to calm waters though.
We have paddled through storms with enormous waves.
If I am completely honest...
These storms have been very difficult for me.
Sometimes these waves have been small.
Just enough to make my feet stumble on the boat.
But other times these waves are big.
Waves that if I let them,
could capsize my boat
and wash me to shore.
6 months into the process process
to give up and the let go
of the children you have fallen in love with.
Waves like hearing that
all exit letters have been suspended
and adopted children are not allowed
to leave the country with their legal parents
for a least 1 year if not more.
These waves are the ones
that make me wonder...
Did I really get this dream right?
You see, I don't like resistance.
So when I have had a dream in the past
and the waves started coming
I assumed I must not have heard God correctly.
I would manage to paddle through the small waves
with with my own strength.
But when the big storms rolled in
I abandon the dream.
I stop paddling and justlet the waves crash me back to the shore.
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
Why do I let the waves blow and toss me in the sea?
Why do I so often doubt
the dreams God gives me?
Recently my two oldest boys had a dream of their own.
They wanted to run the color run to raise money
to help bring home their brother and sister.
They started out strong!
But soon realized how difficult
it was going to be to finish the race.
It was much harder than they had expected.
Yet they persevered through it.
There were lots of vibrant colors all around them
and they remembered WHY they were running.
They saw the beauty in the journey.
Here is a quick video from their run!
why we jumped into the boat and
sailed off into unknown waters
over a year and a half ago.
Why we were paddling towards this dream.
It made me realize...
Most things in life
that are worth fighting for
do not come easy.
But there can be beauty in the fight.
In my times of doubt,
I repeat the words I heard God say to me
when we were first given this dream.
I remember His Promise.
That he will make it happen.
I remember that...
it is not my own strength
that will paddle me through the storms.
It is only with the strength of the Holy Sprit
that I am able to keep my boat
from crashing into the rocky shore.
I now know...
I need Him.
I heed his strength to help me through the storms.
When the storms come,
it does not mean that I stop paddling
Storms mean...
God can show up in real and amazing ways!
I heard someone once ask..
"Are you going to choose
what is right or what is easy?"
than it should not be hard.
That everything should always be easy and go perfect.
That there would never be any storms.
I don't believe that anymore.
so that you may be mature and complete,
not lacking anything."
James 1:4
As I study God's word,
there are pages and pages
of men and women of God
who were met with resistance
over and over again.
But that did not stop them.
They preserved through the storm.
And through it,
God did something bigger
than they could ever have imagined.
but through it,
they were given a greater understanding
who God is and His never-ending love.
it did not come into fruition until almost 30 years later.
(Genesis 37-50)
Yet he continue to persevere through the storms.
His faith in God kept him fixed on His dream.
The waves did not crash him back to shore.
He had an anchor.
God!
We have been given an anchor too!
I was recently reading the book
"Flesh" Bringing the Incarnation Down to Earth
by Hugh Halter
and I read the following.
"Did you know that the Anchor
was the earliest Christian symbol?
The cross did not become the symbol
until 300 years later.
Why an anchor?
Because God's people,the true Jesus followers
were constantly on the run,
on mission, in trouble, in prayer,
building community, experiencing sacrifice and loss
and they needed a symbol that reminded them
that they were safe and secure."
I love how Hugh puts the next part the most...
"While the symbol of the cross became
and still remains a symbol
that focuses on what Jesus did for us,
the anchor is a symbol of what He is for us
while we live for Him.
The anchor is a symbol of a sent people.
It really doesn't cost anything to wear a cross.
But if you see the cross
not only as what Jesus did for you
but also as what He now allows you to be a part of,
you're going to need an Anchor!"
This journey has been hard.
Our boat has been crashed into
by the waves of many storms.
These waves have tried to send us back to shore.
But we will continue to paddle
not with our own strength but with His.
and let the waves crash us back to shore.
WE HAVE AN ANCHOR!
Jesus Christ!
He secures us.
He anchors our sousl in Him.
He gives us the strength to pereseve through the storms.
Here is an awesome song that spoke to me as I wrote this post!
Resources that the Lord has used to speak
to me recently in addition to his Word!
Jennie Allen's Book Restless
Here is Jennie's Blog: http://www.jennieallen.com
Hugh Halter's book Flesh: Bringing the Incarnation Back to Earth
Here is Hugh's Blog: http://hughhalter.com/blog.htm
Also Check out: IF: Equip for awesome daily devotionals
that can come straight to your email if you want!
Beautifully written!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words Sandi!
ReplyDelete