All In

I have experienced many seasons of waiting on the Lord. Waiting for God to open doors, answer prayers or provide answers. Some of these waiting seasons were short, some long, some longer. Some even came with no answers; where whatever I was waiting for didn't come to fruition.

And you know what? I can't say I'm that great at waiting. Usually when there is something I know I want, I'm not content until I have it. Ouch! That actually hurt a little bit to admit. But it's true. I have a hard time being content in seasons of waiting, when I think I know exactly what I want and I just have to have it. Can you relate? At least a little?

I feel like I've been waiting on this one particular thing for an undesirable amount of time and God keeps giving me this word... Contentment.

Then I read an Instagram post about being “all in” in the season you are in even if it's not what you want, or if you are waiting for the next thing. And it just settled right on my heart. I feel like for so many years I've always been "waiting for the next thing" or phase in life. I mean seriously, I could not wait to be an adult. Like, could not wait! I dreamed about all the ways adulthood would be perfectly awesome.  Now that I'm here, I'm like... (raises hand) "Can I get a refund?"

But seriously, all that time I spent focused on the next phase, left me feeling utterly discontent with the phase right under my nose. So it makes sense now that God keeps pointing me to contentment.

I'm reminded of a story in the Bible that talks about a young girl named Rebecca. I first learned about Rebecca while doing one of our women's Bible studies on the book, “The Blessed Woman” written by Debbie Morris. The chapter on Rebecca talks about serving while you wait. If I remember correctly the chapter was geared more toward the single gals, but when I think about being “all in” in your current season, I'm reminded of Rebecca's part in the story.

This particular story is about Abraham's servant traveling back to Abraham's homeland to find a wife for his son, Isaac. Along the way he seeks God's guidance and comes across Rebecca. (Spoiler alert: Rebecca is the ONE God has in mind!) I just want to look at this one part about Rebecca that stands out. Genesis 24:17-20 tells us that after the servant asks her for water, she gives him a drink and then offers to get water for all of his camels.

“When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking." So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels.” Genesis 24:19-20 (ESV)

This stands out to me because Rebecca goes above and beyond. She doesn't just give the man a drink, she makes sure the camels are taken care of too. This required multiple trips to and from the well to get enough water for the camels. She joyfully served the people (and animals) right in front of her face.

We don't know if Rebecca was waiting for God to send her a husband or not but let's assume that was a desire in her heart. She didn't sit at home, woe is me, ignoring her responsibilities, or wishing for things to be different or better (ahem, it's just me who does this, I'm sure!) She participated in her “right now” life, and she was all in. Seeing this in Rebecca's life is an encouragement to me. I think she was all in because she was content. I think that is the secret to contentment, right? Being ALL IN in the season right in front of your nose, your real “right now” life; showing up, serving the people around you, and meeting the needs that are right there, right now. It's good to dream and plan but don't let that get in the way of being content.

God desires his children to be content in the good things He's given us, gifted to us. When we choose contentment, when we choose to be “all in” we are blessed!

“That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.” Ecclesiastes 3:13 (NIV)

Ladies, if you struggle with contentment, if you are in a season of waiting, or perhaps the waiting has been a long road, I am right there with you! Let's learn from Rebecca. We can choose to serve while we wait. We can choose to be content. And the first step is being ALL IN! Amen? Amen!

Post by: Jimmie Lee DiIanni

Holding the Hand of a Friend

Several times, I have heard Pastor John or Pastor Erik talk about the kids worship in North Country at West Ridge. Since my husband is the drummer for the worship team, I have somewhat of an inside scoop and he often tells me I should pop in and experience how the kids worship. I finally took him up on his offer and sat in during kids worship one week. I sat in the back, because that’s how I do, and observed the kiddos singing praises to God. During a slower song I caught this beautiful picture that made me tear up.

I look up and see two little girls standing next to each other holding hands and swaying together. I know these sweet girls on somewhat of a personal level and as I watched them my heart was so filled with joy and I thought to myself, “This is what I want my friendships to look like!” And then I snagged a little video to share with their momma’s because I mean… come on!

I am sure I am not the only one who struggles with friendships. Especially in adulthood. When you are 9, friendships can be mostly easy. As you get older friendships get harder. Am I right? I want to be the type of friend who stands beside you and holds your hand, just because. Hand holding looks different in adult friendships though.

It looks like bringing someone a meal or watching her kiddos because she needs sleep to heal.

It looks like staying after service so she can cry with you because she isn’t sure how she can move past this hurt, the one that blind-sided her.

It looks like a coffee date in her “messy” house because she needed a listening ear or just some adult time.

It looks like ordering pizza at 10:00 at night because she had an incredibly difficult day and you are the one that understands.

It looks like a card sent in the mail just because you are thinking of her. Or a text message with that verse God gave you.

It looks like sitting with her on her floor while she sorts two weeks worth of laundry because she wants to spend time with you but… life!

Holding hands as an adult can look drastically different than at 9 years old, but the heart is just the same. The heart says I am here, right beside you, doing life and it’s a joy!

In Exodus 17 it tells the story of Moses having to hold his arms up to win a battle being fought by the Israelites. Not an easy task, such is life. I remember learning about this story in the context of friendship and it struck a chord with me. In verse 12-13 you see that Aaron and Hur come along side Moses to help him hold up his arms, they stay that way until sunset and the Israelites are victorious. Without friends like Aaron and Hur, Moses would have failed and the battle would have been lost. I don’t know about you, but I am thankful for the Aaron’s and Hur’s in my life when I just can’t hold my arms up any longer.

“By yourself you’re unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.” Ecclesiastes 4:12 (MSG)

I would like to leave you with this... There was a time in my life when I felt like I didn’t have these types of friendships. And maybe you are feeling that way as you read this. I would like to encourage you to ask God to send these friends to you, to reveal them to you. He did it for me. He will do it for you! 

Post by: Jimmie Lee DiIanni