Until
Everything has led you up to this moment.
All of it - the good and the bad.
You are now at a critical point in your life where everything that has happened can be repurposed into something beautiful.
You can either allow all of it to pull you down and focus inward, OR you can use all you have learned and allow God to repurpose everything for good by serving others.
This makes me think of a beautiful soul I met the other day named Randy.
Randy is a volunteer at a hospice center I was visiting. Every morning (yeah, EVERY morning), he goes to the facility, makes breakfast for the residents and their families, and walks the halls, asking how he can help.
If I hadn't hugged him, I would have been sure he was an angel sent from heaven.
I was awestruck as I watched him seek and find those who needed him.
It was beautiful to behold a gentle, humble servant who cared for those in need with loving kindness emanating from his soul.
I could almost see the love pouring out of him.
He knew just what to say or not say. Randy was just so perfectly purposed as he moved about and cared for the needs of those who needed love.
When he was sitting alone working on some paperwork, I had a chance to ask him questions to learn what led him to this work.
Randy spent years in high-level marketing and communication roles, chasing money and accomplishment as we all do, working at well-known organizations, and rubbing elbows with celebrities and high-powered executives.
Randy shared that the chasing never brought him contentment or peace. Whenever he arrived at a destination where he was certain satisfaction would be found, he just wanted the next thing. It was never enough.
It wasn't until he took a vow of poverty and service that he found purpose, peace, and fulfillment.
He said those words to me with a conviction that gave me chills.
God was able to repurpose all that Randy had learned in his life—the communication skills, customer service expertise, being a great listener, anticipating needs, empathy, handling difficult situations, and years of enduring pain and suffering that a long life brings—to follow God and serve others.
Randy had to go through a lot to get to his "until" moment, including the passing of his beloved wife.
When God stood before Randy on his path—the same one you are on right now—and called his name, beckoning him to follow this path of repurpose, Randy could have turned away and given into sadness, selfishness, or fear.
But he didn't.
Randy said yes.
And thank God he did.
Someday, I hope to emanate light and love the way Randy does.
I want to say yes when God calls me forward and watch Him repurpose everything in my life to serve and care for others.
Our "until" moment is a choice. God doesn't force us to submit to His will.
We must raise our hands, say yes to his call to follow Him, and take a step forward.
My dear friend captured this "until" moment in this stunning painting.
“Here I Am Lord’ - Jessica Boehlke
I have this hanging on my wall and I look at it often, imagining what this person must have gone through to get to their "until" moment of saying yes to follow God wherever He leads.
Randy said yes in his "until" moment, and with that one simple word, God repurposed him and changed the world.
And He’s doing the same repurposing with us right now.
Who’s ready to say yes and change the world?
Meanwhile, I am going to make t-shirts that say "Be like Randy."
Who wants one?
Isaiah 6:8
Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
Psalm 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.
Isaiah 58:11
And if you offer yourself to [assist] the hungry and satisfy the need of the afflicted, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your soul in scorched and dry places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. And your people will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up and restore the age-old foundations [of buildings that have been laid waste]; you will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.