September Prayer Topic: We are Originals

Don’t Compare

“Each one should test their own actions.  Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else.” Galatians 6:4

            “Her life is perfect.  She has it all together.  Her body is perfect.  The family, the job, the house, the kids, and the dog, all are perfect. What is wrong with my family?”

“I am single living in a one-bedroom apartment.  My boring life.  Her life looks so cool. She seems to have it all put together, and lives a glamorous life.”

            “She is the same age as me and yet she has lived more of a life than me.  I have had so many struggles, and her life is an adventure.”

            “I bet I would be happier if I had…”

            Have you had similar thoughts? Do you compare your life with others?  I know I have, and a lot.  It is easy to do.

God doesn’t want us to do that though. In fact, He tells us not to compare ourselves. He has a plan for each of us.  My journey will look different than yours.  That is okay. It doesn’t make your journey better or worse than mine.  It is your journey, and it is my journey through life.

            This month we are praying that we don’t compare our lives with others.  Our lives, our journey, is unique. We are unique individuals.  Each of us has been designed by our creator uniquely and for different purposes.

            I know that it is sometimes very easy to look at someone’s life and wish that was your life.  It is easy to compare the things that we don’t have with someone who seems to have it all.  This month is not going to be easy.

            How am I going to not compare?  Every we look, we are bombarded with things that we don’t have, can’t afford, or wish we had.  This month, I am going to pray, and make the conscious effort to be content, no more than that, be at peace with what I have, and with who I am.

            God designed me, Laura, to be an original.  Maybe, I don’t look like I want, or am at the place in life I thought I would be.  You know what, that is okay.  I want to be at peace that who I am, is who I am.

            Can I continue to grow in my walk with God, absolutely.  Are there things that I can add to my life or do in my life to not make it so boring? You bet! However, I don’t have to mold myself or fit myself to fit someone that I am not.  I can’t be somebody else, and God doesn’t expect me to be. I am me.

       

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

     We are originals, limited editions, priceless works of God’s art.  The Master Creator designed you and me individually to be individuals.  We are not duplicates, or carbon copies of someone else. So why do we try?

            If we are originals why are we trying to be carbon copies of someone else?  Comparing leads to jealousy, and jealousy can breed contempt.  Life is hard, and we make it harder on ourselves sometimes.

            How can we make life a little easier?  Don’t compare. I am not saying to not strive to be a better person.  God wants us to be the manifestation of Him, and not someone else.  God designed you and me and wants us to be the best you and me that we can be.

This month I know I want to make a concerted effort to not compare my life with anyone else.  I want to thrive as me.  God wants me to thrive as me as well. Will you join me in thriving in our own journey?

Dear Poppa God

You have made each of us an original.  Yes, I know that sometimes we compare our lives with others. I thank you for being so patient, and You continue to point out to us that You have a journey through life just for each one of us.  Help us to understand that we are an original and that is a good thing.

In Jesus name, AMEN

Written by Laura Maxson

           

God Shows Up

^“Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” Hosea 6:3 (NIV)

God shows up.  He really does.  He shows you what He can do.  That is what I am continuing to experience this month.  I hope that you are experiencing God showing up in your life as well.

            When people are disrespectful to you, God shows up, and puts a hand over your mouth to not respond snarky to the person.  He sends a text or a phone call from a friend that is uplifting and helps you refocus to hear the truth when you are believing the lies.  God is a God of truth, and shows up.

            In the dark of night, when you are questioning what in the world is happening in your life.  He is the sense of peace.  When you are mad at where you are at, and feel stuck, He is the calm and the compass to direct you where you need to go. He will release you.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

            I am not saying that life will always be a ray of sunshine. Yet, the SON, will always shine on us.  He shows up. Even in the midst of the darkest day, God shows up. When we are in the fog, He is the lighthouse.

            The light house, that is something that I want to share a story about.  Christmas, two years ago, I was lost in the fog and needing direction of my personal life.  It was as if, I was in a lifeboat, and could not see which way to go.

            I prayed and read and journaled my journey in the fog.  One day, I received a gift from a friend.  It was a lighthouse.  I thought that I knew that it was the answer to my prayer.  So, I pursued the decision that I thought I should make.

            Cut to two years later, and having hit the rugged rocks of that shoreline, or decision, I should say.  What happened? “God, I thought you were leading me towards this decision?  Why did I crash into the rocks?  Why didn’t you warn me to go a different direction?” I ask God.

            It took a lot of soul searching, and God searching.  It took about seven months of every day asking why, and where to God. Honestly, there was time that I stopped asking, because my ears were closed to listen to the truth.

Then, in an unexpected way, God appeared to me through whisper.  “I did show up. In fact, there were three times that I tried to show you to choose a different course. I sent you the lighthouse ornament, and Acts 2:25-28, and the squirrel ornament.”

            “I thought that they were all leading towards the direction?” I answered.

            “That is the direction that YOU wanted to go, but I knew better.  I knew that you would be hurt. That is why I tried to warn you. Laura, a lighthouse is a warning of rocks and cliffs. The verse says that I will not lead you to hell, and the squirrel was meant to tell you that the direction that you were going was just a distraction, and not where I wanted you to go.  I am still with you, even unto the end of the world. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Let’s get you on the right course,” I hear God speak.

            It is a comfort to know that even when we mess up, or head the wrong direction, God is there.  He just turns us around and heads us in the right direction.  There isn’t anything that can make God stop loving us and wanting us to be in His presence.

            You may wonder what a squirrel has to do with a distraction. For those of you who have seen “UP” there is a dog, Dug, who is on the cartoon.  He is a talking dog, but that is not the point.  The point is, while he is talking, he always gets distracted, and yell, “Squirrel.”

            As I thought about it, God did appear.  Three times he showed up, and more. Three times, He tried to warn me that following the direction which I went would lead to crashing, and not where God wanted me to go. 

            God appears in the good, the bad, and the ugly.    

Dear Poppa God,

Thank you for appearing to us.  You are always with us.  When we seek you, we will find you, when we search for you with all of our hearts.  We are so grateful that you appear.  Thank you for leading us, and showing up.

In Jesus name, Amen.

            Laura Maxson

August Prayer Topic: Let Us Acknowledge the Lord

 ^“Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” Hosea 6:3 (NIV)

This month the above verse is what we will be praying for.  What does reading this verse mean for your life.  More importantly, what does God want to show us this month through this verse?

            Sunday, I was driving home from a weekend away. As I was driving down the road, the air was filled with smoke from all the fires that are in our state.  There was a point where I could not see the sun.

I knew where it was supposed to be, but it was covered with a brown thick smoke cloud. Yet, I did not question that the sun was shining, it was just covered by the smoke.  The light was still shining, even through the smoke.

I know that come winter, the rain will come, and water the earth.  That black soil that was scorched because of the fire will start to regrow the green grass, and flowers.  Soon, the once blackened earth will be brand new and healthier than ever.

This verse to me, when I start this month means, that the Lord comes to us faithfully.  We never have to worry that the sun won’t rise, or that the earth will stop turning on it’s axis.  I also never have to worry that God is not with me.

Photo by John Lee on Unsplash

Maybe there are times that I don’t “see” Him because of all the smoke of worries that I have or problems that I am going through.  Yet, that doesn’t mean that He isn’t there.  He is there. He is shining through the smoke and the fire.

He will come to me like the refreshing winter rain.  When He comes to me like the winter rains, then my scorched heart will start to grow anew. He will water my parched soul.  I will grow greener, not literally, but I will have new growth in my life.

When I feel like no one is there, I will press on.  I will acknowledge that God is with me.  No fire or smoke of situations can completely darken out the sun.  God will shine through.

I am ready. Will you join me this month? Let us acknowledge God and see what He has been waiting to do in our lives.  I am ecstatic to see what God will do in my life, and those reading this post. Please feel free to share in the comment section of what God is doing in your life this month. I pray for each one of you. Thank you for being on this journey with us through prayer.

Dear Poppa God,

I pray for the Winter Rain to come upon each of us today. We are scorched by situations that we are in, or circumstances that we have created.  You have promised that you will faithfully be with us.  We need the rain.  We are parched. Some may be parched physically, or mentally, or emotionally. Some may be parched spiritually.  You know their stories, Lord. I pray that you quench our thirst as we look to you and acknowledge you. Forgive us when we doubt that You are with us. 

In Jesus name, Amen.

            Laura Maxson