Yes, God, I Hear You

Vacation away from home, as beautiful and amazing and restful as it can and should be, has an uncanny way of removing routine and replacing it with things far more enticing. If you’re like me, you make a silent vow to jump back into routine once you return home (in fact, if you’re like me, you also make ridiculous promises to yourself about how to destroy the pounds put on during vacation!). For me, the routine most missed was my time spent in early morning devotional. The cup of coffee, the reading, the gazing out of my windows onto the unfolding day, and the quiet.
But the funny thing about vacation, especially a 2 week vacation (our first long trip and, oh, so fabulous), is that when you get home you need a couple of days to unwind. Then you need a couple of days to clean the house that was clean when you left it but somehow accumulated dust and debris in your absence. And then the weekend comes and you can’t muster the energy for church.. and then…and then…. we have been home a couple of weeks and my routine is still faltering. I’ve lost the familiar rhythm between my parents visit, my niece’s graduation, my son’s birthday, dogs, writing and organized ministry motorcycle rides.
So, yesterday, the publication that I freelance write for assigned me to cover a local church. Though you would think that’s “right up my alley”, the church is a denomination I wasn’t particularly familiar with and instead of “my alley”, I felt like a fish out of “my water”… until I got there. A typical 20-30 minute interview process to get interesting information for my article morphed into 90 minutes and I could have stayed longer. I sat there and felt my faith reignited- speaking to the staff members of this moderately small (and content to be that way!) church, they enthusiastically poured out their heart for their local community and for the world at large. They exchanged memories and stories, easily laughing and quite obviously enjoying their ministry and calling.
That was the answer for me. I needed to be inspired again. I could be wrong but I think everyone needs to be inspired by someone now and again. I can imagine Billy Graham needing inspiration or Joyce Meyer calling Beth Moore to be invigorated.
With renewed fire in my soul, I returned home to write an article worthy of this church… but later in the day, I realized that my meeting with the staff and having my faith stirred and rekindled wasn’t really about an article at all. I firmly believe God knew I needed a gentle nudge and He placed this assignment in my lap.

Yesterday, an ordinary Tuesday (well, not ordinary because my youngest turned 24 years old yesterday but you know what I mean) brought the typical laundry, vacuuming, grocery shopping, etc. but in the midst of all this I heard from a dear childhood friend who lives in another state. The beauty of Facebook rekindled our sweet friendship and though we haven’t seen each other in decades, she texts me on holidays and birthdays without fail…but, yesterday, she texted asking for good resources for a Christian looking to grow in faith. She considers herself a beginning Christian and thought to ask me…little ol’ me…for advice. To me, there is little that gets me more excited than sharing information like that! A couple of hours later, I heard from a 16 year old relative via text who asked for positive scripture and prayer. Now my mind was officially blown.
Yes, God, I hear you. How can I be a disciple if I’m too busy for you? How can I be an enthusiastic, joy filled Christian when I let things prevent me from being in communion with you?…. no matter how amazing those things may be. No matter how cluttered the calendar is, no matter how many towels need to be thrown in the dryer, one thing is true. You are first. You aren’t my “routine”- you are my reason. Yes, God, I hear you.