Follow the Signs
 |
| Church of the Cross - Bluffton, South Carolina |
Three years ago life brought us to South Carolina. We stumbled across our church originally as
tourists. I found it on the internet
under historic landmarks. I looked at
pictures of this place for months before we ventured across the country from
Seattle. I was captivated, for some
reason, by this little historic building that sits proudly on the bluff by the
May River. I couldn’t wait to see it in
person, and wasn’t really sure why. I’ll
never forget that hot summer afternoon, when Dan and I were playing tourists,
and wondered into the building for the first time. There was a historian working there, telling
us about how the church was established 1767, and the building was built in
1857. You can’t imagine my surprise to learn
they actually still held church services there.
I honestly thought it was just an historic landmark. Dan and I went the very next Saturday evening,
and we’ve never stopped.
Dan and I always believed in God, but we never attended
church on a regular basis. Honestly, Dan
and I were what my Mom calls, “C and E’s.”
Those are the folks that attend church on Christmas and Easter. We would also attend church whenever my
parents would visit, but that was about it.
Now that’s changed. This place
holds some sort of magical force, which isn’t magic at all. You can feel the spirit of God within the
walls of this building. You can feel the
energy of the prayers that have been said within this place. Sometimes, when I am sitting quietly in a
pew, I can’t help but imagine that for hundreds of years people have been
praying for the same things we are today.
There’s something oddly comforting in that. The old building has withstood wars,
hurricanes and fires. It’s a place you
feel protected and loved. It’s a place
that gives you a glimpse of what the energy must feel like in heaven. Dan and I signed a card to join the church to
make it official.
We built a new home after we moved here, and on the very
night we were going to spend our first night sleeping in our new home, we
received a phone call from Father Owens of the church. He called us at the exact moment we were
pulling into the driveway of our new home.
He wanted to meet us in person.
Dan and I made an appointment to meet with him a few days later.
I’ll never forget that first meeting. Father Owens asked me a question no one has ever
asked me before on a personal level.
“Where do you see yourself in five years?” Clearly, I’ve been asked that in job interviews,
and in those situations, the answer is the canned professional “climbing the
corporate ladder… blah – blah - blah.” This was so very different and I honestly didn’t
have an answer. He also made a comment
that hit me. He told me I had a nice smile,
but he added, “I just hope it’s real.”
Did he know? Could he
tell? The truth was that I wasn’t happy
on the inside and wore a mask to hide the sadness. I knew we moved to this part of the country
because my Dad’s health was rapidly declining.
I felt lost in life and was struggling to find my purpose. I also felt I was doing a really good job of
hiding all of this from the world, with a fresh coat of lipgloss, and a bright
smile. Isn’t it funny, when you look
back on how you get to where you are in life, and the series of interesting
events that got you here? Was it a
coincidence? I don’t think so.
Several months after my Dad passed away I was still struggling
to get it together. There was one
particularly difficult church service, I was fighting to not cry through, on a
Saturday night. It was during that
service they announced a healing service that was to be held the next day at
church. I decided to go.
I went to the healing service the next day and sat there
alone listening to the music. I was
planning on just observing the situation.
I had no intention of actually have anyone pray for me. I was just there
to watch. Towards the end of the service
a kind woman came up to me and said she felt drawn to pray for me. She asked if I would like prayer. I thought, “What do I have to lose?” I
couldn’t possibly feel any worse. I
explained that my Dad passed several months prior and I just can’t seem to move
forward. I told her that each day I feel
stuck. She began to pray. She then looked into my eyes and said, “I
feel you haven’t totally given your heart to God and surrendered to Him. He wants all of you! He wants you to fully surrender to Him!”
If I’m totally honest, and you know I will be, I was a bit
offended at first. I thought, what are
you talking about? I believe in
God. We come to church every week. I’m all about praying. Why do you think I’m here? Fast forward four months later, Dan is taking
my picture on the bluff by this very church, because God told me to start this
whole blog adventure. I realize now what
she was talking about. I was so lost inside
of my own head that I couldn’t really hear God’s word. I was so busy putting on a mask that I
couldn’t feel. Breaking down the
barriers of my heart, and allowing God to flow is what true surrender is. I realize now that this journey has caused me
to seek God’s guidance each week. I have
surrendered to God every week and opened my heart to what He wants to teach
me. I see signs all around me now,
guiding me on my path. Am I “cured” of
my weight struggle? No way. Have I fixed the problem? Not even close. But I do know I have a purpose now, and I am
on the right path!
I believe in signs and I believe that everything happens for
a reason. Paulo Coelho said, “I believe
in signs. What we need to learn is
always there before us, we just have to look around us with respect and
attention to discover where God is leading us, and which step we should
take. When we are on the right path, we
follow the signs, and if we occasionally stumble, the Divine comes to our aid,
preventing us from making mistakes.”
Albert Einstein said, “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining
anonymous.”
Today, here I am, in the process of writing a book. I shared last week that God spoke to me and
wants a portion of the proceeds from this book to go to build fresh water wells
in Uganda for my cousin’s nonprofit organization. That makes me feel so good, and so humbled,
that I will be able to help in some way.
Last week I spoke to my cousin about the messages I received about my
book helping her organization. She
shared with me that she was receiving a message as well, only she didn’t
understand it until now. God was waking
her and giving her one word on how she was going to put in this well. He said, “Book.” She was so confused on what He was talking
about. She’s didn’t understand until our
phone conversation. God is amazing!
I don’t believe in coincidences. Wayne Dyer said, “In mathematics, two angles
that are said to coincide fit together perfectly. The word ‘coincidence’ does not describe luck
or mistakes. It describes that which
fits together perfectly.” Why was I so
obsessed with this little old church, on the side of a river, over the
internet? Perhaps the masterplan was set
in motion long before I was aware. I now
have that answer for what I see myself doing in the next five years, and I
couldn’t be happier. It’s crystal clear
to me today. I’ll always be a
seeker. I’ll forever try to learn. My purpose is to help
inspire other people on their weight loss journey. I want to help others lose weight and find
themselves. I want to help other people
heal the hurts and find their courage to
follow their dreams. The lipgloss is
still there but the smile now is real.
Are you hiding behind a mask?
Are you faking a smile to hide your pain? This week I pray for you. I pray you find a way to fully surrender to
God. His healing power is waiting for
you. Allow God’s healing to flow through
you. Psalm 56:8 says, “Tears are prayers
too. They travel to God when we can’t
speak.”
Comments