Iron Sharpens Iron

I'm sure you've all heard the phrase, "Iron sharpens iron".... and for those who don't know, it's not just a cliche, it's a Bible verse, from Proverbs. 

The verse reads: "As iron sharpens iron,

    so one person sharpens another." (Proverbs 27:17) 

For the past couple of months I have been hearing this phrase within the depths of my being. For awhile I nagged God, asking Him to explain... I would ask, Why am I here? What is my purpose in Florida? I feel like a floating duck... and all I kept hearing was, "iron sharpens iron". It frustrated me to no end because I didn't understand what it meant... until tonight. Let me pause here and back up a second. 

When I arrived here in August, I was confident. I didn't have any idea what I was going to do for work or how things were going to play out but I was sure I had made the right decision and knew that God would work out the details. As time continued, I rapidly found a job and began my pursuit to get out of debt and become a certified Doula. I set up a schedule to exercise, read/study, and work. I set up a budget, I dove into church, I was ready for whatever God was going to do with me. So I thought. 

As it turns out you can be prepared three ways from Sunday, but when God has something for you to learn, it doesn't really matter if you're prepared or not. I thought I was more than ready for whatever He had for me here, but as it turns out, I wasn't. As I reflected over the last several months, thought about all of the various emotions, the good things and bad things that happened; I could see the purpose behind it. I began to understand some of the things He had shown me and spoken to my heart early on in the move. Suddenly "iron sharpens iron" was making sense. Situations, conflicts, and opportunities were all revealed in new light. Suddenly I was having an "AHA" moment! 

How does this apply to any of you? Where am I going with this? 

I just want to encourage each of you, learn where you're at. If God has placed you somewhere, a job, a state, a neighborhood that seems uncomfortable. If you feel like you're out of place and don't belong. If you aren't getting along with people or seem to be in conflict with others. Embrace it. Grow from it. There is purpose in all things, at all times, even if we can't see it yet. A couple months after I moved here I felt like God had released me and said I was "free to go". I had no idea how on earth I'd even go back to Iowa or what I would go back to. I thought for sure I was not "hearing correctly" because I had only been down here for a couple of months. However, as I have prayed since then, and looked back, He has shown me that He will not violate my free will. He released me and said I could go if I wanted, because it would be my choice, but that my work would be incomplete. My mission and purpose would be tainted. In other words, I'd still be a "knife" just not a sharp/effective one. 

So as I continue on in my journey here, however long (or short) it may be, I'm going to embrace the emotions, the struggles, the mountain tops, the rocky roads and all the in betweens. I'm going to let iron sharpen iron so that I'm ready to move on to the next thing, whatever it may be. 

The Rest is Still Unwritten

Well, today is January 1, 2013!! Happy New Year!! 

All day yesterday and even this morning when I woke up, my head was swirling with thoughts of this last year, and goals for my future. Thoughts of what I hope to see out of 2013. I'm not big on resolutions (for various reasons). But in all honesty, how many of us set resolutions and then by January 20th we've forgotten about them or given up on them. We get wrapped up sometimes in pressuring ourselves to reach these goals that we forget our purpose. We set goals and resolutions because it's a new year. We wipe the slate clean and we want to start fresh. We want to do better, be better, and ultimately have people see us as... better...! In the midst of all this hard work, we become frustrated and give up. We put pressure on ourselves to transform but give ourselves no grace. We feel we've failed after one mistake... and that's not just pertaining to resolutions. Often times we have things in our mind that we want to accomplish and at the first sign of a mistake or lack of results that we expect, we stamp it with "failure". I know it's totally cliche to say "we learn from our mistakes", or something to that effect. We've all heard that and clearly we dismiss it as something that doesn't pertain to us, because we should be super heroes right?!?! I'm not sure where that mentality comes from but I know I have done this a number of times.

This morning as I was picking all of this apart and bouncing around thoughts of my own hopes and expectations for this year. I kept thinking to myself, "What will I do if I don't meet my own expectations?" "What will I do if I don't reach goals I give myself this year?" ...And I came to this conclusion... I don't want to be like everyone else... if you don't know me that well or haven't figured out by now, going against the grain is kind of "my thing"!! I don't want to do things like everyone else. I don't want to fit a mold. I don't want to be a "copy-cat". On the other hand I also don't want to go through life with a whimsical mentality that every day is rainbows and butterflies. So this year, I am living everyday as January 1. Everyday is a new day. Everyday is an opportunity. Everyday is a chance to make a choice. I will give everyday the best that I have. The days that are good, I will thank God. The days that are bad, I will thank God. The days that I feel accomplished will be unto the Lord, and the days that I feel like I can't go on will be unto the Lord. I'm not giving myself a goal or resolution but I suppose this in itself could be viewed as such. Do I have goals, of course, and aspirations for 2013, but I will not allow the pressure of meeting them dictate who I am or who I become this year! My journey through 2013 will be full of choices and happenings, some within my control and others beyond my control. That is this thing we are part of called Life.

Enjoy 2013... Wipe the slate clean each day. Give yourself a break once in awhile. And remember to give others the same grace you'd wish upon yourself on the roughest of days. You never know where another person's journey is headed or where they've just been. 

Here's to 2013...The Rest is Still Unwritten!