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Devotional thought
Entry 13 of 39 | show all | print this entry |
3/18/08 11:16
All the what if's in life. What if I did go to Japan...what if I did do this.... What if I did go away to Hawaii....how would my life be different. There are so many what if's....Why not live. I think that for all of us it is really hard to get out of our comfort zones. I don't understand life sometimes. I mean there are paths in life that we take. Sometimes the road is really rocky, I mean you have stones, pebbles, cracks and all sorts of things causing you to trip or stumble.
My analogy for today- Running; I go down a path that starts in a residential area goes down a hill and then leads into a navy base. Once you reach the base it's all fields. You run down seeing the pebbles, stones and all sorts of rocks. There is no set paved path, just a path that is created through rocks and sometimes by the wheels of the trucks that go through carrying equipment to farm. You keep on running and the farther you go the more into nature you get. I just wanted to see what was ahead. I didn't know how far I would end up or where I would end up: but I had this sense of curiosity. Why can't faith be like this? Curious faith, a faith that constantly wants to expand and know more. Why do we have to have a faith that is ground in rules, regulations, and a building. It's not that I have anything against the rules, I believe that the guidelines in the bible are important. I believe in eating the clean meats, I believe in the Sabbath, I also believe in going to church, but is that what our religion is about ? Is that what God is about?
So what happens when you continue to explore. Well for me, I kept running and found some amazing things. Things that I would not have imagined being there. I started in the comfortable city area with stores, freeways, schools and as I kept going, found myself in a forrest. It's like a hiking trail. I found a forrest of sakura trees. Sakura season has not quite started yet but right here, the blossems were coming out. The cool breeze and the falling of a few stray blossoms gently flowing to the ground. What can I say, God is here! I can really see God through these moments. This is what Faith symbolizes to me.
So what I ask myself is "What is God about?" Well I believe God is in everything we see. God is in the palm trees that we take for granted in California. (you realize this when you don't see any when you are away) I believe God is in the people you meet, the nice gestures that people do. God is in us. I think it's important to remember that every nice gesture can be a way that people see God.
We are so comfortable sometimes in life. Whether we have a steady job, are going to school, or are planning for the future with applications and deadlines. But this is comfort. For me studying at a desk everyday with 4-5 hrs of sleep of night was comfort? You may ask "how is that comfort? That sounds horrible!" Well you know what? That was comfort. I was comforted by the future results that would come from it. I was comforted by my own efforts. I love to be in control. I am realizing that when I am not, I get scared. What will happen? What if...., what if I get stranded... always thinking of the worse case scenario. My point is that we need to branch out in faith. We are always so high strung and stressed. We need to stop worrying so much and get out of what is our comfort zone ( I am not saying to completely stop worrying, that is impossible, we are human after all). If we finish one worry, we go onto the next, and the next, and the next, until oneday life passes you by. If someone comes up to you and asks "what did you do during your whole life?" Do you want to be the one answering "worrying about getting where I am..." That's ironic....hmmm "so what did you get out of it? " And the response may be, " I don't know, I am still worried about tomorrow." Exactly! You get more worries....you get more stress. There's no end to it.
Let God take the wheel. Let God show you the way. I mean what do we have to lose? You might be surprised how much less stressed you are. That doesn't mean that you won't be afraid or that you shouldn't. Coming on this trip was scary for me. I will be honest. I didn't know what to expect but God is definitely providing. Make a goal to take a step day by day , little by little, outside of your box. If you always thought about asking your coworker about God, do it! If you always wanted to go out and feed the homeless do it! If you wanted to go on a missionary trip do it! No excuses is valid. We try to make excuses. "I may not have a job when I get back....I don't know if I can live without my stuff.... I don't know if I have enough money...I don't know where I can stay if I go...I don't know if I can handle being alone..." you know what? God will provide. He always has. Try this prayer. Every time I pray this I end up in weird places. I ended up in Thousand oaks boarding school for my last two years of high school. With this prayer, I ended up in PUC for a year in college, I ended up in Harvard for a week of summer school, I ended up in Truckee, CA for a month for a preceptorship, I ended up in El Camino College, I ended up in a great nursing program in Cal State Long Beach, I ended up here in Japan, and soon may end up in Hawaii. I am saying this.: You may be uncomfortable at times when you leave your comfort zone, when you give up the control that you love to have and the path may feel rough, but at the end you may find things you never imagined were there. Like I found the cherry blossom forrest, you may find something that touches you. Something that may change you.
Here is the prayer. Simple, but every time I pray it I am scared and excited at the same time. It's a prayer of giving up control
"Dear Lord,
Let your will be done
Amen"
May all of you have a great week and see God in everything around you.
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