A New Direction

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—(Psalm 107:2a NIV)

When I am sitting in front of a computer with nothing better to do (this seems to happen too often!), I frequently go to a web site called storypeople.com.  They sell stuff with their original "story lines" on them. The story lines are what I go to the page to read.  They have a new one every day.  These story lines are lines that sound as if they come from a lovely story book, but they actually kind of tell the story all in that one line, or often make you wonder what the whole story would be.  Here are some of my favorite Storypeople lines:

If you hold on to the handle, she said, it's easier to maintain the illusion of control. But it's more fun if you just let the wind carry you.

Are you a princess? I said & she said I'm much more than a princess, but you don't have a name for it yet here on earth.

There are things you do because they feel right & they may make no sense & they may make no money & it may be the real reason we are here: to love each other & to eat each other's cooking & say it was good.

You're the strangest person I ever met, she said & I said you too & we decided we'd know each other a long time.

This morning, the story line I found said this:

They were ready to ride as soon as they decided whether they wanted to go in the direction they are all facing or whether that'd be too easy.

What a great line!  Most of us live our lives simply content to keep on going in the direction we are facing, don't we?  It takes a lot of courage to stop and even recognize that there might be a whole different direction.

Sometimes it is a matter of opening our minds to different ideas and opinions.  Sometimes it is a matter of breaking a negative cycle that has grasped our families for generations.  Sometimes it is as simple as fostering a new daily routine.  But sometimes it can mean giving up everything we know to take on something completely new.

A nagging feeling of dissatisfaction with our current lives may be God's nudge to go in a new direction.  Or maybe circumstances have put a roadblock in the direction we were going and we HAVE to go another way.

Change is scary, but it can also be very exciting and very revitalizing.  Change brings new life.  Change helps us to bury the past and welcome the future.  Change shakes us up and makes us think and realize that everything we thought was true might not be.  Change opens our minds and our hearts to other ways of thinking... other ways of living... other ways of loving.  Just because we've always done things a certain way, does not make it the only way... or even the best way.  As a matter of fact, we may find that "the way we've always done it" is just plain wrong!

Gather your courage today and take one small new direction today.  You will have to put in a little effort, because going in the direction you are facing is always the easier way.

Lord,
Sometimes we miss your guidance simply because you are calling from a direction that we are not facing.  Open our hearts and minds to new possibilities.  Help us to turn around and listen for your call from a new direction.  Amen.

Joys:  Cecelia's prayer request for Richard yesterday; a "girl's day" with Tracy; a great two weeks with Richard and looking forward to his coming home in about 6 weeks.