Tag Archives: trust

Finding Beauty in the Abandoned Dream

In late July my family and I took a road trip out to the Black Hills of South Dakota. As we were driving I noticed several abandoned homes scattered throughout the landscape.

High on a hill the house stood, windows broken, door weathered. The once straight roof was wavy with time and wear. Gaps between the boards in the walls were visible. Clearly this place had been long since abandoned.

And I couldn’t help but wonder who had graced the spaces of that home?

A newly married husband and wife, seeking to start a new adventure on the plains? Did children run in the adjacent fields? Young men eager to farm the land and provide for their families?

Dreams start that way don’t they?

We feel the trill of a new start, we anticipate all of the positives and try not to focus on any of the negatives. We push forward in faith, maybe with a little fear, but filled with hope and the promise of what’s to come.

And if we are lucky all those hopes, those dreams and ideas are fulfilled. But it doesn’t always end that way does it?

I am sharing more over at the God-sized Dreams website – will you come and join me there?!

Shared by: Kristin Smith

Photo Credit: sub35089 (If using sunset pic it is Kadek Susanto)Ka

Five Minute Friday – Begin

It has been awhile since I have joined up with the wild bunch of writers over at Lisa-Jo’s place for Five Minute Friday. A time when we sit and write for 5 minutes, unedited. Today is the last time we will meet with Lisa-Jo and Kate is now taking over the reins…I have been blessed by this FMF community and am so grateful that Lisa-Jo followed God’s plan in starting this link-up party so many years ago. Will you join us?

Today’s prompt is: BEGIN

I sit this morning not really sure where to begin.

It has been a tough few weeks, ones where I have had to examine parts of my life and my heart that at times seem so broken.

The hurts from our past never seem too far away, and while God has redeemed so many of the broken pieces of my life…there remains parts that still need some “fixing”.

And to be honest I wish it were different.

Doing the tough heart-work isn’t easy and I honestly wish that it were. I want to be able to change old behavior patterns with a simple prayer. My heart is in the right place, so it should be easy, don’t you think?

The task seems daunting, and I am not confident that I can ever change. I feel stuck and the words, while swirling in my mind, don’t seem to want to come out appropriately.

How do we begin again?

And then I hear a whisper, His calming presence.

I don’t have to figure it all out right this moment. I just have to be willing to begin to place one foot in front of the other and move forward. Praying, trusting, desiring to follow His will in each tentative step.

He will guide me, the refining will not come easily, but it will come.

But I have to take that first step and once again begin to place my everything, even the ugly parts of me, into His loving hands. My prayer is that some day I can glorify His workings once again here.

Trusting in that today…

Photo Credit: picturesofyou

Between the White Lines and Beyond…Trust Without Borders

“Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders….” Oceans by Hillsong United

I have a hard time trusting in things that I can’t see.

I was driving home from a trip to my old hometown recently and it was dark. We joke that this particular area of Southwest Minnesota is called the “kill zone” because of the large number of dead deer you will see along the road.

The road was winding. I realized that I could see very clearly between the two white lines that border the 2-lane highway…but beyond that, into the ditch and farther into the empty corn fields next to me, was dark. At times, if there were no other cars around, I could shine my brights and see just a bit more into the ditch. But most of the drive was done not knowing if there were deer out in the shadows.

During drives like this I find myself in constant prayer for protection. I know that there is a good chance that danger is out beyond my sight line. I can see the evidence of it scattered along either side of the highway . I am afraid of the “what-ifs”, the deer unexpectedly coming across the road, the concern that I might hit something. This can make for a long and miserable drive.

I find the same to be true in my faith walk at times.

Comfortable with God in-between the two white lines, I put Him inside of my little box and trust Him in the spaces where I can see clearly and feel I have control.

But in the shadow, in the unknown….that can be harder for me.

What-ifs can weigh heavy and fear can be debilitating.

Fear has dominated many areas of my life – is it a struggle for you as well?

I trust God well when things are calm, when I know what to expect, even in hindsight when I can reflect on His faithfulness.

I struggle most with trust during those times when the future is unknown, when the danger feels real and present. I start to question God’s timing, His provision, even His love for me.

Why is it that this is my natural response? Haven’t I seen the many ways He has been a shelter for me, a refuge in times of a storm?

Then why does my trust only extend to the places that I can see and control?!

I’d love to have you join me over at God-sized Dreams to read the rest of this story!