I’m always on the move. My brain is going, my feet are going, and my calendar includes 2024. I’ve been praying for clarity for several ‘forward paths’. 

Lord, which path do I take? What do you want me to be focused on? Where do I push? Where do I sit? What should I be learning now to be prepared? Lord, I trust You to make clear the next path You’ve chosen for me for such a time as this. In the meantime, I will be obedient to what you’ve called me to and the tables you’ve invited me to today.

He’s made several paths incredibly clear over the last month. In full transparency, I’m disappointed in some.

I will sit in that disappointment for a bit. I’ll rock in my prayer chair. I’ll take the commute without music. I’ll write in my journal. I’ll be quiet in meetings. I’ll intentionally practice my listening skills. 

For about a day.

Then I will remember that disappointment is part of the journey. I’m not entitled nor permitted to be bitter. Though my personal prayer is to a personal God, the answer is from a faithful God who is about a picture and a future so much bigger than me. He alone is trustworthy in disappointment and on the rocky road!

I choose to replace my disappointment with the joys that come with the paths made clear and the doors which remain open, all confirmed by His word.

Reading biographies and the writings of Christian women who have treaded the hard and rocky roads of following Jesus offer perspective. These women have told the Jesus story in huts, orphanages, on chalkboards, in story time, prisons, and foreign lands. These women have lived faithful lives as singles, wives, mothers, and widows. Their stories are the stories that build trust and faith.

Leslie Ludy offered a podcast recently with several reasons why we should be reading Christian biographies:
* We need to hear stories of God answering prayer. (Corrie Ten Boom)
* History is filled with stories of mighty men and women who overcame and endured impossible obstacles of faith through the power of God. (Darlene Deibler)
* It builds my faith to see how these regular people leaned on God and how God came through for them. (Prudence Crandall)
* Faith is not going to be built through modern messages that encourage disillusionment with God or lackluster worship songs that talk about our woes and disappointment with God. (Emma Gatewood)
* We can build our faith muscles by flooding our hearts, minds, and souls with reminders of the power and faithfulness of God. (Elisabeth Elliot)

“Christian discipline means placing oneself under orders. Any ‘solder,’ any candidate for Christian discipline, ought daily to report to his commanding officer for duty. At your service, Lord. What the soldier does for the officer is not in the category of a favor. The officer may ask anything. He disposes of the soldier as he chooses.” Elisabeth Eliott, from Discipline: The Glad Surrender, pg 26. 

At your service, Lord!

“No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.” 2 Timothy 2:4