Al principio (In the beginning)

 

As I sit at my desk this morning, my thoughts are disrupted by a self-appointed man on an empty street outside the window directing traffic. His shrill whistles cut through the air like a mad magpie fighting for a French fry.

Life is so often filled with challenging moments, some happy, some sad, some clear, and some confusing. Each of us is moving through life, encountering moments that offer us space to embrace something new.

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" Isaiah 43:19

Something new.
Many of us resist beginning again, yet in so many ways, that’s exactly what we’re called to do. The beautiful part is that we’re given a clean slate every day. In fact, God is creating something new each day—both in the world around us and within us.

Change can be difficult because it so often brings fear of the unknown or of what we may be called to do. And yet, something wonderful is happening…

Kim and I once lived corporate lives—aware of God in our moments, but still on a path we believed we were driving. We worked for nonprofits and did good in the world. We scheduled our days, months, and years ahead, believing we were fulfilling everything God was calling us to.

But somewhere in all of that, God opened a door. We walked through it—and discovered we were never truly in control. We were simply on a path. Looking at our life in that moment, we realized we had a choice: continue wrestling through life trying to accomplish our vision, or surrender—and walk with God into the unknown, experiencing all He was inviting us to.

It sounds like a simple choice. It wasn’t.

"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." Genesis 8:22

Life changes us.
We pass through seasons that we can’t fully understand or appreciate until we’re amid them—dancing with God, not yet knowing the steps. As we live, we catch glimpses of God's light. But when we surrender, we find ourselves gently led through the dance of life—moving with God. Often, it feels like our feet are flying beneath us as we're whisked toward something grander than we could have ever imagined.

Today, Kim and I find ourselves dancing with God in a place we never expected—in a different country, learning a new language, adjusting to a new job, surrounded by new people. And a long, long way from home.

It can be overwhelming.

But God is already here—already at work in this place, and in the hearts of the people we’ve been called to serve. God is still creating—today and always.

God didn’t stop creating on the seventh day and simply rest. God has always been creating. And we’ve been invited into that dance. God sees us—longing to move to the music but too afraid to let go—and waits patiently. God knows we are worthy of love and capable of doing the work we’re being called into.

How does God know?
Because we are made in God’s own wonderful image. Every one of us.

Each morning, we choose:
Will we stand on the sidelines and watch the dance?
Will we try to control the rhythm?
Or will we let go, be led through the steps, and discover new music in our souls—feeling our feet lift with the rhythm of heavenly creation moving beneath us?

Today is the beginning. Come join the dance!

~ Pat