Don’t Rush Off
Listen, I’m just going to be really honest with you, this week we had a discussion about moving again. I know, I know. What the heck is wrong with us?? The grass is hardly grown up under us and here we are thinking about getting the heck out of dodge.
We were out on an evening ice cream run driving down country roads and looking at real estate. It’s kind of like my Pinterest board full of wedding dresses. I’m not going to need that until I finally convince sweet husband to let me plan our second wedding to renew our vows, and yet I keep on collecting. Looking at real estate is, without a doubt, one of my favorite past times. I absolutely love it. And so, when we spotted something sensible and appealing and that darling dark headed man next to me said “I wouldn’t mind that,” my gypsy soul flew off on her magic carpet.
It should be noted that I am probably one of the most pragmatic people on the planet. But there are few mentions of life-altering decisions that don’t come across my metaphorical desk without letting my wandering mind dive head long into them for a moment before closing the book.
Do we like life in the middle of the woods with deer on the driveway and fish in the pond and room to roam and all the things? Of course. Does a nice brick house with a cement driveway down a paved country highway sometimes sound like an easy trade off? Absolutely.
Lest you write me off as a completely unsettled whacko, I must assure you that we are not, in fact, moving. But oh, how quick we are to buy into the desire of greener, easier pastures, aren’t we?
The deck overlooking our little piece of heaven has become one of my absolute favorite spots here in the woods. Sitting there reminds me of why I love it in this place. The warm breeze, the sound of the crickets in the evening, the sun setting over the tops of the tall pine trees… it’s all pretty magical. And just yesterday, with the sun dropping further and further until it could only be seen through the cracks of the branches, I heard a whisper.
“Don’t rush off.”
Don’t rush off. There is purpose in this season. Does life look exactly as I imagined in my 20s with my wide-eyed, naivety? Not one bit. But in the same way as a house being built starts with a messy slab and unsettled dirt and ugly two-by-fours, this season is building a foundation for something beautiful. I know that in the depths of my soul.
It’s easy to let our eyes catch on the glimmer of something more beautiful, but there is healing and hope to be found when we allow ourselves to settle in here—here in the messy place, here where something beautiful is being built.
So I sit. Listening for the whisper. And the wind carries another reminder. Watching that golden sun sink deeper into the trees, I remembered the words that have often carried me through.
“The cracks are where the light shines through.”
It is in the most broken places in our lives where the light can shine through and pierce a soul with hope. So often, we are so consumed with our own broken getting better, that we don’t consider what awaits right here in this moment. We want instant healing, but what we miss is the beauty that can be found in the broken places—the light that can shine through your cracks.
Share your story. Speak your truth. You may be surprised at how God uses your transparency to reveal the truth to someone else that they are not alone—which means that YOU are not alone.
We live in a generation that craves instantaneous results, unrealistic beauty, and a story that is perfectly curated and wrapped up with a bow.
But maybe, just maybe, the gift is in the brokenness. Can you see it? Don’t rush off. The cracks are where the light shines through…
