Welcome my friend, come on in, I have the kettle on. Would you like tea, coffee or hot chocolate?

I’ve baked a tray of gf double choc Brownies & have dollops of Lf fresh cream & sweet strawberries picked straight from our garden.

Today, we’ll be sitting under our beautiful Jacaranda tree that fills our backyard with shade in the hotter months & sheds its leaves allowing the warmth of the Sun in the colder months.

It’s perfect weather here in the Southern Hemisphere at the moment as it’s Autumn. Now we’re seated let’s begin our reflection.

Deciphering what’s really important in life…

Yesterday, I picked up an old Journal that I had started in Nov 2004, filling it’s pages until  2010.

It was an interesting exercise, reading what I had written while travelling through the twists & turns of those years.

One thing I noticed is that my dreams & desires back then are no longer what I desire today, in fact they lost their significance even before completing that journal.

You see the year 2005 saw the beginning of a rocky journey with chronic health conditions, though I didn’t realise it at the time, I thought I was just worn out from some strain of the Flu.

However, these conditions would bring significant changes to my life, marriage & family that I just didn’t see coming.

You see during that year God kept highlighting the question; Are you comfortable Being?

My reply each time was, ‘of course Lord’!

And at the same time the following scripture was emphasised in my devotions & Bible study;

Let go & relax & know that I am God.

Psalm 46 :10

Little did I realise the ramifications of what God was asking & emphasising.

You see back in 2005 I was about to reach the pinnacle of my career after decades of working  in the area of Mental Health. And I had found love again marrying my present husband, after going through a season of widowhood from the loss of my late husband Ed, to brain cancer.

And the season of Grandmotherhood had begun. Yes, all seemed well in my world at that time.

However, the lack of energy, muscle stiffness & pain persisted, by 2006 it had been labelled Chronic Fatigue.

Although I continued working it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep up the pace with everything.

In 2009 after a short break, I cut back to part time hours but even struggled with those, then I was diagnosed with several autoimmune conditions including Fibromyalgia after seeing a team of Medical specialists. 

The Holy Spirit highlighted the following, which I’ve personalised;

Finally, [Jennifer] believers, rejoice!

Be made complete [be what you should be], be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace [enjoy the spiritual well-being experienced by believers who walk closely with God]; and the God of love and peace [the source of loving kindness] will be with you.

2 Cor 13:11 AMP

Back then I didn’t really comprehend the significance of those words & their meaning in living with these conditions on a day to day basis.

These Autoimmune conditions that would force early retirement in 2011 from the work & ministry I loved. That would force watching life from the sidelines.

That would often exclude me from time with family & friends. And would force a change in my communication style as shared in my post Listening.

Change also comes with Blessings 

However, not all is doom & gloom on this journey which reading through my journal highlighted anew.

You see I’ve been able to shed those old desires that weren’t important after all (although at the time they seemed so) I realised they just weren’t God’s best for my life.

And that is a true blessing my friend, to be able to prioritise the things that God has for us, letting go of past desires is unbelievably freeing!

Echoing that first verse given at the beginning of this journey…

Let go & relax & know that I am God!

Yes, life changing events can bring great challenges but also great blessings.

One of those blessings is that Hubby & I have been able to spend much more time together, since he was also forced into early retirement due to his own health concerns.

And during this season I have watched him grow in leaps & bounds in his walk with the Lord which has enriched our lives together immensely.

Another blessing has been to meet with you here each week since January 2018. Which has truly given me a renewed sense of purpose through our times together.

And apart from writing here,  I’ve been able to author & publish two works. A complimentary read of my vignette is HERE.

Doing verses Being

Just like Jesus drew apart from everything around Him to spend precious time with the Father. God also invites us to draw apart from the world & just Be with Him. 

But often we’re too busy or focused on the Doings (even for Him) that we either speed through our devotion & prayer times or don’t prioritise them though we think we do!

What I’ve observed not only in my own life but in many lives I’ve known, is that God loves us too much to allow this to happen.

As Being with Him is far more important then any of our Doings. After all He first & foremost created us for relationship with Him.

What I’ve observed when we’re far busier than God wants us to be, is that He allows certain things in our lives that get our attention. 

Drawing us apart from the world to spend time with Him.

And that’s what this journey of rest has revealed, shedding the Doings has enabled the comfort of Being ~ letting go, relaxing & really experiencing that He is God, the source of all loving kindness!

What’s really important to me?

My answer is simple, relationships are really important to me, especially my relationship with my Heavenly Father, through His Son Jesus, my Saviour.

Everything else in this world is either a blessing or a hindrance. A blessing if it’s God’s Will & a hindrance if it’s not!

How about you, how would you answer the above question?

Until next time,

Jennifer

You’re most welcome to join me in The Reading Nook

Or in Prayer

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© 2024 Jennifer M. Ross, All Rights Reserved. Photo by Anete Lusina on pexels

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