A Post-It Note from God

As I’ve mentioned here before, this year hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for me. It’s been wonderful and yet dreadfully hard.

Well about six months ago, maybe longer, I was talking with some friends and we joked about how we wish God wrote post-its because sometimes it’s just so hard to know what to do. Even when you seek the Lord’s direction, it can be unclear and confusing. Usually because He is just telling us to wait… but we’re impatient. At least I am :) Well a couple of months ago I was having a really bad day and I said to my mom, “I either need chocolate, a drink, or a post-it from God”. And she quickly replied, “We have chocolate ice cream in the freezer but it will only fix this for the ten minutes you eat it. You’re not 21 and we’re not exactly the drinking kind, plus a drink wouldn’t solve anything anyway. And unfortunately God is not in the post-it business. He is, however, in the control of the whole entire universe business. So pray about it and have peace. He is in control and He WILL guide you”.  OBV she’s the best mom ever with fabulous, biblical advice. I went to bed that night knowing she was right, but I still shed a few tears because of my own frustrations.

Well last week something really stuck with me from the sermon at church…

On Wednesday night, we were reading from 1 Chronicles 8-12… And in chapter 11 we learn that David was anointed by God to be the King (this is also recorded 1 Samuel 16). The point the Pastor made was the David was anointed King over Israel when he was just a boy, but Saul was still the reigning king. And then years and years pass where David is growing up, and learning from Saul, and then fleeing from Saul. Finally Saul dies and it is then that David is actually made king.
Moral of the Story: David was anointed to be King but had to wait a long time before God’s purpose and role for his life actually became his reality. Sometimes we feel God anointing us with a purpose for our lives, or we feel we are called to do something or have a certain profession – but the does not mean God intends for us to have it right away. God wants us to learn and grow – our own seminary of hard-knocks if you will.
I sat there and kept mulling this over and over in my brain. Mark even nudged my arm to make sure I was listening because he knew that this was exactly what I needed to hear. This really resonated with me because there are things I know I want in life, but it’s ok that right now I cannot have them. I also know that I want to do something for a career that I am passionate about, but I haven’t figured out what that is yet. And that is ok. I truly believe God created me for a purpose and in His time, I will fulfill it.

So I left church Wednesday night and this whole anointing thing kept coming to my mind for the next few days. I was then reading Francine Rivers’ book: A Lineage of Grace and she also brings up this part of David’s life and the period of time before he came to the throne. Rivers has one of the characters tell another character about this time of waiting, patience, growing, and sanctifying to encourage him…

So BAM literally twice in one week I am presented with the same story, the same point, and it’s presented in the same way. I’ve been to Bible college. I sat, listened, and read through an entire semester of the Old Testament and not once did this concept ever cross my mind. I felt like this was God sending a post-it my way. And when I read that specific paragraph in Rivers’ book I started smiling because I knew right then and there that God was hitting me over the head with the same lesson.

Patience. Be patient. God is in control. He created me with strengths and likes and dislikes and weaknesses and flaws. And He is growing me and molding me to be the woman He wants me to be. He has a plan for my life  and in His perfect timing He will show me what that is and will prepare me for it.

I feel like I keep learning this lesson over and over this year, but in different ways. In February God was telling me to slow down, come home, get healthy, and then wait for what was to come next. Then I started working and God kept saying give it time, you can’t be good at something over night, but you can do this. Then I was faced with a very hard decision and some very hard weeks. God said trust. Trust that I am the only one that can turn someone's heart and can open their eyes. Be patient. I do these things in My time frame, not yours. And now He is teaching me again that whatever is it that I’m supposed “to do” in this life could be right around the corner, could be a few years away, or it could be both. And so that’s where I’m at this week. And it’s a good thing.

Thank you Lord for the post-it and for preparing me for the purpose I was created for.