The Land of the Living

We all meet a crossroads in our journey. Will we watch our feet stop moving? Will we march onward? Do we stare across the Jordan and never pass? I want to encourage you to keep moving. Of course, when we hear someone else's cry of victory, we typically don't hear the part where they hesitated first. We're so quick to forget those moments when we're swallowed up in the joy and relief of celebration. 

But there is a choice. Not everyone chooses to keep going. Some people walk right up to that line and chicken out, they bail. Sometimes we forget the miracles that took place just months prior to the chance to experience another. And we believe we just can't. 

We can't fathom another day of trudging through. We can't imagine how we will get out of this one. It's like we've stopped at To Be Continued... and never intend to make another episode. 

I want us to see the other side. I not only want us to get the privilege of another miracle. I want us to experience the beauty of the promise. We haven't been there, yet. We simply cannot construe what is next. We don't know how. We believe it to be good. We believe it to be better. Why won't we take the steps?

It's interesting because everyone, except (most of) the Israelites knew that this was in the bag, but they wandered around terrified for years instead. I don't want later what I could have now, do you? I want to be brave enough to break my own heart. I want to have the courage to do the scary thing anyway. I want to get to the other side and not just have knowledge of a promise but experience the promise. Literally dwell in it. I want to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  

My choice is to keep on making my best steps forward I know how. I've decided it's not enough to just hold one of God's promises in my heart but I want to hold it tangibly in my hand. I'm going to do it tired and scared and trembling, but I am going to do it. And I know you can, too. 

Photo Story: I took this little photo on the lake one day with some of the people I love most dearly. It was one of those days that my little one was learning to do something brave--ride a tube. I knew she was going to be okay. Everyone on the boat knew she was going to be okay. In fact, I was sitting right beside her. But she had never done it. It was an adventure for her. She was learning to do a brave thing, even when she's scared. And she loved it! She would have never experienced joy in this exact situation had she chosen to stay in the boat where it seemed safest. 

x Keely