Clarity & Stories

The dark felt darker this morning. When the early morning light arrived, it was heavy and dim with fog.

I love an occasional morning like this, but the repetition of gray days…well, it gets a bit old for me!

*googles SoCal real estate*

*resigns self to remaining in Midwest*

My brain felt just about as foggy as the weather. I was going round and round with a few things. To say I feel uncertain about which course of action to take in any number of areas is an understatement.

Then, I listened to Emily P. Freeman’s podcast, as I often do in the mornings-The Next Right thing, episode 27: Stop Rushing Clarity.

Emily’s voice has been a guide and comfort to me. She’s practically my therapist, which is not strange at all. I listen and re-listen to her words. And not just because her voice is calming and delightful, but because her words are thoughtful and good and wise.

Here are a few excerpts that really resonated with me this morning. I encourage you to go listen to the episode in it’s entirety or read the transcript.

When next steps are unclear, doubt is often the most logical conclusion.

Instead, when it comes to those unwelcome thoughts of doubt and discouragement how about let’s point them to the door.

Let’s make room for new thoughts to inhabit the deep places in our soul: thoughts of courage, hope, and belief. I’m learning that still, small voice isn’t the voice of age or wisdom or confidence. Those come as a result of listening to the voice, to be sure. But they, themselves, are not the source.

From 1 Kings 19:11-12:
“And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.”

That still, small voice is the voice of God as he is united with me in the deepest part of who I am. He often speaks in such a regular and familiar way that it’s almost too normal to point out.

…ask your friend Jesus about the next step. If he lives within you then that means He speaks, even now, through his Word, his people, and your own deepest desires as you confess them in his presence. Trust the voice that comes from within.

With those words echoing in my mind and heart, I picked up the book Savor by Shauna Niequist. It contains 365 short daily devotions for “living abundantly where you are, as you are.” In Telling the Story of Who God Is {March 28}, Shauna reminds me that God is the author and finisher of my story, and all our stories matter.

When we, any of us who have been transformed by Christ, tell our own stories, we’re telling the story of who God is.

There’s nothing small or inconsequential about our stories. There is, in fact, nothing bigger. And when we tell the truth about our lives-the broken parts, the secret parts, the beautiful parts-then the gospel comes to life…

Clarity? It will come. The often seemingly insignificant moments and stories of our lives? They have purpose.

It was a good way to start my day, after all.

Photo by Amelia Bartlett and Michał Bielejewski on Unsplash