"Where are you?"

A dear friend gave me a new devotional for Christmas: SOLO, An Uncommon Devotional.  It’s unique….designed not necessarily to teach you to study the Bible “but rather to develop a conversation between you and God.”  Lectio divina: reading, thinking, praying and living scripture.

Each lesson takes time, which is likely why I’m only on the second lesson.  And maybe it’s going slower for me, because I’m drawing so much from my time.  What joy!  It’s been a long time since I was so expectant in my quiet place.

Lesson One took me to the 3rd chapter of Genesis.  The beginning of man.  Adam.  And Eve. The serpent deceived Eve, and Eve in turn drew Adam into the deception. Then, the Fall. 

And then the line that jumped off the page for me:  "God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And [Adam] said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid...…and I hid myself."

Now, I’m no theologian, but as far as I can tell, this is the first emotion attributed to man in scripture.  FEAR. 

In my previous post, the first one in many months, I confessed that worry had overwhelmed me lately.  And isn’t the root of worry really FEAR?  And so, what do we do?  Pull away.  Go silent.  Hide. 

Wow!  I’m not sure I have my mind around it yet.  But God is teaching me something here.  And I’m keen to hear him, to not miss whatever it is that he’s beginning to teach me.  

To be continued... :-)

The Seasons – They are a-changin’

“There isn't enough room in your mind for both worry and faith. You must decide which one will live there.”

This quote was recently posted to Facebook by a friend of mine, and it pierced my heart. While it certainly wasn't a conscious decision, worry has won the battle in me for months.  Personal challenges and concerns have consumed my mind.  And when that happens, faith loses, crowded out by anxious thoughts.

What's crazy is that often the things we worry about never materialize! So the worry is for nothing.  And in the meantime, it saps energy, motivation and focus...which is why I haven't posted anything on this blog for more than a year!

So, while I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions, this January is a new start - a new season.  It's time for faith to once again take up residence in my mind, NOT worry.