REFLECTIONS: After the Loss

© 2018 Nicki Black

© August 13, 2018, Nicki Black. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

We had a challenging last week, with three sudden and significant losses. Two of these losses have made me even more aware of the amount of unnecessary things we can collect in life, and how far God will go to get our attention on a matter.

But even in these losses, and the peace that is greater than any of my questions and fear, I felt a tangible weight lifted that I know represented a season or door that couldn't come into our future. I also felt deep in my spirit a degree of awe that I could only assume that the newly-freed Isrealites must have felt when they saw the hand of God part the Red Sea on their behalf. Sometimes we don't recognize the seas have parted until we're on the edge of the sand, and there are no other options before us but to move forward in faith, and everything we've endeavored to learn up until that point.

The pain of losing familiar things and familiar ways of doing life can be overwhelming, but when God allows and orchestrates shifts, I believe the ending will always be a testimony of His glory and goodness as we stay the course.

If you're facing something unexpected, I want to encourage you to not act reactionary to your circumstances. Stop. Assess. Ask God for strategy and His mind working in yours to think clearly. Keep your wits about you, and also your kindness and sense of humor. And then when you start to understand and connect the dots as you receive the blueprints for how to proceed, don't get sloppy and distracted with issues beyond your control or assignment. Even in the waiting and training time when nobody is looking or receiving from you, still give your best - make it your bar to do all things in excellence. Don't focus on the details that you can't change. Weigh what is necessary against what you need to let go to make your load lighter, then pack accordingly.

It's going to be alright. It's already been written, and set into motion for your future.