Sunday, August 12, 2012

Weekend Worship—Let Go and Soar


What road will I choose?
There are times in my life when making the right decision seems like a no-brainer. Unfortunately those times are few and far between.

For those of you who visit my blog regularly it will come as no surprise that I tend to be a little bit of a control freak. And that character trail often makes it difficult to follow God unconditionally. Let me give you an example.

When our oldest son was just a few months old, my husband and I felt like God was calling us to leave our home in Arkansas, and move to South Carolina. We had no friends or family in the Carolinas, but my husband had a job offer, and there had been some issues with his job in Arkansas that made both of us uncomfortable.

Yes or No
So we began to discuss the possibilities. My husband, ever the engineer, made lists of pros and cons. While I, the creative right-brained one, tried to discover how I felt about the chance of moving. We wrangled over the decision for weeks, but for every pro there was a con, and for every upside there was a corresponding downside. The situation had us stymied.

Then one night, as I drifted off, I was captivated by a dream. I was the passenger in a car, a convertible to be exact, and we were driving a dangerous, winding road that led the side of up a mountain. The road was a tiny two-lane affair, minus guardrails. There were granite cliffs on the mountain side of the road, and a sheer drop to the valley below on the other. I knew about the drop off because the driver kept veering toward the edge of the cliff and I’d have to reach over and yank the steering wheel to keep us from crashing into the valley below. As we hurtled toward the top of the mountain we were up so high I could occasionally see clouds below us.

Finally, I got really irritated because it seemed the higher we got the more often I’d have to pull us back from the edge, and it suddenly occurred to me I didn’t know who was driving. While I kept a cautionary hand on the steering wheel, I risked a quick glance at the face of the person driving.

Even though I couldn’t describe the features to you now, I immediately recognized him…it was Jesus driving the car.

Flying off the mountain
I was immediately mortified and jerked my hand away from the wheel and sure enough, He drove us right off the edge of the mountain. But we didn’t crash. No, instead we were suddenly free, and soaring above the mountain. I don’t remember Him saying anything, but he held tightly to my hand, and I remember Him smile.

At this point I woke, and shook my husband awake to tell him about my dream. He got excited and gave me hug, “That’s it. That’s the answer.”

I was still a little groggy, and I voiced the first thought that came to me. “Okay, but what’s the question?”

He laughed and hugged me again. “That’s our answer about moving. We’ve been trying to make the decision all by ourselves. God wants us to just let go and follow Him.”

Within the month we were gone, headed to South Carolina. It has been one of the single-best decisions we’ve ever made. That decision caused a domino effect in our lives leading us straight to God, strengthening our faith as well as our family.

Soar on wings like eagles
Now I find myself at another cross road, with God once again asking me to trade the security of what I know and am comfortable with, for His path, which leads only He knows where.

You might think the choice would be simple this time, but it isn’t. Never the less, I’m determined to trade my control for His. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

But what about you? What part of your life is God trying to get you to relinquish to Him? I invite you to join me, because those who trust in the Lord
 will renew their strength; 
they will soar on wings like eagles; 
they will run and not grow weary;
 they will walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

6 comments:

  1. Wow. When will I stop being surprised by how God works? This post is so timely. I'm forwarding it to someone I was on the phone with at 3 a.m. By the end of our conversation, we both agreed letting go is at least one of the answers to what's happening in their life. When I got off the phone, I had a devotional in my inbox about letting go. I forwarded it to my friend, and I'll do the same with this one. Thanks so much, Edie.

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  2. Awesome post Edie. I get it when it comes to wanting to have my hand on the steering wheel of my life. Giving it to God (and not taking it back) is tough. Thanks for the reminder that He knows what's best for us.

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  3. Praying for you as you face a new crossroad. Don't you love how our faith increases as we look back on how He's worked in our past? (Just like Scripture!) I look forward to hearing what God is going to do!
    Love and hugs

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  4. Beautifully written, Edie. Your dream was amazing! It is truly only when we give God the reins that we are free to trust Him completely. It isn't easy letting go of that control, but it is the safest we will ever feel. Good luck to you in whatever your new venture is.

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  5. Edie, I almost never comment, but your dream reminded me of a few verses of a song, "Learning to lean, learning to lean, finding more power than I ever dreamed, learning to lean on Jesus ". Sung slowly. I cannot remember the rest. I am going to put my book on amazon on sale for free, I will let you know. It is about a church that had to learn to lean on Jesus extra fast.

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    1. Brian, thank you for commenting. I'd love to know when your book comes up on Amazon. Feel free to email me ediegmelson@gmail.com

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