Just sweep....

I don't know how God speaks to others, but it seems I hear Him in the most practical ways sometimes. 


Take today for instance. I had just come from a friend's home that is absolutely beautiful. One of those spotless, beautifully decorated, picture in a magazine kind of homes....and I came home to my blessed mess.


I needed to go mail a letter, so I took the long way to the mailbox mainly so I could take a minute and pray. On the way, I decided to ask God about my home....about my mess. Where do I start God? What do I do to make it better? What can I do to make my home just a little more like the one I just left?


The answer I got was very simple. "Sweep." 


Okay - I got it. Then what, God? The reply was, "Just sweep."


Now, I don't want you to think I don't clean at all. I actually sweep every day - well, almost every day. I was, however, expecting some elaborate plan on how I was going to transform my home to that ideal picture I had just left. But all I was getting was simple instructions to do something I already knew how to do. I was waiting on some grand plan that included new paint on the wall, new couches, new art, new everything. Sweep? That's it?


Since I got no other instructions, I came home and picked up my broom and started to sweep. I took a rag along with me and wiped the baseboards as I went. Little things came into view as I swept, and as I saw them I'd straighten, dust, and rearrange. And I swept.


As I made my way from room to room, I started to think about those simple instructions and it occurred to me that what I'd really been given were instructions for my life.


I am one of those people who gets overwhelmed sometimes when I try to wrap my mind around how God will do things in my life. I know the direction I am supposed to go, but when I try to figure out how to make it happen, I start to hyperventilate! I think my ADHD kicks in, I look at all that needs to happen and then try to do it all at once.


But God has only called me to do one thing...sweep. It's something I already know how to do. It's not really overwhelming or spectacular, but it is what I need to do now. And as I put my hand to that which I know how to do, God will lead me to what comes next. I don't have to redecorate the whole house at once. I just need to do that which is before me that I already know how to do. 


Okay, so maybe this isn't some deep truth to others, but it was what I really needed to hear. I don't have to figure out how to make the plan of God work in my life...all I have to do is put my hand to what is in front of me that I already know how to do. I have to open my eyes and be ready to do what He shows me. At some point, it may include some giant steps (like painting or shopping for a new couch), but for now, baby steps are enough. 


Just sweep.....that which God has placed before me today. Tomorrow will take care of itself. Who knows? I might even get instructions to mop!

Matthew 6:34

The Message (MSG)

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

Micah 6:8

New International Version (NIV)

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

  And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

    and to walk humbly with your God.

What will your word be?

For the past couple of years, I have prayed about a "word" for that year. Some of you have probably heard of this. There's even a site devoted to it called My One Word (My One Word).

The first year I did this, my word was "Hope." Little did I know that by the end of the year, that was about all I'd have to hold on to. During that year, the company that my husband worked for unexpectedly closed it's doors leaving over 300 people without a job in a town that doesn't boast a huge number of jobs to begin with. We were blessed that I still had a job teaching, but the next few months truly stretched our ability to hope and hold on. When he finally found another job, it was one that provided a much smaller paycheck and much harder work week. The challenge of holding on to hope became a DAILY choice to believe.

Last year, my word for the year was "Anticipation." This really goes back to something I felt like the Lord spoke to my heart three years ago. It was a sense of foreboding that things were about to get bad...really bad, but that in 2012 we would see things turn around - miraculously! I make no claim at being a prophet, but when God lays something on your heart like this, you know it! I decided to just hide this word in my heart and watch. I guess I don't have to tell anyone that the past three years have been tough...but there is change in the wind. It is coming - can you feel it? Anticipation is growing!

Anyway, back to this year's word. I was on a run the other day and, as I often do while running, I was praying. (Okay, so sometimes I'm just praying I can continue to breathe and for strength to move the next step, but I'm usually praying!) This time, I was asking for my "word" for the year and the word "INCREDIBLE" kept coming to mind. Okay - this isn't one I'd have chosen, but it sounded interesting. I came home and looked it up.
Incredible: so extraordinary as to seem impossible
Okay, so far I'm liking this word for the new year.

Then a couple of days ago, I was reading a devotional by another blogger and another word almost jumped out at me - "MERCY". Now the feeling this word gave me is hard to explain. It was heavy - not a bad kind of heavy - an overwhelming kind of heavy...the kind that makes you want to go to your knees and bow your head under the weight. It was a worshipful kind of heavy.

Mercy: This one has a LOT of meaning.
1. compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence
2. the discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment, especially to send to prison rather than invoke the death penalty.
3. an act of kindness, compassion or favor
4. something that gives evidence of divine favor or blessing
It doesn't take a prophet or even someone very smart to realize that as a country we are in need of God's mercy...how much I am in need of His mercy. 


The more I thought about it, the more I realized that somehow the two words were to be coupled together: INCREDIBLE MERCY. These are my "words" for 2012. Could this be the year when we see God pour out His incredible mercy and save us from a destruction we have brought on ourselves? I guess time will tell, but until then I will hold on to these two words knowing that whatever the year may bring, His INCREDIBLE MERCY is far greater than what I deserve.

What will your word(s) for this year be? Please take a moment to share them with me! You'll be surprised when you look back at how accurate that word has been!

Psalm 25:5-7

New International Version (NIV)

⁵ Guide me in your truth and teach me,
   for you are God my Savior,
   and my hope is in you all day long. ⁶ Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love,
   for they are from of old. ⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth
   and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
   for you, LORD, are good.

Proverbs 28:12-14

New International Version (NIV)

 ¹² When the righteous triumph, there is great elation;
   but when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding.
 ¹³ Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
   but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
 ¹⁴ Blessed is the one who always trembles before God,
   but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble.

Micah 6:8

New International Version (NIV)

⁸ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
   And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
   and to walk humbly with your God.

Luke 1:49-51

New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
   holy is his name. ⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear him,
   from generation to generation. ⁵¹ He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
   he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.