nobody puts Baby in a corner

My 3 year old is very outwardly expressive. If she's happy, she's shouting "Hooray, hooray!" If she's upset, she's crying, loudly. If she has an emotion or an opinion about something, you are going to know about it. Sometimes when she is being too "expressive" for me, I tell her to go sit on her bed until she can calm down. She cries... loudly... and reluctantly goes to her room. And then she does this thing. She says "Mommy, I done." But she doesn't say it once, she says it over and over and over until she gets my attention. When she succeeds, I then say, "You're not done until I say you are done. Stay here until Mommy tells you to come out." That is followed by a loud cry and reluctant obedience. After a few minutes, she's fine and we have a talk and she's back to being Happy Rhema.

One day when this was happening, the Holy Spirit started speaking to me about seasons. There are reasons why we are where we are. There are reasons why things happen when and how they happen. And when we go through "time-out" seasons, our true nature shines through. Time-out seasons are those times when you think you should be doing something great and it doesn't look like it, or when you know you blew it, or when you should be really happy with your life but for some reason you're not. It's when you thought God would do one thing and he's doing something else. It's in a tough time that I find out who I am. It comes right out. When you get squeezed, something's coming out, that's for sure, and it's not always pretty, and we shouldn't always expect it to be. The point is not doing things just right, always keeping a smile on our face and every hair in place. Sometimes the point is to just make it out alive. Sometimes the point is to have a testimony to help someone else make it through something similar. Sometimes God uses those seasons to prepare us for something we are not ready to face. Sometimes we have no clue of what's going on and we come out with an odd look and an "I got nothin."

The importance is not that we know what's going on and why we are in a certain season but that we know that God does and we trust him to know what he's doing. I need my kids to trust me. If I tell them to sit this one out, I need them to do it, even if they don't understand. Sometimes when God says, "Sarah, sit this one out," I ask questions and I try to reason with him and I read old journal entries trying to look for clues as to what he's doing and why I'm on the sideline of a situation. Basically, I'm telling him, "God, I done." Really I think he just wants me to say ok and obey. No matter what I think, he's doing something even when it looks like he's not and when I protest, I'm only getting in the way of his divine plan. Whatever he asks of us, it's only out of his deep love for us, and that's an immense comfort.

"We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God's purpose prevails."
Prov 19:21 The Message

Give to Give

My husband has gotten very interested in investments lately. I'm really excited about that, mainly because I have no desire to follow companies and look at prices of shares in my spare time, and I'm glad that he will be the one doing it. But I'm also excited about it because of the possibility of a good return. I know almost nothing about buying stock in companies, but I do know that when the stock prices drop, like they have in the last week (that's a whole different topic...), it's a good time to research companies and buy stock, with the educated guess that the price will go back up in time and you will sell and get a good return. If you invest in something that is good, you will get a good return. And when you invest in something that's not good, you won't get a return and you will lose money. I think that we can tend to look at investments in people the same way. Make a good investment, you will get a good return. Give to something and it will give back to you. We will see the return and use it as we please. But when we are living by the Spirit, it's different.

Galatians 6:7-10 says, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to ALL, especially those who are of the household of faith."

We know that if we invest in our flesh we will get corruption in return. And we know that if we invest in things of the Spirit we receive life forever. And we know that we reap what we sow. BUT we don't know when, where, and how exactly all that happens. When we are sowing things in the Spirit, our reward is everlasting. We don't know whether we will see the reward for investments we make in this life or in eternity. We have been trained to think that if we give into someone or something that the same someone or something should be giving us something in return. Don't we?? I was talking to a friend not too long ago, and she said that she wants to be in a place where she gives of her time, effort and heart to others not expecting anything in return from those people. I am so thankful that she was real about that, because I want to be in that place too. It's so easy to get caught up in the "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" mentality. Then we get upset when we scratch someone's back and they are unable or unwilling to scratch ours. That is an earthly mentality, not a heavenly one. That same person may take what you've invested into them and sow it into someone else, furthering the kingdom and helping the body of Christ. We should all help each other out and it's good to return a favor when you can. But if we will switch our perspective and realize that we are sowing into the kingdom of God and into eternity rather than sowing into a certain someone or something, we are more likely to keep investing in people even after a bad return, enjoy our investment and to use whatever return we may get on earth to further the kingdom of God.