Most mornings when I get ready for my day I have a pair of earrings in mind that I want to wear. I am no organizer of said jewelry–I do not have racks or dividers or containers arranged by color or strand. No little holders for the hoops here and the studs there….
All of my earrings are dumped into a metal tin lid from an old Starbuck’s Christmas cookie container, turned upside down in my drawer. The loops, the hoops, the studs, the colors, the stones all mixed together.
I know exactly what I have in mind that will match what I’m wearing but well, obviously, it might take me a few moments to find them.
So I dump the container out on the bed. The jumbled pile of sparkly doo dads looks like an overwhelming mess; I am not deterred.
“Those things are so totally mixed up, how can you find anything?!” my husband mumbles.
Oh, I know exactly what I’m looking for–I’ll know it when I see it.
I’m sure the earrings I want are hidden somewhere in that mound; the only way to find them is to dig through the pile.
And then there they are–the copper wires with the bronze looking stone. Perfect.
Just right….they were there all along.
+++++++++++
Sometimes writing and praying can be like that.
When I sit with my journal open to write down what I hear as I read or pray, I don’t know what’s in my heart until the pencil or pen is on the paper and I begin to put words into sentences.
I’m often surprised at the light the Holy Spirit shines this way– new discoveries in God’s Word, revelations about what’s in my heart, nudgings to pray, understanding about a problem or relationship–all because I’ve just started writing.
It’s like the thoughts are jammed up somewhere, waiting to be expressed.
The physical action of writing brings them to light.
My random prayers are like that, too. I say random because I am SO not disciplined when it comes to prayer or Bible reading or journaling or anything else.
So….I most often pray when I get in my car or go for a walk. The way I’m wired, the movement triggers my brain to commune with God, as if I don’t really know what’s on my heart, until I actually start moving.
Either way–with jewelry or earrings, words to write or pray, sometimes it’s hard to know what I’m looking for. But once I see it or hear it or write it, they all ring true–they’re exactly what I was looking for all along.
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I’d love to hear in the Comments.
And with Jennifer Lee for the Tell His Story link up.
Oh,Karrilee, I laughed out loud at 'God is smart like that!” Yes, He is. It is so encouraging to re-read my journal entries and see, yes, God was speaking to me and I actually heard him.
Thanks for reading!
Oh I love this… and I can relate to it all! (The pile of jewelry, the writing/praying/moving, the clarity that comes as words pour out through ink to paper!) Sometimes what I write is just for me and it stays in my journal, and sometimes – in one way or another -it ends up on the blog. Either way, I love to go back and read what has been written because oh so often it is just what I need to hear! God is smart like that!
Joanne, I liked the phrase about God's word being cracked open and allowing Him to disentangle and pull out the pieces. Exactly! Thanks for reading.
I pretty much have the same box of earrings 🙂 Pretty much everything is jumbled inside my heart until I come before Him, His Word cracked open & allow Him to disentangle & pull out the pieces He knows need to be written. Only He makes sense of all which is in me & for that I am ever grateful. Blessings!
Yes, indeed, our bodies and brains, hearts and souls are all connected….through a pencil or pen, I'm convinced.
Thanks for stopping by, Linda.
This is soooo good for me! I never know what God is teaching me until I write or sit quietly with Him. I am a visual learner so that may come through words on a page, especially ones He has me write, or through the beauty of the cardinal singing in the top of the tree.
I love the way you search for your earring too! My box is smaller but they are all tangled up too! : )
Caring through Christ, ~ linda
The stack of answers is 3 1/2″ thick–Nancy, what a powerful testimony! What a faithful God.
I, too, discover-as-I-write. Revelation often reveals itself as the words begin to flow. As for prayer, I keep a stack of 3 x 5s with names and needs. Each morning I pray for seven people/needs. As prayers are answered, I add that to the card before tucking it away in a box. Sometimes prayers are not answered as I would like. Those cards are filed, too, because God did answer, just differently than my preference. I started this habit over 15 years ago; the stack of “answers” is 3 1/2' thick!
Hi Jody,
I chuckled as I read because my earrings are also in a jumble, and like you, I often don't know what I'm really thinking or feeling until I write it down…it helps me process in a way I can't do otherwise…Whenever I can be outdoors, it also helps me focus on God…reading the Bible…different ways at different times 🙂