Such an interesting experience I
had this afternoon. After spending two weeks on the road, in different
places and different spaces, it was good to be back in our comfortable
home in our bed and the familiar quiet of our life. Babysitting an
energetic little one year old for a whole week in Florida was the
highlight of the past few months but there is much truth in the fact
that a grandparent can spoil them rotten by spending countless hours
singing and rocking, overloading them with toys and gifts, walks to the
park and sneaking in a few forbidden treats here and there and then when
the time is up.....hand them back over to their parents. I was
fulfilled but tired and have missed my daily five mile walks for the
past two weeks as well as looking forward to getting back to my
regimented eating program. It was a glorious sunshine filled day with
temps in the 50's so after unpacking and putting everything back in
place, my mind was on my beautiful Blue Ridge Mountain trails that I
have come to love so much.
Over the past week I have been reading a new book given to me by my
friend Suzanne called The Circle Maker. It's about praying circles
around your biggest dreams and greatest fears. It's given me a new
perspective on just what are my biggest dreams and greatest fears?? What
are the things in my life that I am persistent in asking God for? I
think I take that question much too lightly. There are many things that
we think we want as we casually toss the requests up to the Lord for
consideration but I wonder if we really believe that we want them with
Holy desperation and if we really think that God can deliver. For
myself, I don't think so. I think I always tack on the "if it's God's
will" so that I and God can be off the hook if it doesn't come through.
God is not a genie in a bottle. Your wish is not His command, His
command better be your wish so it starts with discerning what God wants
and wills!! So that thought has got me going much deeper into just what
God has in store for the next half of my life.
The book says that prayers are prophecies. Who you become is determined
by how you pray. Ultimately the transcript of your prayers becomes the
script of your life...predictors of your spiritual life. There is a
chapter in the book called Circling Jericho and it's about how for the
Israelites, Jericho symbolized the fulfillment of a dream that
originated with Abraham. It was the first step in claiming the Promised
Land. It was the miracle they had been hoping for and waiting for their
entire lives. It asks you...what is your Jericho?? What promise are you
praying for? What miracle are you marching around? What dream does your
life revolve around? Drawing circles starts with identifying your
Jericho. You've got to define the promises God wants you to stake claim
to, the miracles God wants you to believe for and the dreams God wants
you to pursue. Then you need to keep circling until God gives you what
He wants and He wills. So I'm getting a lot from this book and am
excited to see that spiritual glow of the Lord within igniting my heart
which always means growth in my world.
So I'm off on my walk in the woods with my new selection of Michael
Dulin's CD Timeless Piano Compositions downloaded on my ipod. This is
going to be a great walk, I can feel it!! I do my regular routine of
gathering my dog Max's collar and leash, stuff my things under the seat
of the car and grab the single key that I carry from the ignition, which
I know is not a good thing ,but I've never lost or misplaced it thus
far so it works for me. I get Max out of the back, lock the doors and
put the key in my pocket. Have done this routine for two years now and
it's always gone smoothly. I'm very conscientious...checking and double
checking, thinking of all the "what if's" to avoid problems and so off
we go. I was no sooner than 15 minutes down the path when I got my
ipod out of my coat pocket and by habit checked for the key. Shock of
all shocks, it wasn't there. It has to be!! It's always there. Oh no!! I
must have left it in the ignition or dropped it along the way. Either
way I'm in trouble, I'll have to call a locksmith or my husband or my
son or the Blowing Rock Police. My beautiful walk is ruined. I was so
looking forward to this. I must have looked in my two pockets a hundred
times, thinking it was going to just appear as I walked on trying to
decide what to do. Should I just keep going and try to enjoy the walk?
I'm starting to get so aggravated and think that I won't even enjoy it
worrying about all the drama when I get back to the car. Having to sit
there until someone comes to help me.
I decide to keep going and all of a sudden the book comes to mind.I
start talking to God and He starts talking to me. I think I might as
well continue on and enjoy this day and words about trust and belief
start to bubble up in me. I think about the prayer circles and how it
says that well developed faith results in well defined prayers and well
defined prayers result in a well lived life. I need an answer to the
question He seems to be asking me...What do you want me to do for you?
So I thought about several different scenario's, one being that the key
would just appear in my pocket and I would say..."Oh there it is, how
could I not have felt it?" but that seemed too far fetched. Then I
distinctly heard God say..VISUALIZE what you want. So I put my ear buds
in and relaxed to some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard and
enjoyed my walk and visualized in my mind the key laying in the leaves
by the car. I walked on and walked far, resisting the temptation of
turning back to deal with it NOW!! The walk was tremendous, the music
ethereal. I have to say I felt like I was floating. I did six miles!!
As I approach the car, I think.. well here we go. Could be a long ordeal
but kept that vision clear of the key laying in the leaves. One chapter
in the book says " Obviously the answer to the questions change over
time. We need different dreams during different stages of life. We stake
claim to different promises in different situations. It's a moving
target, but you have to start somewhere. Why not right here, right
now??" Well, as I hesitantly approach the car, I go to exactly where I
visualized it laying on a pile of leaves and there it was. Reached down,
picked it up, put Max in the car and off we go.....praising God all the
way!! I really think this was a baby situation that God was using to
make a point to me. I know it seems small and silly but He really spoke
to me today and gave me a real life experience of how He wants us to
spell out our prayers with specificity and it will eventually spell
God's Glory. I thought it would be good to share it with you.
DEFINE YOUR DREAM...CLAIM YOUR PROMISE...SPELL YOUR MIRACLE.
