There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. Ecclesiastes 3:1
I’m not usually willing to make changes in my life until I’m thoroughly convinced that what I’m doing isn’t working. After hitting one brick wall after another, I’m finally open to allowing God to teach me a different way to live ~ the way of God’s daughter.
These changes, while they can start today, don’t conclude overnight. It took a lifetime to learn the wrong ways to live and it will take time to biblically challenge each one of them. They are my defaults, after all. The heart of the orphan is healed in the safe hands of a Father who is not in a hurry. The best things, eternal things, take time and effort. Aren’t you a bit suspicious of anyone who claims to have kicked a life-long addiction in just a few days? You know better, right? So it is with human hearts.
Truth is not truth to me until I’ve applied it. Only experience brings the truth I’ve studied to become a part of my heart. Until there’s application, it’s only theory.
Years back, we had a pastor whose wife suffered from the effects of a very traumatic childhood. She was haunted by the memories of it and they robbed her of life. He claimed that one day, at an altar, God would miraculously remove all her memories and give her a clean start. It never happened. Today, she is far happier and enjoys a freedom she only dreamed of. How did God heal her? Over time, one memory at a time. Solomon talks about the times and seasons in today’s scripture in Ecclesiastes. While time can refer to a minute or an hour, a season is lengthier. It could mean months, as in the four seasons, but it could also signify years.
God is kind to help me re-trace my steps. He encourages me to look again at the events and the people of my past, but this time through the lens of the Word. I’m able to see with a clarity not afforded to a child. I have greater understanding of broken adults and how children are shaped by them. I take responsibility for the lies and distortions I internalized that formed my mindset. As I come to God in humility, God graciously reveals one piece of life at a time – then shows me wisdom. Scripture comes alive as my foundation is re-shaped by what is unshakeable.
It can be upsetting to think that this metamorphosis from orphan to daughter spans years but I can tell you that while I was learning this new way to live, the changes were so spectacular that my life continually felt new. It’s a mystery, I tell you. God takes His time but also redeems the time the locusts consumed. Amazing. And after a while, I can’t remember being the ‘old me.’
I will never get over the wonder at how You make things new. Why did I wait? Amen
Originally published Thursday, 21 February 2019.
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