Filling in the Blanks

"Faith is allowing God to fill in the blanks."  Beth Moore

The other day I was reminiscing about those long nights of preparing for exams in graduate school.

Most people experience anxiety when faced with an exam, however, I would be particularly stressed

when I knew the format of the exam was either true or false or choose one answer.  They seem so

Starbucks was my friend when
studying for those exams!

black and white. Limiting.  Unforgiving. Since I'm a writer, I tend to like to think more creatively, therefore I prefer to fill in the blanks or write out my answers.  

Yes, those darn tests.

Then I thought about life.  I thought about God.  And those tests...

So often, we try to fill in the blanks during our life seasons of testing and difficulty.  We create scenarios and try to complete our own stories. We force things that don't fit. We panic, worry and stress over things that have yet to happen in our lives. Trying to write out our own story.

I love that God, our Father, our Savior, our Helper - He fills in our blanks.  He knew the questions before we were even faced with the test.  He even knew how we would respond to the test.  Yet, He doesn't write us off when we write in the wrong answer. His Grace, His Amazing Grace, works with us through the process.  He gently takes the pen from our hand and He continues to finish our story.

Our job is to hand God the pen at the very beginning. When we are faced with struggles, doubt, those tests... those darn tests - let's trust that God already has the answers and prepared to fill in the blank. He knows how your story will end.  Our job is to believe Him. 

Don't Neglect Your Gift

.

..

It has been awhile since I have put pen to paper. For many years, it was the one thing I would do where time disappeared and I was swept into another time and place. The fruits of my writing brought clarity, tears, freedom, hope and built bridges.  I've always known it was a gift.

I was recently reminded of this God-given gift by my inquisitive and observant 99 year old grandfather. As he lay in his sick bed, with very little energy and breath, he looks directly at me and asks me: "have you been writing lately?"

Gulp....

Ashamed, I responded "a little ..." Yes, a few weeks ago I finished an article for Breath of God Magazine. And yes, I had written in my journal a bit.  However, other than that, I had mainly only written emails, proposals and marketing copy for work. Definitely not the type of writing that I know I've called and commissioned to do. The busyness and anxieties of life had gotten the best of me over the past year or two.  You see, the fascinating thing about writing - you need to be in the present, in the moment, in the now to truly write from your heart. You need to embrace and revel in the current situations of your life. Lately, I had been too busy pondering the past and worrying about my future to pay much attention to my "now."

My grandfather's question was stinging. It was a poignant reminder of my gift.  This gift that I had  neglected for the past year. Yes, this gift given from God and somehow inherited from this brilliant man, my grandfather. The minute he asked the question, I decided... no more. Never again.

Later that day, I asked my Grandfather: "What is something you would have done differently in life?" With very little breath, yet with no delay, he explained that he would have kept writing. He would have stayed in journalism school, despite the fact he was told that blacks were not allowed. He would have kept writing for the Akron Beacon Journal. He would have continued to use his gift. With 56 years between us, our reasons for not writing were similar; me staring at my past and grappling with the future, my grandfather taken by the war and distracted by racist views and how he would be able to move forward.

Are you using your gifts?  Are you doing that thing that God has called you to do?  If not, what are your reasons?

Life is short. We all say this when we hear of yet another death of someone we believe has slipped away too soon. Yet, if we know it and believe it, why do we squander our gifts, our love, our time, our smiles and our energy. We focus on the wrong things, the temporal things, instead of those eternal gifts, given to outlast even the strongest of us.

Don't neglect your gifts. Life is too precious to not do what you were called to do.

Survival Tip #1 - Don’t Underestimate the Power of Friendship

As I still struggle to catch my breath, I thought it may be beneficial to share a few survival tips that I’m learning as I pant, gasp and sometimes choke. A recent survival tip that I’ve recently learned is the power of friendship.

With social networking and our busy, busy lives, we often ignore or underestimate time with friends. Posting on walls or tweeting each other has replaced simple time just talking on the phone or chatting over coffee or nachos.

To complicate things, when we are struggling to catch our breath, we tend to think we are alone, or that no one will understand. We seclude ourselves, hide our feelings and avoid others. Alone, we grasp for whatever is within reach, instead of grabbing the hand of a dear friend.

Last night I met a friend at Barnes and Noble to chat about a project and business venture. Soon our discussion turned personal, and we shared the most recent highs and lows about our lives. As words and feelings began to freely flow, without much thought, rhyme or reason, it became an exhale moment.

I left that little table in the bookstore feeling a sense of relief. The problems were still there, I am still not breathing on my own, but for a moment, I felt the friendship of GOD. I felt Him loving on me, laughing with me, encouraging me. My “between breaths” moment didn’t seem so BIG. It felt temporary and that life will go on.

That is what is so special about fellowship and why I believe God asks us to not forsake our assembling together…our issues don’t seem so large when we are with others. We realize that other people have “stuff” too - and that life goes on.

Friendship is an wonderful gift from God. It is sad when people don’t treasure that gift. We see beautiful examples of friendship in scripture, particularly between David and Jonathan and Mary and Elizabeth. It is as if God gave us friends to be his hands, his arms, His legs - here on Earth. His Spirit in the Flesh.

If you are between breaths. If you are not breathing on your own. If you are gasping or suffocating - reach out to a friend and allow them in. Let God guide you to the person and through the conversation. He is faithful, even in friendships.