Here's why I don't love it:
1. There's no wiggle room for tardiness. This is actually a good thing, I know. With my tendency to run ever so slightly behind the rest of the world combined with the lethargy that accompanies a Monday morning, chances are I would arrive late every Monday, were it not for the prayer gathering.
That said, the reasons I love the gathering vastly outnumber and outweigh the reasons I don't.
Here's why I LOVE it:
1. I get to join with the brothers and sisters with whom I serve as we bow before our Creator.
2. Connecting with the Lord and other believers is so energizing.
3. It starts my week off the right way.
4. I get to hear the burdens of other brothers and sisters and find out exactly how I can support them.
5. Inevitably, I walk away with some sort of insight that wasn't on my radar prior to gathering together.
6. I'm sure there are other reasons too, but that list will suffice for now.
Since today's a Monday, we gathered promptly at 9am in the Chapel for a few minutes together. Nate prayed today, and as he prayed, he quoted from Isaiah.
"...but they who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31
As many times as I've heard and read this verse, it struck me in a new way today, and it's haunted me ever since. It makes more sense to me than it ever has. Waiting on the Lord renews our strength because it frees us from having to plan, worry, and scheme. So often I find myself in the midst of trying to orchestrate things MY way. Inevitably, my plan fails every time. (And I'm thankful it does, by the way.) Then I'm left to deal with the broken pieces and the heartache and disappointment that accompanies them.
While waiting may seem like a passive move, it's really an active step of trust. Waiting, being still, hoping in Him, mandates the physical and tangible release of MY plans. As I let go and wait on His timing, His plan, His will, I am free to be and go as He sees fit. I'm free to be me the way the Lord intended me to be. And I'm relieved of the burden of trying to organize and orchestrate on my own.
Today I'm choosing to let go. I'm choosing to trust. I'm choosing to WAIT on the Lord.
What about you?
