the struggle is real

We all have one thing in common...we face challenges every day.  Challenges have as much variation as the people who face them do.  These trials can be life changing or day changing, but we all have them.  Each day we have choices to make as we face our own row of hurdles.  Will we become bitter or better?  Will we stop and stare at the hurdle in front of us, or will we go for it, or will we try to avoid it?  And what if we go for it, but instead of soaring over that hurdle, we fall flat on our faces?  Will we learn in the process of soaring or falling?  

A week and a half ago, the hurdle in front of me was a crack in the sidewalk on my running route.  I fell flat on my face (literally) and as I struggled to stand, discouragement overwhelmed me.  I briefly considered giving up.  Forget this running thing...I quit!  There is no escaping the cracks in the sidewalk in my neighborhood, so the obvious solution (at least in my 5 a.m. logic) is to give up running.  It was so symbolic of life.  We get discouraged and wounded, and we give up.    It's self-preservation.  Our brains think, "I don't want to feel that way, so I'll just quit and I won't ever have to deal with that hurdle again."  

Here is the good news...The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.  (Deuteronomy 31:8)  In the face of any challenge, this is the truth.  We can soar over the hurdles knowing that God goes ahead of us and He will never abandon us.  And what about the times that we are sprawled on the ground and injured?  Deuteronomy 31:8 is still the truth.  God is with me.  He will NEVER leave me or forsake me.  Fear and discouragement can not take over in the presence of God.  

My scrapes and bruises are healing.  My knees will have new scars.  But, I didn't quit running.  I was back at it the next morning.  Same choice in life; I will keep moving forward.  The struggle is real, but Jesus is more than enough!

odd man out

My pastor was teaching about the faith-filled life of Noah last Sunday and he used the phrase "odd man out" to describe Noah.  Something about those words resonated with me and I thought to myself, "I know how that feels."  God called Noah to be THAT PERSON who built an ark (there's something you don't see every day!) in preparation for rain which had never been seen on the earth to that time. I can imagine Noah's friends and neighbors, and probably even his family, shaking their heads as they watched him being obedient to God's call on his life.  Noah was one person who made a huge difference in the world by being faithful to God, but I bet he felt like the odd man out during all those years when the ark was under construction.

I really dislike feeling like the odd man out, but it happens more often than I would like to admit. God has called me to speak words of life and to deeply love the people around me.  Yep, I stick out like a sore thumb.  I often feel like I'm living in a foreign country and I don't speak the language.  I've tried to fit in, and I've failed.  Over and over again, I return to being the Dawn that God created.  The girl who speaks words of love and encouragement and life and doesn't understand sarcasm.  The girl who continues to love even when her feelings get hurt and the fear of rejection looms.

I am THAT PERSON.  You are THAT PERSON if you will choose to be obedient to the call of God on your life.  I choose to be the Dawn that God made and to put to use the gifts that He gave me.  I choose to make a world of difference in my tiny little corner of the world, even if it means that I'm the odd man out.