Devotionals for the Heart: Balance

Balancing life with God
A devotional by Mirachelle Canada

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 (ESV)

I am blessed to be close to my sister. Most people are surprised we are six years apart. In our younger days, we were compared like twins. That comparison caused me to want to be more like her and as I grew older, I observed and analyzed things she was doing – some I agreed with, others I did not. Later, I realized that because of how much I had been concerned for her choices, I had developed some internal (unspoken) criticisms against her that had taken root as a judgement in my heart.

We are still similar in looks, but individually we both developed through very different approaches to life. My sister is laid-back and enjoys pleasing others. I am independent and carefree. I like writing, and she likes crafting. We look like the same flower, but it felt like we’d grown up in two different gardens.

How often do you unintentionally criticize those you love in your heart? It’s easy for thought or observation about someone to become a judgment root. It can sprout in a moment of disagreement or anger, or from a verbal and emotional comparison. As I watched my sister face life’s difficulties, I compared her reactions and choices to my own; to the way I would have done it, and more honestly, to the way I thought she should have done it.

It wasn’t until after I experienced the biggest event of my sister’s life – her wedding day – that God tugged on my unexposed judgment root. Both of us were older than we expected, and I had prayed a long time for this gift of happiness for her. At the time of her marriage, everything was going great in my life, but very shortly after everything fell apart. My career tanked, and my finances plummeted. I had to move back home, and I grieved my losses. I also felt left behind, primarily because of my sister’s newfound happiness. It wasn’t at all how I had imagined my life to become.

God spoke to my heart with this thought, “What did you expect?”

God showed me my sister on a tightrope. She was wobbling, as we all do at the beginning. I wanted to help her find balance, but I watched as Jesus Christ gave her His tools instead: an umbrella, with which she moved farther along, then a tricycle and she rode further still. Lastly, He placed a long balance pole in her hands, and she made it to Him waiting on the other side. I immediately knew what each tool represented from 1 Corinthians 13:13 (ESV), “So now faith, hope, and love abide...” He gave her an umbrella (faith), a tricycle (hope) and a balancing pole (love). She was welcomed at the end into His open arms because “the greatest of these is love.”

He showed me my tightrope, cluttered with items I had placed before me and those I had used behind, barely staying balanced on the line. They were all the choices, excuses, and deflections I had used to get this far on my own. Of course, God had walked with me, but I had chosen my own tools to do things my way, the way I thought others should. Had it been up to me to guide my sister, I might have cluttered her lifeline like my own.

I asked God to forgive me for not making Him the complete Lord of my life (and not trusting Him with the lives of others). As He removed my judgment root, everything fell off my tightrope, and instead of waiting on the other side for me to cross, He zipped down the line to stand before me so nothing else was in view. He offered me His hand. As I took it, He turned and raised a lantern to light a pathway instead, and my spirit rejoiced at the promise that filled my heart, “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105 ESV). Yes, God, not my way, but yours alone. There is no greater balance in life.

Do you need such balance in your life today too? Is there a stumbling root in your heart that God can remove? Pray and seek Him. He’s waiting at the other end of your tightrope to make your way clear and straight into His arms of love.

~*~
Author Bio:

Mirachelle Canada is a writer, playwright, screenwriter, and theatre director/producer from Northern Virginia, where she teaches television production at her high school alma mater. 

She earned her Master of Fine Arts in Script & Screenwriting from Regent University and is an alumnus of Act One: Hollywood Film & Television Writing Program.

Mirachelle is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, American Fiction Writers Virginia Chapter, The Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild, and Your Novel Blueprint.

She is currently working on her first historical fiction novel set during WWII.

~*~
Connect with Mirachelle:
Website: www.mirachellecanada.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mirachellecanada/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/miracan

Words of Faith: Landi's story on hitting a wall and learning to trust God

Then I Hit a Wall... My Story on How I Learned to Trust God
A Words of Faith story by Landi Jackson-James

I am a planner. I plan my day. I plan my children’s day. I plan family vacations, family outings, household projects…I plan everything. Doesn’t everything require a plan? I am persistent, driven, and determined when I set out to accomplish something. I arm myself with a carefully thought out plan and make sure that, as much as possible, I leave every stone of possible disruption unturned. If my primary method doesn’t work then I have at least three others to exhaust before I reconsider the entire approach. After all, those who don’t plan, plan to fail and I for one, do not plan to fail.

Does this sound familiar to you? Do you approach life in this manner or at the very least, do you know someone who does? This was me ten years ago after we had our first child. My husband and I found ourselves bringing her into this world, a world that was quite busy and hectic. I was in a Masters program, working full-time, and involved in several ministries at church. I panicked and turned to what I knew best and what the Project Management profession had taught me…plan every minute of the day and accomplish much! No? It doesn’t work like that? Not for humans? Well, I didn’t want to hear that. Fifteen months after our eldest daughter was born, came our second, and then fifteen months after our second child came our third and final child. Upon the arrival of each child, I updated our family plan and schedule, refusing to eliminate anything from our lives because we were capable and could do it all. It could all be planned and scheduled. Let’s roll out!

Fast forward to 2016...

Whew! The last two paragraphs made me exhausted by just writing them. I was a very courageous and daring woman ten years ago. That’s a nice way of putting it. I laugh at myself repeatedly when I reflect on what life was like, and I thank God for having an understanding and patient husband. We were busy beyond words and while I breastfed, I wrote papers for school. It was all quite frightening.

Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying. There is nothing wrong with being a committed, driven, and dedicated individual who is intentional about success. We were all created uniquely beautiful, yet complex beings by our Creator and each attribute given should be fully embraced. Remember, He makes no mistakes. However, it is important to realize that our God-given abilities and attributes don’t become gifts until we partner with Jesus Christ in their use to serve others. Partnering with Christ brings balance and a perspective that will transform your abilities into life-changing agents.

Everything I described above, I was attempting to make a success without any assistance from our Heavenly Father. I could do it all. I just knew it! I didn’t trust Him enough to do it right and in the correct timing, so rather than slowing down long enough to LISTEN to His direction, I forged ahead.

When I consider the definition of “faith” as provided in Hebrews 11, it is the confidence of things hoped for and assurance of what we do not see. My issue was that I needed to see the end or at the very least, get a good idea of what the end should look like. This helped me to prepare my next move and always be one step ahead. I ALWAYS needed to be at least one step ahead.

Then I hit a wall.

I became severely anemic with a hemoglobin reading of 5.2 (normal range is 12 - 18). My doctor threatened blood transfusion, which I refused. Therefore, the agreed upon remedy was that I had to get iron drips to increase my levels back to normal, twice a week for six months. I had just finished my Masters program and was ready to tackle the corporate world. Nope. My husband told me to slow down and clear my schedule. Those were the longest six months of my life…the absolutely LONGEST…but I made it!

The awesome thing about our Heavenly Father is He knows AND He cares. I am sure he was sitting watching me, with His head tilted to the side, slowly shaking it back and forth saying, “Look at my child. She won’t let me do it.” At least that’s how I imagined it. Yet still, in His mercy, He stood by me in every decision I made and still guided me and opened doors that would lead me back to His will. Both God and I repeated this process for a long while. Eventually, God led me to a place where I trusted His attention to detail and developed the faith to just be still and listen.

Indeed, life has now changed and although it is still a process, I am living a life of peace and less stress as I continue to learn what it means to trust what I don’t see and have faith in God. However, what baffles me further is, in the midst of this peace and less stress, I have more doors open before me than I have ever had in my life. As I tell my kids,“Won’t He do it!” Praise God for this journey.

~*~
Author bio:

Landi Jackson-James was born on the island of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. She left St. Thomas to further her education in Atlanta, GA. In 2000, Landi graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems and later earned her Masters in Business Administration in Technology Management in 2007. 

Landi is the Director of the Office of Innovation at the Food and Drug Administration where she was requested to join the agency by the Chief Operating Officer to start up the Innovation Lab.

In the midst of her successful professional career, Landi created and founded LaLa Speakx, a coaching, mentoring, and motivational speaking company. LaLa Speakx seeks to uplift, empower, encourage individuality in greatness, and fulfillment of purpose. She hosts a monthly online talk show named "First Mondays with LaLa" on her LaLa Speakx YouTube channel. She uses this platform to discuss real life issues and concerns as submitted by online viewers. First Mondays with LaLa takes biblical principles and applies it to everyday life, in practical ways that encourage healthy living.

Landi has volunteered at women’s shelters, fed the homeless, volunteered at local middle and high schools and universities and built schools in Panama. She is a charismatic and influential leader with 15 years of Motivational Speaking and over 10 years of experience in Mentoring and Coaching.

Landi resides in Bowie, Md. with her husband, Al James and their three children.

~*~
Connect with Landi:
Email - landi@lalaspeakx.com
Website - www.lalaspeakx.com
Facebook - www.facebook.com/LaLaSpeakx/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/LaLaSpeakx
YouTube Channel (LiveShow): www.youtube.com/c/LaLaSpeakxLive
LaLa Speakx, Inc. ~ (442) 7SP-EAKX ~ landi@lalaspeakx.com