Wednesday, August 11, 2010

On Following my Bliss....

During my travels I’ve had many chances to meet and talk to some really interesting people.  Our lives have intersected during various points in their journeys and I’ve loved hearing their stories.  It’s gotten me thinking about the fact that most everyone I’ve met is, in some way or another, seeking something more than that which they already have;  whether it's an adventure in the Amazon, inner peace at an Ashram in India, plastic bags to weave into purses and sell in the streets of Bangkok, a college education in Belize City, or the love of their life in Chicago.  Knowledge, experience, relationship, necessity...these “things” are what propel them to move, what feed their energy in their everyday lives. Everyone in their own way is searching for “more;” following after their bliss by doing what leads to happiness and a sense of satisfaction. 
I’m in Chicago this week visiting friends and family and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked how long I’ll be in Belize and what I’m going to do next.  I wish I had a better answer but honestly I don’t know, and I am slowly coming to a place where I’m ok with not knowing.  For me, being willing to live in the unknowingness of life is my way of following after my own bliss, because it brings me closer to God.  Author Mike Erre says that we waste much our time trying to “find out God’s will for our lives,” while living in a constant state of worry that somehow, we might miss it.  Erre challenges his readers to quit worrying about finding out what God’s master plan is for our future, and instead being obedient to what he has called us to do today.  Putting others above ourselves through living and learning in love, being selfless in our actions, speaking less, listening more, and doing this all in humble adoration of God and His kingdom is His will for our lives; and we can start doing this right now.  For me, following after my bliss is being obedient to what God has called me to do today, so that I may fully understand His love for me and in turn be able to love and bless others.  And I know that I have grace to catch me when I stumble and fumble in the process.  
It brings a lot of peace to know that I’m smack dab in the middle of His perfect plan for my life, a plan that will prosper me, not harm me.  While I don’t know what all that plan entails, the joy that I have experienced through being intentional and obedient brings me hope.  It encourages me to keep living day-to-day and pushing forth even if there is no visible light at the end of the tunnel.
I’ve learned sooo much this year and I am content in the season of life that I’m in.  I don’t know what bliss looks like to everyone, but what I’ve learned over the past seven months is what it looks like for me.  It’s waking up each day and dying to myself all over again.  Putting my wants and desires on the table and saying to the Lord, “take it.”  It’s trying my best to act out of love even though it may not be easy or come naturally.  It’s spending every day in the arms of a loving Father who will never leave me nor forsake me, and living in the comfort and hope that comes with that truth.  That, to me, is bliss.

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