Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Your Secret Name - Week 5

That's correct folk, no catchy title this week. Sorry.

This week in the read along the chapters to read were 10 & 11. I am really enjoying this book, it's getting me in the heart, which is good - I need God to reach into my heart and pull me out of the mud that is my given names...it's like quick sand!

This week I am taking a different approach, I am going to answer Marla's questions on my blog...it's basically what I would have written about anyway...so why not use her questions! Thanks Marla!

On page 111, Kary writes, “With Jacob’s situation in mind, we might wonder why God allows his children to remain in painful places.” He says that one answer would be that “times of testing instill character development.” What are some other reasons God might allow his children to remain in painful places? And do you have a personal example?
God desires for us to trust him to have faith in him. How many of us say, "Oh yes, I believe in God, I have faith in God" but then when a trial or a painful time comes we don't practice what we preach. I know this is true for me, I worry, I stress I don't believe that God can heal it, fix it...as far as I am concerned, that's why God allows us to remain in painful places. So we learn and we let go and allow God to do his work in his time. The more we allow this to happen the more we learn to trust him - or at least that is what I have found to be true. I could go on and on with examples, but I don't wish too in this post.

I had to smile at this next quote, because I can absolutely, positively relate. “Many times I even preferred the pen over the pulpit, realizing an audience of paper has a few advantages over one of people, like a concept called editing” (112-113). It’s easy to hide behind written (and edited) words (like blog posts, e-mails, facebook messages over phone calls and face-to-face chats). Do you ever do this?
Well I know I do! Gonna be honest, if I have to talk to someone about something hard, I'd rather use an email or text over face to face or phone. Sometimes this is because my words can come out wrong and I feel like, it's a lot easier to write it out and then edit it!  But then of course you have the problems that surface with emails...you don't know the tone... a tone it might be written is may not be what you read. What you thought of as a positive email came across to the recipient as harsh. Not gonna lie, this has happened to me, both as writer and reader.

“Hoping to escape his Given Name for good, Jacob desired to mend the rocky relationship with Esau–the brother he swindled, impersonated, and supplanted” (119). Most of us have a story (or 10) about a rocky relationship. Care to share one you’ve mended–or one you want to mend but don’t know how (or one you really don’t care to mend ever ever)? (be careful what you write–this IS the internet, you know)
This makes me think back to high school. I am gonna be honest, a lot of the friends I once had there were no longer in my life after high school. Everything was a big ordeal, it felt, in HS. One stupid rumor ruined so many relationships! Many of my friendships were ruined. I'm gonna be honest, I have mended a lot of the relationships from high school - through facebook. As I have gotten older, I have realized that a lot of those friendships and a lot of the "issues" that happened were simply put - pathetic. One such friend I had well we stopped being friends because she thought I stole her boyfriend. (To be fair...they had been broken up and I was in college when he and I started dating even though we were friends for a long time prior). Today, we are friends again, not bff's like in the past, but we talk and we are both excited to see each other again at our high school reunion this year. And I do have one that I really don't care to mend...long story.

I think this next quote hits home with most of us. “I wanted my readers to think well of me by seeing only God and not my struggle. I feasted on the falsehood that not only the Message needed to be spotless, but also the messenger” (121). How comfortable are you with sharing your weaknesses, failures, and struggles with others? How has God used your inadequacies to bring himself glory?
I am not comfortable. It takes a lot for me to trust someone enough to be really raw and open. I guess to me I feel like, if I allow people to know the real me, they will not like me anymore. To be honest, though, through counseling, I am starting realize that that is mostly not true. And if it changes people's opinion of me, then I suppose they weren't my friends to begin with, ya know! The more I get older, the more I realize this. I feel like if God can use me in all my imperfectness then I should allow him!

I can relate to Kary’s story of God providing financially through his people in amazing, last-second ways. But Jacob wanted to “walk by sight and not by faith” (124). Are you trying to do this in your life?
Simply put, I am trying to yes, but I need to walk by faith...and I do more and more!

You can still read along and read other's blog posts here

2 comments:

Brooke said...

i'm the opposite. i have a much easier time trusting during the rough patches. its when everything is going smoothly that i tend to forget Him

Marla Taviano said...

Thanks, Denise! I've mended a couple relationships over Facebook too. :)