Mom-ing Through Faith: On Taking Action

It's easy to wait for a "sign." I should know. I pray for signs, ask for tangible evidence, of what path I should follow, which way I should go, which door I should open. 

What a travesty.

What if all of us did this, all the time? What if we were always waiting, waiting, waiting for a sign instead of doing, doing, doing? As Jen Hatmaker makes clear in, wait for it, For the Love,

How many trot that tired cliche--"I'm waiting for God to open a door"--and He is all, "I love you, but get going, pumpkin, because usually chasing the dream in your heart looks surprisingly like work. Don't just stand there, bust a move." (God often sounds like Young MC.)

First of all, she just quoted Young MC. Bravo. Second of all, I ask you (and also, myself): 

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? 

What's the hesitation in digging in, going deep, offering your gifts to the world, loving Jesus and telling others about it all? Jen Hatmaker tells us,

You are good at something for a reason. God designed you this way, on purpose. It isn't fake or a fluke or small. These are the mind and heart and hands and voice you've been given, so use them. 

We must not stand idle, waiting for others to do what we can, and should, do. 

It's time. Don't wait for permission; we've already been given it. Lead, sister. You have authority to use your home as a sanctuary, your hands as tools of healing, your voice as an instrument of hope, your gifts as channels of incredible power. 

Let me emphasize again what Jen says, because I love it so, so very much:  

Lead, sister. 

Now is the time. What does leading look like for you? 

• Is it trying out this church thing, and bringing your children along for the ride, to see what all the fuss is all about? 

• Is it starting a small group? 

• Is it loving and encouraging and praying for your neighbor? 

• Is it volunteering and helping others? 

• Is it teaching your children about God, even when you have questions yourself?

• Is it doing local, national, and/or international missionary work?

• Is it sharing your love of Jesus with the world through writing, through speaking, through singing, through leading?

I ask, at the end of your life, will you be proud of what you've done? Truly proud? Will you be able to say you took action with your life and made the most of it?

I'll end this week's post with one of my favorite quotes of all time. I reflect on it often and it encourages me to take action, to be the change, to not sit idly by. Maybe, just maybe, it will do the same for you:

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? -Mary Oliver