You've turned my mourning into dancing again
You've lifted my sorrows!
I can't stay silent I must sing for Your joy has come!
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; youwill fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. -Psalm 16:9-11
Today I seriously just feel like dancing! :) With the rain comes the Spring, and I see growth and life everywhere! From looking outside my window at Mrs. Bluejay... to the flowers peppering the earth... to the ladies in my Bible Study... spring, life, rebirth is in the air!
A story about growth...
March 16th I started a Bible Study for teen girls at my house... and no one showed up. I was super disappointed, but decided not to give up, and the next week 4 girls came! We've been meeting each week since then and are talking about how to become the woman God created us to be as we study women throughout the Word. I have this rule when we pray that I've used since college... that we don't just share requests for an hour and then one person pray at the end... but that we go around the circle and each girl shares something she wants to pray about, and the girl sitting next to her immediately prays for that request. It's neat because we all pray, not just one person, and we spend more time that way actually talking to God and not just talking about him. And it's difficult because most people struggle to pray outloud, but I find that it seriously strengthens us as pray-ers. :) My favorite part about Bible Study on Monday nights is our prayer time. It's been so crazy cool to watch these girls learn how to pray! The first few weeks were super awkward. The girls were not comfortable with praying outloud, and it was difficult for them to think of words to pray. Week two the girls were struggling a little bit with their prayers, and after one girl prayed who hadn't been to Bible Study before, another girl blurted out, "Isn't it HARD? I'm totally out of my element!" And they all laughed and agreed and another girl said, "Yeah, but I think it's good for us!" I just sat there... stunned... and SO excited for them!! They hit the nail right on the head... yeah, praying is hard! And sometimes learning to be a Christian does take us totally out of our element!! But it is good for us... and this week I was so excited and impressed with the girls. Their prayers were so long, and I know they've been praying more on their own, and they weekly challenge me to desire to grow closer and deeper in my relationship with God because they want to! These girls may not realize it, but major growth is happening in their lives... and since it's Springtime and major growth is happening everywhere, I thought it appropriate that I share this story and celebrate that growth here on my little blog.
Sometimes I get anxious about where I am in life. It's easy to focus on things that are out of my control and let them bring me down. It's easy to see the areas in my life where change is not happening, and where growth is not present. But why spend my time there? I miss out on the green, on the flower buds, on the eggs Mrs. Bluejay layed ;), on the slow subtle soft change that's happening all around me, and I overlook fully appreciating things for what they've become through their slow growth. Spring is here! Today I rejoice because God is working, God is moving! He turned my mourning into dancing again, He lifted my sorrow! I can't stay silent... I must sing for His joy has come!
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