When Nothing Feels Complete... A Five Minute Friday post.

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Hey there, Sweet Readers!  Oh my, how I have missed you!  How I have prayed for you... Even when words would not spill out in this space, you have remained in and on my heart and His!

Honestly - I had NO PLANS to do the whole 31 Days Challenge this year. To be fair, I'm still on the fence. I didn't even want to pray about it! I mean, Y'all know how He is bossy about it with me every year. I just wanted to not do it... because I'm tired... and He's quiet... and I'm still processing all the things that He is teaching me. And yet... it seems He may just have an opinion about whether or not I do it! I'm still going to have to chat with Him a bit longer before I decide yes or no!  

Until then... here I sit... ready to tap out something that will be somewhat of an offering --for you and for Him! Let's go! Our one-word prompt is: COMPLETE!

{GO}

I am not sure, really, what is going on with me.

I pause longer than usual after I tap out that opening line... because it's true on all accounts.  I am not sure... and while I am consistently preaching about being authentic and vulnerable, this feels like a bit too much of both, thank you very much.  

But what I do know for sure is we are in one of those in-between spaces and we are being called to sit and wait... to not rush it! To Watch and See... before (or maybe so that) we can Taste and See! I've written about the not rushing recently and it seems we are still in the midst of this holding pattern. 

And it's fine.  It is... 
It's fine but
Nothing feels complete right now.

I like it when I can wrap something up with a ribbon and a bow.  To label it and either give it away or store it for reminiscing later. I like things clean cut with boundaries nicely set in place. 

The truth is I like what I like and I much prefer it when there is a sense of completion to a task or season. I like it when I can make sense of things. 

But when things began to change and we could see an end coming, what I thought I wanted was some overlap! I wanted to go from one season to the next... but God --He can be bossy and more than anything else, He wants us to glean Truth and learn from Him in every season. Sometimes --to fully grasp a thing... He may make us wait.

How many know that there can be a release, and yet sometimes there is not yet closure or freedom to move on?

We have felt that release over many things... but we are waiting still for the freedom to move ahead, which is fine really --because we don't know what is next.

But here's the thing:
This is not stressing us out
or causing anxiety!

It's really not... even though that seems a little irresponsible!

We are still allowing Peace to be our umpire (Col 3:15) 
and we are saturated in His Presence. 
We are leaning in and listening,
praying for miracles and manna,
for hope and healing,
for provision and purpose!  
We refuse to race or to rush. 
We could... but we know better!

After the passing of my sweet Mother-In-Law, my sister simply said, "The older we get, the sweeter Heaven is!" implying that we have more loved ones on that side of eternity now waiting for us and knowing that makes Heaven that much better... that much more longed for! 

And it's true!  

{STOP!}

Her statement reminded me of a quote from C. S. Lewis:

“The fact that our heart yearns for something earth can’t supply is proof that Heaven must be our home.” 

Even though I hunger for a sense of completion from one season to the next or one task to the next... I know full well that the only time we will feel and know a sense of true and final completion is when our eternal lives pass through the veil that so thinly separates the Here and Now from our Heavenly Home.

That is when we will (hopefully!) hear, 

"Well Done, my good and faithful servant...Enter into the joy of your lord." (Matt 25:21) 

But until then... well, until then, we lean in and we listen... we actively wait and watch... until He invites us to whatever is next! 

After all these years of walking with Him, I have come to find that so much of the "Taste and See" comes from our own testimonies! It comes from that Hindsight is 20/20 and being able to look back and see that, truly, in those trying times --there really is just one set of footprints in the sand as He carried us through! 

Here's the truth I know: 
We grow the most... our roots grab hold down deeper, in the midst of the hard, dry seasons. 

We don't love it... but we are thankful for it! 

The hard isn't bad...
it's just that it doesn't (yet) seem good!
But it will... It will!

In the words of Lauren Daigle, I assure Him over and over --no matter what, even as I wait in the midst of so many unknowns:

This girl ain't goin' anywhere!

The Five Minute Friday community is the best gathering of Flash mob writers around!  We wait for the one-word prompt and we throw caution and hesitation and editing to the wind, and we let our fingers fly and our feelings feel and we just wait and see what flows out in five minutes (or so! Because, grace!) and we hit Publish without second-guessing or backspacing! 

Linking up with Kate Motaung and the #fmfparty Community today.  Five Minute Fridays give us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Click HERE to read what others have to say about "COMPLETE"

The FMF lowdown: The gathering happens on Twitter on Thursday nights & then we write our hearts out & hit publish all over the interwebs on Thursday & Friday (& sometimes on Tuesdays!) It's where we encourage & uplift... where we share prayer requests & praise reports... where we talk food & friends & we find support & kindred hearts. It's where we are reminded that life is good & God is good & we're not alone... & then we all write for five minutes flat, a flash mob of wordsmiths letting our hearts & our fingers do the talking tapping & we hit publish before we can second-guess it all away!



* = My actual Five Minutes ended here... Grace for allowing me to finish my thought!

I'm also linking up with the lovely writer communities linked below:

Crystal Twaddell for #FreshMarketFriday

Mary Geisen for #TellHisStory

Kelly Balarie for #RaRaLinkUp

Lori Schumaker for #MomentsofHope

Holley Gerth for #LetsHaveCoffee

IF YOU ARE IN NEED OF REST, MAYBE THIS SUMMER IS THE PERFECT TIME TO WALK THROUGH 31 DAYS OF RESTING IN HIM. IT IS A SHORT DAILY DEVOTIONAL THAT BOTH EXPANDS YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF REST, AS WELL AS YOUR ABILITY TO TAP INTO IT!

31 Days of Resting in Him: ...It's easier/harder than you think!

P.S. We are recording a new episode for our "Changing Our Minds" podcast in the next day or two so make sure you are subscribed and you have Liked our Page on Facebook! We will be having a great Giveaway on the Podcast Page next week! If you don't want to miss anything, click HERE for more info, and to Subscribe. It's also available now on Spotify and Stitcher, as well as right here on the blog under the Podcast tab!

Lastly, don't forget that there is still time for you to enter to win your own copy of Jennifer Dukes Lee's newest book, It's All Under Control! Just click HERE and follow the link there!