I love that song by Francesca Battistelli. It really does express exactly where I am in life right now. I have spent much of my life worrying about what other people thought of me. I have focused on all the craziness and drama around me and let that keep me from being exactly who I was meant to be. I have freed up all those parts of me that desired to please everyone else around me. Now, my focus is on being pleasing to God. And because that is my focus, I am finally free to be me.
I am not perfect by any means and I make mistakes but I am truly focusing on the important things. I am focusing on loving God and loving people. I am actively seeking His will. I am not just going through the motions and pretending on the outside that everything is fine for everyone else. I am living life with all the passion that God intended for us to. I am actively seeking opportunites to serve Him. I am trusting that my Father is always going to provide for me. As long as I am actively and passionately seeking Him, I know that everything is going to turn out well. I know that He will care for me just the same as He does the birds of the air and flowers of the field.
What am I focusing on...well, I want to bring honor and glory to God in all that I do. I am excited about all the many things that are going on in my life. There's lots of stress but there are also tons of opportunities for ministry. There are tons of ways for me to share God's love with others. And even though there is a lot of stress surrounding me, I am finding peace in the middle of it all.
I'm preparing to leave in a week with my family for a vacation to Southern California. They are everything to me and I'm so excited to spend this time with them and create memories and just love one another.
So take a day off as you can and spend it with your family. You don’t have to spend a ton of coin–they just want time with you. It’s one of the best investmentments you can make. Let’s maximize on that investment, because if we succeed in our business or in our church but fail as parents and spouses, then we really aren’t successful. To me, I will have failed as a parent if my children don’t learn to love Jesus. So I’m working hard to model Him for them.
Blessings,
~M
