God on Display Down the Runway of Life

I’m consumed today by how much my life resembles the tv show “Project Runway”! Maybe that’s why I’ve been watching it non-stop of late. Funny that it took me to Season Eight to finally make the connection.

 At the start of the day, we each, like the designers competing on the show, are given a challenge that we must complete and then present on a walk down the runway. As in the show, we even have our own personal mentor to walk alongside us and offer help, insight, comfort, and encouragement.

 The difference, of course, is that we are not competing against each other to win immunity or the grand prize at the end of the show. Rather, our job is to daily take the materials we’re given, whatever they may be (and sometimes they’re really out of the ordinary!), apply our own unique gifts and talents to the task, and present something that pleases our “Trinity” of judges, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit… in other words, God.

Unlike in Project Runway, there are no winners or losers in life, unless you choose to drop out.  Success is determined by how well we showcase God in our own unique way, rather than how much of ourselves is reflected in the design. The Judge critiques the work, not the designer, who is always loved and accepted. Sometimes we are faced with team challenges and have to learn ow to get along with each other and work together. At other times we have the opportunity to help each other along the way, rather than looking solely to our own interests and creations.

 Doubt is a frequent visitor who tries to derail, distract, and disrupt your creative flow. Be true to who God made you to be and give it your best shot, until God tells you to clean up your workspace and turn out your light, because it’s time to go Home.

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…”

(Ecclesiastes 9:10 NIV)

(photo credit: Unsplash/RadenPrasetya) 

 

The "Eyes" Have It

It’s not just something I do to get the day underway.

I admit I’ve thought of my devotional time that way. It’s first thing in the morning, the hours between when I take the dog out, grabbing coffee on the way back in, and when the “real” activities of the day begin. I know I need (and want!) to spend my first morning moments with God.

And while it prepares me for the hours ahead, it is at the top of the to-do list because it is a non-negotiable part of my day, while the other items on the list might or might not receive attention in the hours that follow. If I do nothing else, I spend time with God. Period.

My devotional time is warfare. I’m doing battle against the forces of evil, accomplishing things in prayer, all the while delighting the heart of my Father by turning my face toward His… first. While it seems to involve the least physical activity of any item on my list, it accomplishes more than any other because I am joining forces with God. It’s in the spiritual realm, so powerful and yet invisible to the human eye, that I find rest in the eye of the storms of life… and delight in the twinkle I see in my Father’s eye as we spend time together each day.

 “…in quietness and trust is your strength…”

(Isaiah 30:15 NIV)

 (photo credit: Unsplash/SixteenMilesOut

 

Canoe-dling

"...Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other."Mark 9:50 NIV)

Yesterday I visited a huge antique mall with friends, and one in particular was taken with a set of vintage green salt and pepper shakers. She was drawn by the lime green glass; it’s her favorite color. For the rest of the morning, we repeatedly saw the same colored glass sets in other booths in the building.

The color was nice, but it was the words “salt” and “pepper” on the shakers that attracted me… maybe because one set of my kids is celebrating their anniversary today, and I love the idea of how two people, as different from each other perhaps as salt and pepper, can in combination make a beautiful pair.

It’s not always easy. The same kids celebrated the day with a trip down a river in a canoe. Early on, the canoe tipped, and they and their belongings were tossed into the water when it overturned.

Similarly, lots of marriages experience rough water when they start to navigate life together. It takes a while to figure out how to paddle together to make for an enjoyable ride. Spills are inevitable, but it’s what happens when you end up in the drink together that decides whether the marriage will sink or swim. In my kids’ case, they both apologized for their part in upsetting the balance, discussed how to better work together, then climbed back into the boat and gave it another go.

When a marriage is seasoned in such a way through the years, a beautiful pairing is the end result.

 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” 

(James 5:16)

(photo credit:Unsplash/RogerStarnesSr)