Jul 26, 2013

Is the grass really greener on the other side?

Hello faithful readers of my dear wife's blog! I am taking over for a post (Jaklyn asked me to I promise!) I thought I would update you all on something God has been teaching me lately. It's probably kind to myself to say that He's teaching me as I am struggling to truly learn and apply the truth He has been revealing to me in my life.

As many of you know, Jaklyn and I have been on an exciting journey since we got married nearly two years ago. Our life has been full of many changes. We have yet to live in one place for more than 8 months. Our Journey started from September-June in Cedarville where we finished school. Next we traveled with Heartsong for 2 1/2 months which took us up to mid-August when we went to Spain from mid-August-end of December! Next we packed up what little he had and made the trip down to South Carolina. We're now in South Carolina where I am working part-time at a church plant, Summit Church. God blessed us by providing a friend from church who got her interview for Investinet, the company that she is now working for. I tell you all that backstory to be able to better explain what God has been teaching me.

We've always had something in the near future to look forward to. Because of that, I have always struggled to live in the moment. Also, that put a lot of pressure on the stage of my life that was upcoming because I would think about it in moments where I was struggling or unhappy where God currently had me.  When I was in my senior year, I looked forward to Heartsong. When I was on Heartsong tour, I looked forward to Spain. When I was in Spain, I looked forward to South Carolina. Now that we're in South Carolina, we don't know what's next. I think that because there is an uncertain future ahead of us, God has used that to teach me how much I have been missing out on the passed couple of years because of the way my mind has been functioning. I have been living in a mindset that "the grass is always greener on the other side." I have been thinking about all the things I didn't like in my current situation and convincing myself that as soon as the next stage gets here, it will all be better. Something that has become overwhelmingly clear in my life is that when I'm looking to find things to whine about, it will never get better! I can always find things about my life that I wish were different or improved. I can even find a different situation in which the current things I don't like will be better. However, that new place will have its own set of challenges and things that aren't easy.

We're going through a series through Psalms, and a theme that has come up as Kyle and Jason have been teaching and as I have been reading through the Psalms on my own has been the ever-present help that God is in any circumstance that we find ourselves in. As David was running away from Saul and then later, Absalom, he continuously wrote Psalms of praise and of an inner peace that he had as he knew that God knew what was best for him. God always knows. He knows why we're in the current place we're in, and He knows what is going to come next. David also knew that even if his life were to be taken, it would be okay because his soul rested secure. The thing that really stuck out to me is that the things and circumstances David was going through were so much worse than my frustrations. Working a part-time job when I would love to be full-time, living far away from family and friends, and being in a new culture seem to be pretty insignificant in comparison to running away and hiding from the king and your son as they are trying to kill you for various reasons. I have been challenged and made aware of all the different opportunities that I am going to miss out on if I continue to dream about what's coming next in my life. Jaklyn and I have so many things to be thankful about where God currently has us. God has placed us in Greenville for the time being, and I need to be here and now. That is something that sounds simple; however, it has taken me nearly two years of marriage to figure it out. I'm not saying that it's wrong to look to the future or plan for what's next; however, I am learning how much of the present I am going to miss out on due to wanting to be somewhere else all the time.

I'll end my post with an encouragement to trust God where He currently has you! Hopefully you don't struggle with the same thing as I do in always looking to what's next; however, if you do, trust that God has you in your current place for a reason. Make the most of where you are! Ask yourself who God currently has around you, and share who He is to them every chance you get. I am learning to trust that God is big enough and Sovereign enough to place me where I need to be. It's about time I stopped looking to the other side and started giving my completely mind and energy to the side I'm on for now!

grayson

No comments:

Post a Comment