I love chasing the boys and the dog around with the vacuum hose. I get some kind of weird satisfaction when I catch them. They laugh so hard when I finally do catch them and suck them in. Well, the dog doesn't laugh so much, but the boys do. Something about the chase and the anticipation of being sucked in by the vacuum brings all kinds of joy.
I experience another kind of being sucked in that doesn't bring so much laughter. I get sucked into other's people's lives and it doesn't always bring me joy.
'Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21
I look to my right and left ALL the time. Meanwhile, I am missing that voice behind me; the voice that is FAR more important than those on either side.
I was sitting by the pool scrolling and trolling on Instagram while the boys swam. I saw a picture on Instagram of two boys sitting in adirondack chairs on the beach by the lake. "Ahhh!" I thought. "That looks heavenly. I want that. I want that moment with my kids." And then the boys began pulling on each other making one another angry and the arguing began. Reality. I was no where near a lake and my boys weren't sitting peacefully in chairs on a beach.
I get sucked into other people's lives easily. I watch Pioneer Woman and all of a sudden want to give up everything and move my family to a farm in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma. Disregard our life here. I am out. I watch shows about families with multiplies and all of a sudden have baby fever and my husband falls over and secretly wants to admit me to the loony bin. I see pictures on my feed of beautifully decorated homes and all of a sudden need to revamp every room in the house right this very minute. I. GET. SUCKED. IN.
I get pulled into other people's lives desiring what they have chasing their lives, all the while, missing my own. I am currently rereading, The Best Yes, and this spoke to me: "I asked the God of the universe to intersect my life with His revelation, then got up from my prayers and forgot to look. Forgot to seek Him. Forgot to keep my heart in tune with His voice and His invitation." (Lysa Terkeurst)
The book is about creating your best yes and being okay with saying no. However, this section spoke to me on a different level than just saying yes or no. I began to wonder how often I asked God to intervene, to show me, to bless me and He did but I was too busy being sucked into someone else's life to notice my own. I missed His hand in my life, an opportunity He put before me, because someone else's picture seemed much more enticing than my own.
I put my book down. I put my phone down. And I watched. I watched my boys play and argue and resolve their issues. I watched my six year old have a single-man dance party just because he felt the need to shake his groove thing. I saw my ten year old be a good big brother to his siblings...a role I cried to God for for Him in prayer before his brothers were born. I saw. I actually witnessed the beauty of my own life instead of being sucked into others'.
I am not good at this...yet. I still like my reality TV and Instagram. I love seeing pictures of other people's achievements and vacations. But, what I am trying to do more often is to stop and notice that God is actually intervening. He is answering my prayers and putting opportunities in front of me to serve. He is blessing and I am trying to open my eyes wider to see it. I will allow the thief to steal the joy in my life no more. My prayer is that I get sucked into my own life and let others live theirs.
"The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." John 10:10
Love & Blessings,
Meg
I experience another kind of being sucked in that doesn't bring so much laughter. I get sucked into other's people's lives and it doesn't always bring me joy.
'Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21
I look to my right and left ALL the time. Meanwhile, I am missing that voice behind me; the voice that is FAR more important than those on either side.
I was sitting by the pool scrolling and trolling on Instagram while the boys swam. I saw a picture on Instagram of two boys sitting in adirondack chairs on the beach by the lake. "Ahhh!" I thought. "That looks heavenly. I want that. I want that moment with my kids." And then the boys began pulling on each other making one another angry and the arguing began. Reality. I was no where near a lake and my boys weren't sitting peacefully in chairs on a beach.
I get sucked into other people's lives easily. I watch Pioneer Woman and all of a sudden want to give up everything and move my family to a farm in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma. Disregard our life here. I am out. I watch shows about families with multiplies and all of a sudden have baby fever and my husband falls over and secretly wants to admit me to the loony bin. I see pictures on my feed of beautifully decorated homes and all of a sudden need to revamp every room in the house right this very minute. I. GET. SUCKED. IN.
I get pulled into other people's lives desiring what they have chasing their lives, all the while, missing my own. I am currently rereading, The Best Yes, and this spoke to me: "I asked the God of the universe to intersect my life with His revelation, then got up from my prayers and forgot to look. Forgot to seek Him. Forgot to keep my heart in tune with His voice and His invitation." (Lysa Terkeurst)
The book is about creating your best yes and being okay with saying no. However, this section spoke to me on a different level than just saying yes or no. I began to wonder how often I asked God to intervene, to show me, to bless me and He did but I was too busy being sucked into someone else's life to notice my own. I missed His hand in my life, an opportunity He put before me, because someone else's picture seemed much more enticing than my own.
I put my book down. I put my phone down. And I watched. I watched my boys play and argue and resolve their issues. I watched my six year old have a single-man dance party just because he felt the need to shake his groove thing. I saw my ten year old be a good big brother to his siblings...a role I cried to God for for Him in prayer before his brothers were born. I saw. I actually witnessed the beauty of my own life instead of being sucked into others'.
I am not good at this...yet. I still like my reality TV and Instagram. I love seeing pictures of other people's achievements and vacations. But, what I am trying to do more often is to stop and notice that God is actually intervening. He is answering my prayers and putting opportunities in front of me to serve. He is blessing and I am trying to open my eyes wider to see it. I will allow the thief to steal the joy in my life no more. My prayer is that I get sucked into my own life and let others live theirs.
"The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." John 10:10
Love & Blessings,
Meg
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