I’m sure I’m not alone. Even though we’re locked down in a quarantine, I know there must be others out there that are on a path of discovery in their own home. There’s dust on the baseboards… who pays attention to baseboards and the accumulation of dust there? What about the dust that accumulates on the door frames? The curtains? Dare I even look at the top of the upper kitchen cabinets? NOOOOO!!!!! All dusting aside, I found bright blue, bubblemint-flavored toothpaste in three (yes, three) different places… on the wall! And high enough that required a chair to stand on in order to clean. What? And no, I didn’t taste it – there’s only one kind of bright blue toothpaste in my home.
I’m the type of cleaner that will decide to sweep and mop the floor and get overwhelmed. I’ll notice that the table and counters need to be scrubbed off first. Then I’ll see that the stove is riddled with crumbs and cooked-on food, too. Heavens! The oven hasn’t been cleaned in months. As I’m getting the oven prepped for a cleaning cycle, I see that the cabinet doors have dried-on drips. My logic leads me to look closer at the upper cabinets – the doors have smudges from frequent opening and closing. I open one to confirm and see that there’s even dust on the inside of the cabinets. The range hood looks dusty, too, but then I find out it’s greasy dust. Now I’m standing on the counter, contemplating a ladder, so that I can take a peek at the top surface of the upper cabinets, and all I wanted to do was sweep and mop the floor!
Quarantine or no, I’m typically found at home, being a mom, reviewer of books, blogger of God’s goodness, and an empathetic introvert. I’ve tried getting into the mindset of fellow Quarantanetians (remember – empath?) by doing puzzles, pulling out arts and crafts, buying new coloring books, helping my kids with their school work, and cruising social media to laugh at the funny memes… but it hasn’t worked. I haven’t started binge-watching any shows (probably won’t), I haven’t started baking, and I refuse to start making TikTok videos. By the way, has anyone noticed the irony of what TikTok is? It’s a Chinese video-sharing social network, and the traffic of videos being uploaded have soared since this pandemic… that’s origin is… China!
I’ve come to the realization that, even with all my empathetic tendencies, I may never fully grasp what people are going through – social bugs not being able to bug, shoppers who are led by senses and textures are stuck with a computer or phone screen, and professionals are turned into homemakers without direction. What I do know is that as bleak as this might be, God can turn all of this discomfort into something beautiful. I know it to be true because I’ve experienced similar transformations. These transformations are scattered, but all come down to one thing: where is my faith?
January of last year (2019), I decided to put into action what I felt God had laid on my heart: start a blog. And not just any blog, but a blog to share the goodness of God. Of course, this means learning new technology, web design, legalities, legalities, legalities (yes, three times, legalities), and that’s before any writing. It was unnerving. I felt completely unqualified on the tech side (still do at times), I was uncertain in my ability to write, and I was completely unsure of what I envisioned as the “Big Picture”. I had a vague, idea of what I thought I might be able to see on a foggy day – yeah, that’s a real clear vision board. I’ve heard the sayings – warnings about having a lack of vision. There’s even a scripture verse about the people suffering for lack of vision/revelation (Proverbs 29:18).
I labored, labored, and labored (yes, three times, labored) over this blog; I spent long hours watching podcasts, signed up and took online classes that detailed each necessary step, and I prayed. A lot (more than three times). While I still labor over this blog, the fog has lifted a bit, and the vision is showing itself more and more. And while pieces are still falling into place, I’m excited for the beauty in the smallest details that are added each day. If you had asked me a couple years ago if I was going to be a blogger for God, reviewer of books, and scratching at the door of literary agents (I’m so nervous!), I would have thought you’d lost your ever-lovin’ mind. But here we are with April peeking through the residual fog and so much is coming to fruition.
The month of April is a big one for our family. We have our wedding anniversary, an adoption day, and the blog anniversary all this month. And we get to celebrate it all at home this year… or take a rain check (thank you, Corona!). Sometimes it’s scary to embark on a new path, taking the first step on a journey of unknowns, and walking forward without knowing everything that’s coming. Or shutting ourselves in our homes without knowing when the quarantine will be lifted, allowing life to get back to what we once knew as “normal”. Trusting is scary. Faith is not just defined as a system of religious belief, but is also defined as a complete trust or confidence in someone or something (Oxford Dictionary). Faith is far from easy… at first.
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
Again, I’m sure I’m not alone. We all have something we hope for, something we do not yet see, but we have faith that it will come. Like the end of this quarantine perhaps? I know my kids are missing their friends, parents are missing the awesome teachers, and many households are missing toilet paper. Then there are things we hope for like a new job, a promotion, prosperity, fertility, or healing. I’d like to offer a new definition of faith: blind trust that something you have no control over will turn out the way it’s promised in the Bible.
“..Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” II Chronicles 20:20 (NIV, abridged)
I’ve struggled with faith (my definition) because, let’s face it, there are things we’ve been promised, but then disappointments we’ve experienced. The struggle is… real. Are the promises only made for warm and fuzzy feelings? Have the promises been broken? If the answer were “Yes” to either of those questions, then the world we know would fall apart and cease to exist. “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:16-17 (NIV)
So why is it that believers, those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, aren’t all walking in the promises made for the righteous? It’s not because they’re not righteous. You heard me. Once you accept Jesus, you’re saved by grace through faith – you are the righteousness of Christ. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” II Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
My faith (trust) may falter at times, but not because I do not trust God and His Word. There is still evil in this world. The devil still tries to whisper lies in my ear, still tries to distract me from the goal set before me, and still does his best to twist the Words of my Father. There are moments where I have to be purposeful in keeping my thoughts from roaming unchecked. As I dig in scripture and get to know the character of God, my faith grows. It becomes easier to differentiate the devil’s lies and God’s truths. “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17 (NIV)
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)
The former things, the old way, was a reliance on self, faith in our own abilities. The way through the desert – a way where there was no way – was made by our Heavenly Father. He is our strength when we feel weak. He is our light when everything around us is dark. He is our peace in the midst of chaos. He is our refuge when we’ve no where to run. He is our champion when we’re outnumbered. He’s faithful when our faith falters.
“By faith Abraham, even though he was past age – and Sarah herself was barren – was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.” Hebrews 11:11 (NIV)
When God worked his own arm for our salvation because there was no one righteous to be found (Isaiah 59:14-17), he didn’t stop with just sweeping and mopping the floors. He took care of every cobweb, every speck of dust (greasy dust, too), every smudge and stain, every burned surface and made it new, and then he did a vacuum-seal so that He only had to clean us one time till He comes back (Ephesians 4:30). He even took care of when our faith feels like it’s not quite up to the task of believing the unbelievable. “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah 32:27 (NIV)
He loved me so much that He left heaven to dwell on earth just with the hope that I would accept His free gift of salvation. I can stand free of condemnation because he stood condemned in my place. He took on my infirmities so that I could be healed and whole. I can stand strong with faith because He was judged faithful. Nothing is too hard for God: no sacrifice too great, no enemy army too vast, no disease that cannot be healed, and no grace too great. As you look to Jesus, as you get to know your Savior, Father, and Friend… your faith will soar to new heights.