“There are unseen doors that lead out of the familiar landscape of life into another entirely unknown. Such a door opened then; and we walked straight through and did not know it.” Amy Carmichael - Raj, Brigand ChiefThis morning, I am just overwhelmed with the thought of all the unseen doors the Lord has led me though and how, like Amy, I didn’t even know it until I was safely on the other side. Incidental happenings, spontaneous meetings, small changes in habit have literally been doors flung open wide leading to the highways of God. In the moment they seem small…but then, after a while a quick glance back reveals the truth and makes going back even more of an impossibility. I don’t mean a glance back like Lot’s wife…looking back with longing. I mean a humble, grateful, awed look back…a look back to be able to sufficiently appreciate how far the Lord has brought you. These looks back don’t increase the allure of that once “familiar landscape,” they diminish it…they increase the beauty of what you are headed to, though you can’t even see it yet.
For many months now, I’ve had a great sense of expectation. The feeling of walking on a road toward the horizon, knowing something is waiting there…no…knowing something is coming towards me as I walk towards it. I can hear the hoof beats so to speak, but I can’t see a thing. I don’t know if it is a horse or a cow or a man beating two halves of a coconut together or a horde of wildebeests, but I know something is coming. And I know it is good.
Had I not walked through that door from the familiar into the unknown, I wouldn’t know this feeling of expectancy…I wouldn’t know what it is to faith God in this way…and I wouldn’t know this particular expression of His love and care. No matter what it is that is coming…no matter how long I have to walk to get to meet it…I wouldn’t trade the experience of the door and the road for anything!
That is so true! And I will be right there with you -- I can't wait to see where the Lord leads you next! Your enthusiasm gets me excited too! :)
ReplyDeleteBTW, if it really IS a man beating two halves of a coconut together, my advice to you is "RUN AWAY!!!" ;)
"...after a while a quick glance back reveals the truth and makes going back even more of an impossibility. I don’t mean a glance back like Lot’s wife…looking back with longing. I mean a humble, grateful, awed look back…a look back to be able to sufficiently appreciate how far the Lord has brought you. These looks back don’t increase the allure of that once “familiar landscape,” they diminish it…they increase the beauty of what you are headed to, though you can’t even see it yet."
ReplyDeleteI was thinking, we would never have thought on our own to take the direction that the Lord leads us. We would go our own way because it seems best to us. But when we get to the place He has lead us, we appreciate the rod and staff He used to direct our path.
"I don’t know if it is a horse or a cow or a man beating two halves of a coconut together..."
OMGosh! LOL! Had I not seen the insanity of Monty Python myself, I wouldn't get this. It's weird, ok...bizarre, whack-o! LAMommyof3 cracked me up with "RUN AWAY." That is so funn!