Elise is a humanitarian living in Atlanta, GA. Kindled by her faith, this blog reflects the “unlearning” she is experiencing in order to live as a Daughter of God, branded by Love.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Mediocrity
I was leaving my apartment complex the other morning and a Bentley rolled by me and parked in a space. I looked around and noticed that many of the parked cars were luxury in nature. I am talking Beemers, Benzes, and even some spiffy Nissan Maximas lol. Wait, do I live here?
The apartment I had before this one was in North Carolina. I paid $489/month in rent. It was bare. It was cold. It sucked. I have upgraded... substantially. And it suits me (and my 13 year old car). Oh, you fancy huh?
My mother picked this place out. She says that if she hadn't come with me to apartment hunt, I would probably be living in a cardboard box. Girl, why are you so cheap?
Before I let God in to reconstruct my core, I settled for less. I did not take the time to enjoy even the little things I was fortunate enough to have access to. In my mind, mediocrity was less fussy and frankly, it was easy to hide behind. My first old jalopy, less than quality clothes, and even shallow dreams and aspirations was all I thought I needed, wanted, and could have. So post-surrender, God changed your lens?
Let me stop here and emphasize that this post is not about having expensive things. (Oh, I am still frugal. Very much so.) This is about an expansion in my thinking. You see, my default mental setting for meeting with God is on the beach. I close my eyes and imagine sitting on the beach in a white sun dress waiting for Jesus to meet me there. (If I'm in a crotchety mood, it's most likely a cloudy day.) The other day God told me to meet him somewhere else. But I thought you really liked the beach?
I ended up in the most beautiful garden! I didn't know that I could even picture such a place. The plants all had a glow to them. The colors were vibrant. I could tell the land was fertile. The tree leaves were so big that I actually sat on one; it was my hammock. Didn't they have something like that in Avatar?
I am reminded of the book "The Shack". I remember the protagonist meeting with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit used his tears to water a garden. God, you took my tears and created this???
I look forward to retreating to my garden. I think there'll be something new there everyday for me to hear, see, touch, taste, and smell. I can't wait! And there's more abundance and vibrancy available on this side of heaven for me too right?? Right.
Revelation 3:18-21
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