This little space is turning two years old on Thursday! Was it only two years ago that I felt a turning point come in my life? An awakening from a long slumber. A pouring of new wine into new wineskin.
Two years ago, I had a nudge to honor God with my writing. Not One to leave His children to fend for themselves, He sent people and resources my way to make His directions clear and help me get going on this new adventure.
New excites me. New inspires me. New makes me feel alive. I’m good at running with an idea, getting it started, and helping it blossom. Seeing all the possibilities is like looking into a cave of diamonds. Digging them out is another story.
I’m not so good at the everyday dig. The everyday is hard. It’s tiring. It can be discouraging. When you work at something day in and day out with no apparent results, it tests all of you. Your patience, your determination, your sanity.
How excited the Israelites must have been as they made their exodus out of Egypt. They were moving into a turning point in their nation. They were leaving behind the shackles of slavery and entering the freedom to live how they wanted and work for themselves.
I’ve always shaken my head at every moment they complained and whined about going back to Egypt, but I get it now. They were promised a Promised Land, but it was taking a very long time to get there. Maybe obedience might have gotten them there sooner, but their everyday was still all desert. It was wilderness. It wasn’t like a road trip with entertaining side stops along the way. They walked through the nothing day and night, and it was hard. It was discouraging. The kids might have kept asking, “Are we there yet?” But nobody can say for sure. They had no GPS telling them how many more miles they had to go. They did have God as a pillar of fire and cloud, which was Amazing, but He never said, “In 1.1 miles, you have arrived at your destination.”
I understand the struggle now because I’m not good at the everyday. If I don’t remind myself of God’s promises in His Word or look for His hand prints in my everyday realities, I become like the Israelites in the desert. I wonder if I made the right choice. I want to give up on the journey. I rationalize like they did. At least in Egypt, we had these kinds of food to eat. At least with a regular 9-5 job, I would have a fixed income. At least with this career or that purpose, I would have this or that.
Which is why I’m excited to make it to two years old! I would have given up long ago if it hadn’t been for God’s reminders of the purpose of this blog. He used you readers (thank you!) and other writers I’ve met online to help me keep going. To not just look into the cave of diamonds, but to dig everyday whether or not any gems come loose.
The seven dwarfs in Snow White are miners. Everyday they mine for diamonds, but nobody knows why or what for. The dwarfs’ song “Heigh Ho” even says, “Don’t know what we dig ’em for.”
But we do. We know what we’re digging our diamonds for. We know why we get up in the morning and do what we do everyday. And if we don’t, it’s time to figure out or remember.
Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan (Ephesians 1:11, NLT).
Each one of us has a God-given purpose, a place in God’s grand plan. It is our inheritance as His children. That is your diamond.
Whatever it is that God has asked you to do, may it be big or small, new or old. Maybe it’s a job, a career, or a ministry. Maybe it’s motherhood. Maybe it’s creating community online. Maybe it’s using your talent for His glory even if you don’t see any return for all the hard work. Maybe it’s to simply to obey, or to love, or live in peace.
God chose you and gave you a purpose that is yours and yours alone. That is your diamond to dig. Don’t give up. Keep digging!
To celebrate turning two years old, I’m finally releasing Faith Infused Life: a 31-Day Devotional! You can receive it for FREE if you subscribe to this blog. Just enter your name and email over at the sidebar on the right. As always, I will not share your personal information to anyone else.
