Emelda De Coteau
Latest posts by Emelda De Coteau (see all)
- Why God’s Grace Changes Everything - June 23, 2017
- Living by Faith (Blog Series): Writer Christina of The Whole Cook - April 28, 2017
- Living by Faith (Blog Series): Writer and Podcaster Tiffany T. Huff - April 21, 2017
I do not know about you all, but during the busyness of life, I forget a lot; the chaotic nature of days with a little one moves some chores further down the list. Let’s take watering plants – easily thrown into the nonessential pile. It’s why I can count the number we have sprinkled haphazardly around our house on one hand.
Every now and then, I look over at the small one lovingly squeezed into a corner of our bathroom, bursting with specks of green, and remember to water it. On this particular day, I noticed brown leaves drowning the greenery. It dawned on me, for weeks, I kept feeding what no longer lived. Rather than prune it, I continued watering, instead of seeing its shedding as a pathway to new life.
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:19
What are you clinging to for the sake of appearances? Are you afraid of changes God has ahead, because you do not know how others will react?
Slowly, a kind of spiritual suffocation takes root as we tighten our grip on familiar experiences, tugging at these like security blankets. And it is impossible to understand what God is preparing, and remain open to his promises. We are adrift in a symphony of sameness.
Do not feel bad. I stand alongside you in this dilemma, sweet friends, both desiring change and simultaneously running away. But I do know this with certainty – I want to feel fully what God is manifesting in my life, our lives, as a family, and this means saying goodbye to the weights standing in the way – worry, anxiety, fatigue, and doubt.
During our tough season, some friendships have evolved or evaporated – taken different shapes, their force a dwindling presence. For the first time, this extroverted woman is learning it is ok to say no to what no longer feeds me – people-pleasing, one-sided friendships, and giving away so much of my spirit that little remains for God and me.
Our creator cannot birth something novel and divine in our lives if we cling to the old. You and I have to ask God daily to prune us, renew our minds, clear the toxicity in these hearts so transformations can begin taking root.
Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the freedom I find in you. Your promises are true and good, and I know you desire to bring about beauty, even in the midst of what appears as suffering. All of this struggle will be used to transform me. I speak healing and wholenes to my mind, body and spirit, in your precious name I pray, Amen.
Musical Inspiration:
The Story You’re Building In Me by Love & The Outcome