(July 3, 2017)
“You taught my feet to dance upon disappointment.” – Amanda Cook, Heroes
Confession: No matter what, I am convinced there are only impossible-to-imagine good things ahead of me.
Halfway through the year is the perfect time to reflect on what all God has been unveiling and all I have been discovering. Each year begins the same: determination and a fixed focus with clarity on what the year will bring my way. I’ve always been an advocate of professing the things that I want, knowing God is more than able to bring them to life, and so I hope, pray, and move forward in faith toward the direction my heart’s desires lead, understanding God will lead and direct me where He sees best.
I began my year with some of the sweetest moments, paired with some of the most intense moments I could’ve anticipated. During this time, I went back to Genesis and reflected on the story of Abraham and Isaac. Last year at the same time, this story spoke to me where With All Her Might was concerned, and now this year, the story took on a completely new meaning for me and my life circumstances.
To recap, God promised to make a great nation (Israel) through Abraham, though he had no children. When Abraham finally did have a son, whom would continue his lineage and therefore fulfill God’s promise, God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac to test his character. Abraham, knowing God would still keep his promise even if not through Isaac, followed through in obedience, believing God would provide a lamb to be sacrificed instead of his son. And God did save Isaac and gave him back to Abraham, seeing Abraham’s full faith was in Him.
“‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided… God will provide a lamb (Genesis 22:14b, 8).’ In my own way today, I sacrificed my “Isaac”. What is given to God is never lost. And now I look with anticipation for tomorrow, trusting there are impossible-to-imagine good things ahead.” – February 6, 2017
Rereading Abraham’s story, I identified with him and God asking him to make a sacrifice; in my own way, I believed God bid me to give to Him my own offering. It is a dramatic comparison as I wasn’t asked to sacrifice my child, but instead I was being invited to let go of something I had hope for and give it to God. And I did, knowing He could provide a lamb, if He so chose.
“God when you choose to leave mountains unmovable, give me the strength to be able to say ‘It is Well with My Soul’”. – MercyMe, Even If
In a way, I wish I could say God did provide a lamb for me and that my offering to Him was accounted for and given back to me, but I can’t. When I gave that to God, it stayed in His care and may be there for the rest of my life, never with the plan to be returned, but I fully knew that when I chose to give it to Him. And thus, marked the beginning of God’s unveiling this year of “Only Good Things”.
Adventure
In February, I had the opportunity to spend some time in Europe visiting friends in England and Germany, discovering my heritage in Denmark, and revisiting my favorite city in the world, Paris. It was the perfect time to get away and leave space for God to bring a world of discovery to me.
One of my favorite moments of the trip was my time spent in Copenhagen. Born with Danish roots, I was eager to visit the place where my family origins were, and it was special to me that I was the first of my family to travel there. One morning I got up early to run to the Little Mermaid. It was 7:00am and about 20 degrees outside, but absolutely breathtaking nonetheless. I watched the sunrise over the sea and when I made it to the statue, stopped to take in my surroundings. That time of day there was no one around, it was just me and her, the Little Mermaid. The way the statue faces, she’s looking toward land, and as I stopped from my run, we just stared at each other in silence. It was as if she was looking for something, and so was I.
Later that day I visited the Hans Christian Andersen museum and read the original story of The Little Mermaid; needless to say, it’s not the fairytale Disney makes it to be, but I understood then why the statue had been positioned on the rock as it was; she was looking for her Prince Eric. I understood her completely and could only think, “Me too, girl. Me too.” I revisited the statue later that day after the museum and went away with a new affinity for her.
As I made my way through Europe, with each new adventure I recalled what God had put in my heart, “Only Good Things”, and came home with renewed hope and purpose.
Running without Weary
Since October of last year, I began training for the LA Marathon, a bucket list item for the last 10 years. Before this, the longest I had run without stopping was 10 miles; my usual runs consisted of 3 to 4 miles, maybe a couple more if I was feeling ambitious. Training for this marathon is one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life, along with one of the most emotional and spiritual journeys I’ve experienced as well. There were tears when I beat my 10 miles; I cried when I passed my 13.1 record, and all the way to 20 miles without stopping. Every time there was a mixture of joy and amazement; joy, that I had succeeded in what I set out to do, and amazement, that I had it in me to accomplish it!
“Tomorrow is the day! What a journey. Lord, You have taught me so much during my training for the marathon. I have learned that unless I try, I will never know. And every time I’ve tried, I’ve always exceeded my expectations. God, I pray this for tomorrow that You will do what You do best and exceed expectations… Tomorrow is ours!” – March 18, 2017
Blood, sweat, blisters, cramps, strains, aches, pain, numbness, and fatigue were all part of my experience in training and running the marathon. To say I never grew weary is misleading, for the body has its limits; what I learned was I could count on my body for only so much, and had to let my mind, heart, and spirit guide me instead, ultimately trusting God to be my strength. There is so much more I could say, but I’ll stick with my post I shared on my social media accounts:
“When I run I feel God’s pleasure.”
Today I finished my first marathon and couldn’t be more proud. My legs are weak and feet bruised and blistered, but my spirit is strong and so alive. I had three goals for the day: 1) Finish with an average of 11 minutes per mile or less, 2) Run the whole marathon without stopping, and 3) Leave my complete faith and trust in God to be my strength and rest in Him. I was scared because I only trained up to 20 miles, but more than anything excited, because I am confident in my God who is able to do the impossible; I knew He would be with me and lead me to the finish line. I can’t explain running all 26.2 miles without stopping or my 4:43 time with an average of 10:49 per mile except that God really was my strength in my weakness. More than reaching goals, the biggest blessing from training for and running the LA Marathon was learning that I really don’t know what I can do or what all I’m capable of until I try – and more than that – I can’t really know what all God is capable of doing in and through me unless I give Him the opportunity to do so. This was a reminder of how BIG my God is, how He cares about everything, and is ever so ready to do the impossible in my life if I allow Him the space.
“You are calling me to greater things… And in my weakness You are the strength that rises from within. Good Shepherd of my soul, take my hand and lead me on.”
Once again, God reminded me of “Only Good Things”, and continued to instill hope for the good things He had in store.
All Things Redeemed
I believe God redeems all things in His time; some things He allows us to see redeemed, and others He leaves for a future time. Maybe God didn’t provide a lamb for me in my offering to Him, but He has brought redemption to areas I couldn’t be sure I would see take place with my own eyes, things that I had waited years for:
“I didn’t know if it would ever happen. I knew it wasn’t necessary, but God allowed me to have it, today. And if it ends here, then I will have had more than enough and will forever look back on today with gratitude, and delight, knowing that God is more than able, and ever-willing to show His love, grace and redemption through all things and all people.” – April 23, 2017
For those things I wait to see redemption for or even just hoped-for progress in, I know God is a Master of Behind-the-Scenes work, and that is where my faith comes in. When God says He works all things for my good, I trust there is emphasis and promise in the “all things”, not just some. Ultimately, this is another reminder of my hope for “Only Good Things”.
Aware
“Sometimes you sing it because you believe it, and sometimes you sing it until you do.” – Steffany Gretzinger
I understand there is a certain naivety in saying there are only “good things”. If that were so, the world would be a very different place. What I mean to say is despite the bad, I will focus on the good. It’s a conscious decision; I won’t ignore the bad that takes place, I grieve when sad, attend to pain and sorrow, and can feel frustration, anger and hurt, but I want my focus to rest steadily in God, and continue to trust in and hope for His promise of redeeming all things and bringing good from them. He has done it in the past, He continues to prove Himself faithful in the present, and I look to Him for my future.
“Life is bittersweet and sweet’s the best part. You can never rate your happy without sad on the chart.” – Plus One, Quest of Many Trails
I have learned that sometimes the things I sacrifice to God may never return to me, and I have seen that God doesn’t always give me His blessing in my heart’s desires. When this happens, I either have to note that it’s for a later time or it is not meant to be. I do believe if it’s for a later time, God doesn’t leave me without hope, and for the things that aren’t meant to be mine, I believe God in His time takes those desires away as I look to Him. It’s not always easy, but I don’t think it was meant to be. And sometimes, God is fulfilling His promises or giving me my heart’s desires, but I am too busy imagining the way it’s supposed to be happening instead of embracing the way He’s doing it. But I want to be aware of what God is doing, catch on early, and enjoy His blessings in their entirety. God, help me to do so, that I may have eyes to see and a heart that understands.
With the year half gone and the rest to come, I look in anticipation for what future good things God will do and bring my way. After all, this is my Year of Follow Through and Dream Come Trues. What’s next, God?
Embracing the Good Things,
With All Her Might
With All Her Might 