Live carefree before

Does your “but” ever get in the way?

I want God’s best, but. . .

I want to be physically fit, but. . .

I want God to work in my relationships, but. . . 

I want to take a step toward that calling, but. . . 

 Not too long ago I was listening to a woman share her deepest desires over her faith  and in her family. There was no doubt of her sincerity. She was desperate for change.

We prayed together and I asked her this question, the one question that I’ve felt pressing on my own heart.

The one question behind every conversation that you and I are having this month:

If Jesus offered you a mended heart and asked for {{fill in the blank}} in return, what would that be?

She knew the answer. She said she’d known it for a long time. She shook her head. “I want to give it to Him,” she said, “but. . . ”

And there it was.

A big ‘ole but. 

Perhaps you believe that I should have never asked her this question. After all, Jesus came to give us a mended heart. There’s no price attached. We don’t have to earn it. We don’t have to perform for it. We don’t have to twirl away and dance a dance a for it.

He just gives it.

Yes, He does. This gift has no strings. Instead, it’s a gift that continues to be opened and treasured and personalized over time.

It’s a carefree way of living as His girl.

We believe that this gift is ours to receive. We trust that behind every layer, every treasure inside, that God is waiting to show us something new because He cares for us.

Live carefree before God because He is most careful for you. 1 Peter 5:7 (The Msg).

Every time we offer up our “big ‘ole but,” we are holding up our hands for what He desires to give.

All of it. 

I want Your best, so here’s that one thing I’ve held on to for way too long.

I want You to work in my relationship, so here’s that resentment/hurt/pain/anger/lashing out/stuffing in/whatever fills this blank.

Not too long ago I was given a gift that surprised and delighted me,  a handcrafted kaleidoscope.

Like a child I held it up and looked through the stained glass treasure and I spun the wheel, the colored jewels creating a different masterpiece with every single spin.

My first instinct was to put it up in a cabinet where you could only see it from a distance, because it was fragile. Such a treasure.

It was only when I sat side by side with friends, with my grandbabies, with my grown children, and I held and touched and shared that gift freely that I was able to fully experience the joy of the kaleidoscope.

Giving up our “buts” allow us to live the gift. To enjoy it. To unwrap it. To experience it.

Are you ready to give up your big ‘ole “but?”

Suzie