"If God has something specific for you, you’ll know, I promise. But if He is setting a box of crayons down in front of you (a box of crayons called life) then by all means draw. He’s taught you right from wrong, good from bad, beautiful from profane, so draw. He will be with you, proud of you, cheering you on, so draw. He loves you, so draw in the inspiration of the knowledge of His love. Draw a purple horse, a red ocean, a nine-legged dog, it doesn’t matter. Lets stop being so afraid. Lets live, and show the world what it really means to be grateful we don’t live in a dysfunctional family."
By a lot of people's standards, my earthly family would easily qualify as a dysfunctional one. My family has fought and struggled my entire life. But we have also LOVED one another immensely. And the quality of my Heavenly Father described in the quote above is one that has been modeled and taught to me by my earthly father throughout the course of my entire life.
Time and again my dad has preached this same message over me. Just last month, when I was falling into doubt after making the decision to go to Haiti, questioning whether it was really God's will and desire that I was seeking in going there, or if it was actually my own self-will, my father was there to speak this exact truth into my life-- he reminded me that God wants me to live, to follow my passions, to be bold and fearless. That I have been given the freedom by my Heavenly Father to love and serve in crazy ways. And that in light of that, nothing else matters.
And it turns out that this is a truth that I can hold to and believe, in large part, because my father here on this earth has impressed it upon me so heavily. For this and for so many things, Dad, I'm thankful to you.
And cheers to our dysfunctional family, because God sure has blessed me richly through it!
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