So I decided to get back to some blogging again... it's been a good while and life has been busy... work has been manic, I have been busy as an Auntie to my little niece Ruby! I have been busy writing and recording for work, church and the radio.. I have been back doing junior youth again (which is making me very happy), and I am working on a few things for the future... so stay tuned!
But I continue to enjoy writing and thought why not get back to my blog, to continue sharing my journey of faith especially considering how quickly the world has been moving lately...
I hope and pray, as I write over the next while that God will use this to encourage and comfort you personally and meet you where you are at on your journey with Him.
The world has become a very different place in the last 12 months! Covid-19 has rocked every single one of our lives in some shape or form, with being back in a "circuit breaker" lockdown currently and the many changes and interruptions that brings, I don't know about you, but right now I am in need of a bit of outlet LOL!
Ya know, when the end of 2019 was on the horizon, I will confess and say I was looking forward to saying goodbye to it. Not because anything bad had happened in 2019, God and I had continued on our journey and He had taught me so much... but 2020 just had a nice ring to it and I felt ready for more ... ready for a NEW YEAR, NEW OPPORTUNITIES, NEW ADVENTURES and ready to see what God had in store next!
However...
We have all found ourselves the middle of a global pandemic, with unexpected twists, turns and hard news stories nearly every single day... we got a NEW YEAR alright but I think it's no understatement to say, 2020 has taken us all by surprise and this is not what we ordered or could even come close to imagining what lay ahead!
Yet... even in the midst of our world feeling like it has been turned upside down, and everyone not being able to do very much and go very far, as I look back I have definitely been surprised by how many different opportunities that have come my way...Â
Anyone that knows me will tell you that I am a social butterfly and do not STOP - working, time with family, training (when my back isn't playing up), out for lunches/dinners/coffees, going to the movies, spending time at friends houses, youth work, radio ... I mean the list was never ending!
Then hello 2020 - World pandemic hits and all of a sudden you can't go out, see or hug friends and family and when you do go out to do the grocery shopping it feels like we are living in an eerie post apocalyptic disaster movie! I will be honest and say that at times it has felt very overwhelming and quite frightening...
At the very start of lockdown I was asked by a friend "Emma how are you going to cope with not being able to go out all the time and see people?" and at that time I really wasn't sure how was going to cope with it... However much to my surprise, more than anyone else's, I have been able to embrace and enjoyed a slower pace of life... and this is where the different opportunities started to present themselves... and don't worry, there is plenty of time to share them... but I want to say now, that there is nothing that will take away from the seriousness of what we are all facing, how we have all been affected and how our world has completely changed this year.
For right now, and in getting back to blogging, I'm going to start with what I have been holding too during this time...
Proverbs 3 v 5-6 says this ... "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do and He will show you which path to take."
These two, well known, verses are my absolute favourite! These are the two verses, that no matter what is going on, what I am facing or how I am feeling, I can't help but come back to!
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart;..."
As I think about how I have and continue to observe the state of the world this year, I have found myself asking, "Emma do you really trust God with all your heart?" And as this year has gone, I have spent a lot of time reflecting and thinking about this... and do you know what, I will shout it from a mountain top ... YES I DO! What God has taught me through this year is that no matter what is going on I HAVE to trust Him and as I have spent time asking myself that this year along with "Why do I trust?" my simple answer is because ultimately, my life just doesn't make any sense without Him!
Has this year made you question your trust in God?
"...Do not depend on your own understanding..."
At the start of Lockdown, I was committed to using my time to get back to fitness, which has been very limited due to a continuous back injury... although slowly but surely I am getting there... So I started by going out for long walks 1hour - 2 hours and I took that as time with God. I would get ready to go, start the strava app because I need to measure my distance, of course, haha! Worship music on shuffle and off we went... The more I chatted to God I never found myself asking God "Why is all of this happening?" but the question that I couldn't shake from my mind and I kept asking was "God what is your plan and purpose in all this, what are you doing?" every time I asked that question I couldn't help but feel, that given how this year has affected the world as a whole, but also believe and trust that it's got to be something big...
We can't understand everything that is happening, and there will come a time when we will, most likely in eternity and not in this life time, but right now I think this whole experience for me is showing me how much we are not in control of this world. I feel that it is Gods protection over us as His children that we don't know what is going on... as I have been reflecting on this in my time with God, it has given me a lot more peace in not needing to rely on my own understanding and a lot of contentment in trusting Gods.
What questions have you been asking God?
"...Seek his will in all you do and He will show you which path to take."
I haven't a clue where my path is going right now, and I would say none of us do! For me that has always been a battle, I want to know what's next, what doors are going to open to me and for some of those doors that my heart is aching for, I remain in a long road of waiting!
But with this year, I have learned that being present is so important, I have to question how much am I trusting in God if all I am doing is worrying about tomorrow, next week/month/year and also why am I allowing that to rob me of the joy that God has for me today.
I have also learned that resting is so important, I don't do that well, yet this year, surprisingly I seem to have been ready to embrace a rest... I can't help but think that maybe, just maybe, one of Gods purposes and something good from Him that has come out of all this, is that we have all needed completely stopped in our tracks... for our hearts to change, be challenged in different ways, to rest in Him, to look for more of God on a deeper level, to be forced to hold to Him, to rely on Him because this is all out of our control. And maybe He has wanted us to just make more room and time for Him in our lives!
So ask yourself this... In view of where we are all at right now, how has your experience of this year changed your relationship with God?
The reason why I write is because God put it on my heart... and all I can share is my journey with Him so for me personally, I want to continue to trust God because I know He is with me, I know He wants me to cling to Him, He has been encouraging me through this to let go of what I don't understand and in doing that, I have found such peace in the reassurance that He is so much bigger than anything we are facing in this world, and I don't want to let Him go!
But what have you been holding on to during this year? Have you found yourself clinging to God tighter than ever before because you are scared and can't process what going on?
I don't know how you are feeling or what your experience of this year has been... maybe you have been like me and enjoyed having some more time to rest or maybe, this has been the most difficult year of your life! But know this, we are all in the same storm of 2020 and I know the only one I want to trust in, is the one who understands it all!
Praying this encourages you today!
See you soon :)
Ems xx
