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real light living

A road in…{on transparency with Holy purpose}

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As I was walking with my young teen beauty, through our grassy field, in our own backyard, I paused. I recognized the place I stood. Remembering, I looked ahead and looked behind. “I had a dream a couple of days ago,” I began to share with my daughter. “A dream that someone was building a road through our land, right next to my writing cottage. It was being built through the woods.”

In the dream, I knew our land was not the destination. The road was to be used to get from one place to another. In the dream, I wasn’t afraid of the intrusion, I just wondered and watched.

“Oh, no! That is not ever happening,” My daughter was adamant. “This is our property. We own this land. This is our house. No one is coming here, and especially not building a road through it.”

“Of course not,” I smiled as we continued our walk.

It was only a short while ago, resolutely, I took the same stand. Fearful, possessive and protectant, closed-in, and wanting to keep everyone else out. I was the guardian of my own heart, and I was alone in a dark prison of my own making.

God whispered in that moment. “That’s not My way. What if I want to build a road in your life? What if I want others who have lost their way to use that road? What if I want to use your life to help others find their way? It means you have to let Me. Then, not be afraid to let others in. I take your place as Guardian of your soul.”

A road in? A roadway in the wilderness, where no road should be and He’s the Road-maker. And maybe, just maybe, that hard way where trails were blazed through testings by fire, weren’t just for me to walk through. Just maybe they are to help someone else walk through, too.

I know what He means. “Keep open house. Be generous with your lives.” (Matt 5:15 MSG) He’s been teaching me this lesson, long. He doesn’t force His way in, He waits to be invited in. Then Him coming in means opening a way to let others in, and for us to come out. Out of hiding. Out of darkness where we think we are safe. His way is perfect. His way is love. And His love perfect, coming in, means driving fear out. (1 John 4:18)

“But by opening up with others, we prompt other’s to open up with God” (Matt 5:16 MSG) This is the beginning of true authenticity and transparency with a holy purpose. “For if we walk in the Light as He is in the Light we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us.” (1 John 1:7)

So this — this blogging, this soul labor of writing true — this is me keeping open house. I am allowing the road to be built through my life. I share my struggles, my trials, and my triumphs, and how I’m finding the way. My life isn’t the way. Jesus is the Way. I let this light shine, and hope it be a beacon for those who have lost their way. And we journey together.

by grace,

Michele-Lyn, living a life surrendered

 

Comments

  1. A friend said to me once when I was struggling, “Sundi Jo, you’ve been following the highway of life. Now it’s time to make your own dirt road.” That has stuck with me.

    Thanks for sharing.

  2. Really beautiful words here, Michele-Lyn. I love the work He’s doing in you this particular season–what grace it is to get to see your heart transformed. Love to you, my friend.

    • Kris,

      Your comment means a lot. You have been an important part of my life, through the process. I am grateful for you and your heart for God and family. You are a blessing.

  3. Oh Michelle, your words are an offering and they are a beautiful one at that. You whisper encouragement, hope and obedience. Love this so deeply.

  4. What if He does want to build a road in our lives, indeed? Scary words when we first hear them, I think. What if I’m not good enough? What if you’ve got the wrong girl, God? What if you build the road and nobody comes?

    I’ll repeat the quote I shared earlier from Janice Elsheimer: Our gifts our not from God to us, but from God THROUGH us to the world. I believe He wants to create a path for those gifts to be shared. Whether they provide refreshment for others, a road to Damascus moment, or just sharpening for ourselves, the road and our hearts need to be open to our fellow travelers.

    Thanks for an absolutely lovely post, Michele, and especially for that verse from Matthew!

    • Kim,

      You ask some questions that I struggle with, and my guess would be many others do, too. I love the quote. What truth to help us remain focused.

      Blessings to you, friend.

    • Kim,

      You ask some questions that I struggle with, and my guess would be many others do, too. I love the quote. What truth to help us remain focused.

      Blessings to you, friend.

  5. Thank you for sharing these words of encouragement. In the midst of trials and “testings by fire” it is so hard to see the path and the purpose, and even harder to not cry out in frustration and ask why, and “oh, God, what are you doing?” Your message brings me back to His purpose and His actions in my life and reminds me that He has planned the way and knows it, even when I can not see.

    • Rebekah,

      Yes, I agree with you. I often think of this — while we are concerned with what is happening to us, God is concerned with what is happening in us. May He use our lives for His glory.

    • Rebekah,

      Yes, I agree with you. I often think of this — while we are concerned with what is happening to us, God is concerned with what is happening in us. May He use our lives for His glory.

  6. Michele-Lyn, you never cease to bless me with your words. Yes. God’s way, not mine. May His road carve straight through my heart and may He keep us always on His path.

  7. Oh friend, YES! This is so true. A road through it all that leads to Him. I am learning this right now. I wrote a post last week that was hard to write and even harder to share and yet God is using it to heal me and touch others. Thank you for your faithfulness to write the hard and real of your walk with Him. Love you, friend.

  8. Michele, thanks for sharing these thoughts. I especially appreciated reading the Matthew 5:15 words from the MSG translation, and went and read the surrounding verses in that version, as well. It opened up some new thoughts for me regarding being open with our lives – I want to think on these verses, as God has been prompting me to open up even more, sharing for His purposes and His glory. Thanks.

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