Salt of the Earth

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

hihi everyone, this week's my turn to share a lil something on this cell bloggie =) firstly, i'd like to say thank you to both jessie & angela for their sharing of 2 wonderful analogies =) they touched my heart <3.

the verse is taken from Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

the story goes...

Stacy was thrilled to land a job at her local supermarket. The hours were good, and the pay was pretty great too. As part of her training she was encouraged to hone her customer-service skills. It was expected that the cashiers begin their customer interaction with courtsey.

"Hello, sir [or ma'am]. Did you find everything you were looking for today?"
"Yes, thank you."
"Do you have any coupons before I ring this up?"
"No, unfortunately, I don't. Thank you for asking."

If the cashier happens to be a high school student, questions gravitate in that direction. If the customer knows the cashier or worse the cashier's family, the questions become more specific. If that customer knows the cashier is a junior or senior, then the questions become more predictable.

"What are you going to do after high school? Are you going to college? What college will you attend? What will you study?"

Everyone in Stacy's small town knew her family. Being a senior is difficult enough. Feeling the pressure from your family, friends and teachers to make a decision about the future is expected but annoying. Experiencing that pressure from near strangers ranks even lower o the enjoyment scale.

"Honestly, sir [or ma'am], i haven't decided yet," Stacy would reply, and if it were someone from her church she might add, "but i'm trying to find God's will." It seemed to deflect the questions.

After winter break she began to feel the pressure of the questions even more acutely, even to the point that she worried it might be causing her an ulcer. She had a sour ache in the pit of her stomach. Stacy began to consider a variety of the traditional options, community college, state school, a vocational school, and the military. At church she continued to hear her fellow seniors mention God's will. Stacy began to suspect that as a Christian this concept was something she should be considering, and not just a convenient response to inconvenient questions.
She didn't know exactly how to approach the subject, so she looked first to the bible. Stacy found that Jesus instructed the people to do God's will, which didn't clear things up for her. In Acts and Romans, Paul mentioned going or not going different places because of it. In addition, she learnt that it had to do with renewing her mind; she should do it from her heart.
Well, she thought, that was about as clear as mud. Stacy determined she should ask somebody. Her friend Tate served as a student leader for the youth group at her church. She had known Tate for a long time and trusted him, and she figured Tate was her best candidate for information. It also didn't hurt that she always thought he was kind of cute.

"Hey, Tate. Wait up." Stacy yelled down the hall.
Tate saw Stacy over his shoulder and stopped to wait. WHen Stacy pulled up, he gave her a warm smile. "What's up, Stacy?"
"I have a question about God that I thought you might be able to answer."
"Sure. What's your question?" he asked as the two made their way to a nearby bench outside the school.
"How do I find out God's will?"
"Oh man," Tate laughed. "Everyone seems to have a different idea of what it means to 'be in God's will'".
"So I'm not alone in this, " Stacy laughed.
"Nope, not at all. But i remember Pastor Steve talking about it, and basically i remember this: You can see God's will in 2 areas. He said there is God's general will, which includes things like wanting everyone to know him and follow his instructions," Tate began.
"That would be like loving your neighbour, right?"
"Exactly! And the second area was God's specific will, which is more personal for each individual. Pastor Steve mentioned a few Scriptures that talk about how God has a plan for our lives."
"That's good to hear, but also a little scary. I mean, what if i happens if i totally miss God's will?" Stacy asked.
"I feel that way too sometimes. I just keep trying to remember that it's not all up to me. God wants to reveal his will for our lives to us, and we just need to seek him out and be open."
"Do you think God could be the reason i'm good at science?"
"Yeah, absolutely! Since he made you that way, it might have something to do with your future. The things we love, that we're good at, and that we dream about - I think they all come to play. Oh, and the other thing he talked about was that we have to remember that God doesn't ask us to accomplish his will alone. He is with us, as are the people he brings into our lives."
"That's actually really reassuring. So," Stacy said with a smile, "like I said, how do i actually find out his will?"
"I don't think there's some simple 3-step process. We already talked about paying attention to our likes, skills, dreams and stuff like that. And praying is always good. And sometimes i ask people, like my parents and Pastor Steve, what they think. And we want to make sure we're being wise. We don't want to make a decision solely based on finances, but we should consider it. I'm sure there are other things too... ...

There are specifics to his plan, but he cares much more about the general aspects. The general aspects involves You! He wants desperately to save you, love you, forgive you, heal you, restore you, teach you, guide you, protect you, and provide for you. In addition, he wants to transform you into the person he originally desinged and created you to be. He wants you to become the kind of person who loves, cares, listens, supports, serves, obeys, thanks, remain pure, and lives so well that people take notice. He has an amazing life destined for you to live. It's a life better than you could ever imagine. It's life's greatest adventure. Allow him to renovate your soul and guide you to your destiny.

cheers ^.^

♥ the silent tears

10:45 AM