I don’t know what I would do without friends and loved ones speaking the truth and encouraging me. I’m not talking about advice or judgment but compassionate messages of hope. Jeremiah was called the weeping prophet to the Jewish nation during their captivity in Babylon. Despite the picture of hopelessness, God gave a message through Jeremiah:

“I know the plans I have for you, announces the Lord. I want you to enjoy success. I do not plan to harm you. I will give you hope for the years to come.” Jeremiah 29:11

Imagine where God’s people were– a strange land that did not worship like them, enslaved, loss of freedom, and a sense of failure. Here comes a man of God speaking this verse into their lives. Today, I imagine, the Holy Spirit works in the lives of others and orchestrates connections and words said to speak hope to us. We find ourselves in darkness, God speaks, and He uses others to come alongside us.

You don’t understand the meaning of hope until you feel hopeless. Hope is an action word. There is nothing passive about hope. Hope is the day-to-day steps you take toward a goal, a promise, or a prayer spoken. Don’t discount these small steps.

I’m reading a book, Present over Perfect, by Shauna Niequist. Her sense of humor while explaining something painful or hard is my kind of writing. I don’t know what I would do without humor. I have to share this with you.

I feel like I drive 100 miles an hour with music blaring out of open windows. I screech into a parking lot, throw the car in park, sprint into 7-Eleven, and race to the back of the store. I throw my head back under the Slurpee machine and fill my mouth with red Slurpee, tons and tons, running down my face and neck. I keep gulping and gulping, sticky red corn syrup sludge, more and more, until I stand up, smeared and dripping, and race back for the car, on to the next thing, jamming the car into reverse, music at mind-numbing volume. That’s how I feel. And what I want is one strawberry. In total silence. No 100 miles an hour, no music, no fake red mess over my face and neck. I want one real strawberry. And I don’t know how to get there from here. I am stuffed. (Niequist, pg. 32).

She goes on to pose this thoughtful statement: “The very thing that makes you you, that makes you great, that makes you different from everyone else is also the thing that, unchecked, will ruin you.” (Niequist, pg. 33)

So her thing is “lust for life, energy, curiosity, and hunger.” Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, I don’t know. Maybe, Shauna. I can relate somewhat to these items, but it’s my passion for connection and relationships. In check, it’s what I love to do and hopefully is a strength in my workplace and circle of friends. Unchecked, I build walls and insecurities and become lonely. Lonely for what? How deep is the well that you need to fill, dear one? Why am I filling it with loud music, racing about, sticky red corn syrup sludge? The key word to me is “unchecked.” I don’t want to feel wrong about the gifts God has given me. I don’t want to check out and hide because I’m tired and can’t stop the tears. I want to engage in life with great joy and from a place of capacity, not burnout.

Do we need an overhaul–a building of a new way of living from the ground up? (pg. 33)

A friend from work sent me a song, “Thy Will Be Done.” Great song! I’ll post at the end.  I listened and was deeply moved by the words, and we exchanged text messages. I’m doing a 21-day challenge with a Bible app with another friend at work, emphasizing walking in the Spirit, not our flesh or the “law”–undeserved grace. My small group study highlighted Jesus asking for the cup of his death and resurrection to pass over, but “thy will be done” was spoken. Our Jesus said these words. Can we in our circumstances? Another friend reminded me, “We all need a soft place to land.” That soft place needs to be defined for everyone and worked on. What does that look like?

Lord, please ______________________________ on my job, with a child, in my marriage, my health……

But, God……Thy Will Be Done…………..

I’m trying to build again. Circling back to love and the Holy Spirit, giving up my attempts at control of the universe, undeserved grace, and quiet.

I’ve been intrigued by Tanya Tucker’s new album. The song that made the album a hit is “Bring My Flowers Now.” The music,to me, brings a reckoning of hope–a pointed change. “We all think we have the time until we don’t.” I had a dream that woke me up. I felt a message in my dream–this person of spiritual authority and kindness said to me, “Get this right Anna, once and for all. You have less time left than you did before….” It was sobering and a charge for me personally.

If you read or listen to audible Present Over Perfect, too. Reach out to me. It’s truly a life-changing book, and I would love to hear how God is moving in your life!

I treasure this space to share with you.

Thy Will Be Done…,”