The Journey | Courtney Werner
My clothes are dry. I turned the dryer on again just to be sure. It is cold outside and I am in my prayer room, which just so happens to be the laundry room. I suppose, if I am to be completely honest, this is the real reason that I turned the dryer on again. *chuckle*
There is a globe on the laundry room shelf, which is right above the laundry detergent. I also hung some butterflies from the ceiling to make the laundry room more inviting. I am under the opinion that butterflies make everything more lively. Sometimes Often, I approach life like a kid and it comes out in a few of my interior decorating choices. Enough about that. I would like to share with you something that I have been learning.
Lately I have been learning about the importance of embracing the process. Like most kids, I look forward to being “grown up.” I have heard many wonderful things about the future and feel ready to be there, but I am in the present.
Life isn’t just about the finish line, it is about the journey. Thus, after a friendly reminder, from a dear spiritual mother of mine, I have decided to embrace every step of the journey. This is what success looks like. It looks like recognizing the gift in front of you and doing it with your whole heart. Right now, for me, embracing the process looks like sitting in my laundry room to spend quality time with God, because I have lots of time at my disposal. It also looks like being intentional with the people that are around me, investing in the internship that I am apart of, and folding the freshly warmed pile of laundry that is now getting cold beneath me. What has God placed in front of you?
In this season of my life, I have lots of free time and I want to use it well. I want to enjoy the time that I get to spend with God and let it leak out onto others. I don’t want to miss out on one step of the journey. It would be like getting married without having any recollection of the past. It would be a shame to marry a stranger. I want to have a rich history in God that exemplifies psalm 27:4, and I want my life to inspire others to do the same. I want to know and love God.
A few days ago, I was dreaming. I was imagining myself in some far off country doing some crazy things for Jesus. I was imagining the most audacious miracles and unbelievable testimonies that I could think of. I am still dreaming those dreams but I am realizing that, in the end, I don’t want those crazy things without the one I love standing beside me. I want to know Jesus and be passionate about Him. This dream I can take with me in every season of my life. It will never get old and it will always leave me feeling fresh and very much alive. His presence leaves me breathless. It is what we were made for. We were made to live under His smile and in His most glorious presence.
I recently listened to a wonderful sermon, by Banning Liebscher, about embracing the process. In this sermon he says something simple yet profound, “You can thrive, instead of just survive, in a season when you just say okay to God and embrace the process.“
Some things in life can’t be rushed. A razor-burn free shave is one of them. Our history with God is another. So, I don’t know about you, but I am going to embrace the process and live fully in the season that God has me in today. It is not up to us to decide what we learn in each season. After all, we are the student, not the teacher. So I am handing over the reigns and fully accepting the challenges that are given to me in this season. I am saying okay to God. I would like to learn the first time around by being fully engaged in what the teacher is saying and doing. You?
Yes, there are incredible things ahead, but this is true for the present as well. I encourage you to embrace what is in front of you and thrive in the process.