The Beginning

Here goes....it's a funny thing to start something new. I'm not sure about you, but I often want to feel before I even begin something the way I can only feel after having had the experience. I'm learning to be honest and acknowledge the feelings that come with the unknown, yet push beyond them, and to borrow a famous quote, "just do it!" I've determined I'm going to get good at putting my hand to new things...and for me, there's opportunity all around me.

Besides beginning this blog, daily I feel like I'm starting something new. For example, mothering our four children, who are in fact 4, 3, 2, and 9mos old as of today. Being a woman that honors God, a wife that honors my husband, cultivating a marriage that grows in love and intimacy (with both!). And I can't forget to mention business, or my hobby, as I call it. But I'll save that for another post.

I can recall a moment with God in prayer in late 2003. I saw a picture in my mind of 2 paths. One path looked like a paved bike path or greenway trail, and I could sense that it was easy, good, and measurably satisfying. The other path looked like a dense forest and no visible path to speak of. Yet, it seemed great, and challenging and in my gut I felt that was the path I was made for. I felt the Lord encouraging me that He would use me to cut a path where there was no path, and that though challenging and difficult at times, it would be life-giving, adventurous, and deeply satisfying all the while. I can recall responding to the Lord in prayer saying, Yes, Lord I choose the latter path, the one where You will need to clear the trees, guide me each step, and enable and equip me to leave a path that others can follow.

That was eight years ago, and here I am now reflecting on that moment, feeling multiple things at once...

1. I'm SO grateful, that by God's grace I choose the latter path.
2. I had no idea at the time exactly what I was signing up for. All I really knew was that the One who was asking me to choose (and nudging me in the direction I chose) is FAITHFUL and GOOD.
3. Especially these past 5+ years (in which I've become a wife, mother to four children, and an entrepreneur), I feel like I'm on a path that isn't visible to the naked eye, and I'm desperate for the Lord to lead me each step of the way.
4. Even with the challenges I've faced, the exhaustion I've felt and the constant feeling of the unknown, I believe God is walking me into my promised land. Because He is FAITHFUL and GOOD.

Just a few days ago, I was reading through Psalm 65, and sensed the promise and encouragement of the Lord afresh. I've highlighted the specific verses that spoke to me, may you be encouraged as you read this...

Psalm 65 A song. A psalm of David.

¹ What mighty praise, O God,
belongs to you in Zion.
We will fulfill our vows to you,
² for you answer our prayers.
All of us must come to you.
³ Though we are overwhelmed by our sins,
you forgive them all.
⁴ What joy for those you choose to bring near,
those who live in your holy courts.
What festivities await us
inside your holy Temple.

⁵ You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds,
O God our savior.
You are the hope of everyone on earth,
even those who sail on distant seas.
⁶ You formed the mountains by your power
and armed yourself with mighty strength.
⁷ You quieted the raging oceans
with their pounding waves
and silenced the shouting of the nations.
⁸ Those who live at the ends of the earth
stand in awe of your wonders.
From where the sun rises to where it sets,
you inspire shouts of joy.

⁹ You take care of the earth and water it,
making it rich and fertile.
The river of God has plenty of water;
it provides a bountiful harvest of grain,
for you have ordered it so.
¹⁰ You drench the plowed ground with rain,
melting the clods and leveling the ridges.
You soften the earth with showers
and bless its abundant crops.
¹¹ You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;
even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
¹² The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture,
and the hillsides blossom with joy.
¹³ The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep,
and the valleys are carpeted with grain.
They all shout and sing for joy!

Cheering you and myself on,

-Merridith