Monday 28 February 2011

Make It Matter

This weekend, I went to a women's conference with a very good friend. It was a bit of a blur at the time, especially as I was rather unwell, but I think the dust is beginning to settle now, and as I read through my notes, I find a few things standing out to me.

One biggie is the theme of change - of God initiating a 'new thing', a new season in life. This fitted in with other stuff I believe God has been saying to me lately, much of which I've written about in this blog.

Then there was the concept of the difficult times and the pain bearing fruit and helping others. Again, this followed hard on the heels of what I believe God has already spoken to me, and served as an encouragement and a confirmation. One of the speakers even mentioned 'spiritual children' and helping those who would come after us: in other words, leaving a legacy that can go on helping people even after we're dead.

There were several mentions of recurring problems - of seeming to go round in circles, feeling we'll never reach the point of breakthrough that others around us reach. This may not sound very positive, but it spoke to me strongly. And the points they made in relation to it were very positive: 
  • That we need to work through things in order to become the person God created us to be and do the things He has for us to do; 
  • That God does have a plan that He's working out, even when we can't see what He's doing; 
  • That He is working on our behalf 'beneath the surface' of our lives to bring that plan about, even when we can't see any indication of change.

The main concrete thing that I've brought away from all this is a renewed sense of purpose about writing my self-help book. (I've mentioned this project a few times in this blog.) I feel encouraged that this really is something that God wants me to do, and that it really will help people in their individual lives - and thus contribute to building the Kingdom. Even if I can only do a small thing, God can use that thing to make a difference in the world. 


2 comments:

  1. I identify strongly with the concept of going round in circles and never breaking through. The thought I had was maybe the process is more important than the outcome, maybe there is no breakthrough. I don't mean in a pessimistic way, more like the old John Lennon lyrics 'life is what happens while you're busy making other plans'. Maybe in trying to break through, you inspire others to carry on?

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    Replies
    1. Hi! Thanks for reading my blog, and for taking the time to comment as well. :)

      Yeah, I think we Christians can get hung up on the idea of 'breakthrough.' It can become a sort of mythical land where everything is lovely, and we have no more problems! And of course, the truth is that NO ONE really gets THAT kind of breakthrough, however someone else's life may look to us from the outside.

      I do agree that the process is probably the most important part, because that is where God does the work in us. I recently came across one of the little 'meme' picture thingies that said: "Change is a process, not an event," and I think there's a lot of truth in that.

      But I'm certainly in a much better place emotionally and mentally than I was when I wrote this post. When I look back, I see how far God has brought me; but at the time, it was just one painful step after another, and it was often hard to see that I was making any progress at all.

      So my personal experience has been that breakthrough - or at least change - DOES come; but it doesn't look the way we tend to think it's going to. It's not so much a sudden lightning bolt; more like the light of dawn, that gradually creeps up on you when you're not looking. :D

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