the other day i day dreamt i was on a cliff side. a steep fall ahead of me. across the edge, just far enough away, was the other side. i could see it. the clean, disciplined version of myself. the pursuer of dreams. the reliable, humorous friend and worker. i could see the version of myself who couldnt sit idly by while years passed without direction or vision. while those around me continued writing their stories of redemption and hope; of justice, deliverance, and peace. across the edge of the cliff in front of me, i could see the version of myself whose legacy would be one of small (and even big) inspirations. inspiration to keep moving. inspiration to trust. to walk. to cope. to take risks. to act. across the edge of the cliff, just far enough away, was the other side. and to reach it, i could see i needed to jump off. i needed to fall and let myself be caught. i needed to take the rope set before me. and i needed to climb up to the other side.
in order to change into who i saw across the edge i needed to jump, be caught, and climb. in order to change, i needed to change.
i know i have been at this impasse before. it may seem silly, but it's a bit emotional for me. to jump off the edge is to loose comfort. to be caught is to trust in what i cannot see. to climb up the other side of the cliff is to work hard and let go of the comfort of complacency that i have become so ensnared in.
today, reluctantly, i am jumping.
i am jumping because in the last few days a few key things have happened to inspire me. first, i read and saw many accounts of a woman some of my great friends knew: Lizzy. her story is heroic. and her life seemed to match up with her final heroic act: sacrificing her own life so that her unborn daughter could live. her legacy is just beginning, and it is already effecting people worldwide! i am inspired to action despite my day to day feelings by Lizzy's story. i am inspired to truly live out Phil. 2:3-4 by Lizzy's story :"let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others". because of her legacy, i am inspired to leave one of my own that is more than talk. one that is action.
second, people have been affirming me in small ways saying things like: they could see what i say being a stand up comedy routine, or what i say should be put on t shirts to be sold... which help remind me of unique gifts i was given (as we all were given unique gifts of our own). lastly, today i read this on a friends facebook status: "Women-keep pressing yourself more fully and express that to this world. Our world needs your beauty, your creativity, and your intelligence. I beg of you not to just be one fraction of a person, but the FULL array of who you are meant to be. Dont hold anything back!" (Layne Eiler).
i dont want to hold anything back. i dont want to get lost in this big world, drowning in a sea of meaninglessness that is constant entertainment and technology and daydreaming and being someone youre not. i want to be the version of myself i see above me now- on the other side of the cliff. i want to "walk worthy of the calling with which [i was] called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace"- Ephesians 4:1-3, and want to remember that "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them"- Ephesians 2:10, and that "He Himself gave some... for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ...that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-Christ- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every party does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love"-Ephesians 4:11-16. (boldness added).
i want to do my share. i want to use my gifts to edify the body. i want to use them to make people laugh. to raise my daughter. to welcome people in. into my home. into my life. into the body of Christ. and i want to use my gifts to leave a legacy that is God glorifying, and that inspires action.
i trust the One Who caught me when i jumped off the old end of myself today.
if you need me, i'll be here making the slow climb up the other side... i never said i would climb fast; just that i would climb.
This is SO SO good!!
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