Inspired

I feel inspired today. This is a day very much like all of the others. I got out of bed, gathered little monkeys and all of their paraphernalia and shipped them off to school. Makayla and I spent most of the morning with some new friends we met from her class. (Makayla has made a new friend, and I've made friends with her mommy - double bonus.)

Then I made my way into the church for a meeting. After that, I rushed to school to get the kids. I came home, started homework, ran an errand, dropped Matthew at karate, and began my meal preparation. As dinner simmers, I will take a few minutes to share the depths of my soul.

Once in a great while, God will grab my attention with the words and actions of another. My sweet Jesus has been versing me on valiance and standing for what it right. From ministry to family, I have been given ample opportunities to sharpen "skills of courage". I can't say I have any of it mastered, but it is so good to get confirmation from different places.

God has been confirming this new lesson through His precious Word, through whispers of His Spirit, through conversations, books I am reading - even movies I am catching. But the most remarkable examples are the real-live lived out in the flesh kinds of happenings.

Many times God will give me an object lesson, and then plant somebody in my path to reinforce His teaching. Today I felt God nudge me with His elbow and say something like this, "See, this is what I am talking about. See the risk this person is taking? This is what I am asking you to do."

I am choosing to be mysterious about who inspired me today, for the sake of prudence. But I will say that a man I have sat under the teaching of for eight years - took a very risky plunge today. I could hardly believe what I was hearing . . . but he spoke with conviction, passion and determination. All coupled with a heaping dose of humility and uncertainty.

Sound like a paradox? I wholeheartedly agree! And that's what makes it so great. God used this person to model these things today: a certainty of the direction we should be taking, with no plan in place - and - the conviction of what it means to love and give grace, but with no examples. On the surface, one might have considered it a wrestling of sorts, but I saw something so much different.

From where I sat, the wrestling part of things had already been taken care of. There was nothing to struggle over anymore - for surrender had already been decided. Doing things God's way invited uncertainty to the greatest degree.

Fellow warrior, I commend you today for setting the example we should all be following. Nothing inspires a heart more, than seeing somebody "walking the talk".

This Tuesday afternoon, a select few of us witnessed the first few steps of the most amazing and unforgettable journey . . . and we've been given a choice.

Will we jump too?