Skip to main content

Let it simmer

Image
By
Just like a recipe that requires simmering, God started to simmer something in my soul.  A gentle way to say, I'm going to do something and I'll be easing into a full boil.  Quite a daunting thought.  He is a gentle, loving God who only wants the best for me, right?  I have to remember that.  He LOVES me.  Yet, he's had the flame on simmer for some time.  But just like it's so easy to get used to the sting of a steamy, hot shower, so it is with that simmer.  You just get used to it and you can stand it.  Well, I guess he noticed and has decided to turn up the heat a little.  I know I have a high tolerance for discomfort.  I just ignore it, thinking there must be something wrong with me.  My usual modus operandi.  But God says no to that.  He uses discomfort as a simmer in the soul, as if to say I am going to do a new work in you.  I am going to turn that discomfort into something amazing.  Amazing?  Really?  That discomfort starts to take on a name or two.  Things that can be defined if we really take a look at what's simmering.  For me it looks like inner conflict with a mixture of not so nice emotions.  Right now, I really can't imagine God making all of that turn out amazing.  But he's the one with the vision and plan, and I have to trust that.  He's got work to do in me and I have to choose to be still, to listen and to cooperate.  I need to put my guard down, to let him turn the heat up to a full boil and wait for something amazing.  This could take a long time.
 
Is there anything simmering in you? 

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.   Psalm 139:23-24

Labels

Labels:

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 30, 2014 at 6:37 AM

    Whatever you're dealing with right now, Re, I trust that you'll follow the path that God has intended for you to follow, and you'll come out even stronger and better than before. We are all a work in progress, simmering away.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Everybody Loves a Good Fight

By
I’ve gotten into two fights in my life.  I know, hard to believe.  But I can remember them clearly.  One was with Cathy, who lived two doors down from my grandmother’s house.  I was probably around 8 or 9 years old.  Cathy was mean and a thorn in my side.  She was also the only other kid on the block who I could play with.  I don’t know exactly how the fight started, but I can remember the final scene and how it all played out.  I towered over her as she lay on the grass, pinned in a helpless position.  She cried for mercy and I let her go.  She flew home and that was the last time she bullied me.  The other time was in sixth grade.  I was friends with Rosie; at least I thought I was.  She accused me of breaking her compass and told me that she was going to beat me up after school.  I was shaking in my boots the rest of the school day.  I wondered how I could avoid the ordeal.  I wished I had someone that co...
3 comments
Read more

Chasing Art

By
Over the years, I have explored my art through various mediums.  Ceramics, oils, pencil, acrylics, watercolor, photography (I'm sure there are more).  I've enjoyed all of them and this weekend I was going to add one more art adventure, collage.  I signed up, not really knowing what I was going to be doing, and I am so happy I did.  It was absolutely wonderful.  More than wonderful...I was completely in the zone for two and one half days.  A classmate in the workshop talked about losing time when creating, and that's exactly what happened.   I was in my own world for two and half days and whatever else was going on out there, just didn't matter.  It's strange how a room filled with artistic energy can create a bond beyond words.  I learned a new art form from my fabulous instructor,  Laura Lein-Svencner and equally rewarding was hearing the encouraging words from my classmates.  I was excited about ...
3 comments
Read more

Opposite Directions

By
It was nice and toasty in my house.   And the tear that just leaked from my eye turned ice cold as I pulled the door shut behind me.   I couldn’t help it.   I had an emotional wrestling match with my better half the night before, and it left me feeling fragile.   This happens in marriage and relationships, right?   How is it that I can be standing right next to my husband and yet feel so alone?   I had to make a choice.   I prayed and wondered how to proceed.   Would I be able to verbalize my thoughts?   Would I be able to lay down the anger I felt it my heart?   I had to work backwards.      I’ve learned enough to know that the anger is the blanket that covers all the other feelings.   Don’t we like to stay under the blanket?   It’s kind of comfortable and it keeps us distant so we don’t have to deal with the truths that lead us there.   So I had to start uncovering, and   I found rejection...
2 comments
Read more