Psalm 32:8:
“I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”
Happy New Year! I truly hope you and your family had a blessed Christmas season and have had a good start to 2024 so far….?
As I am writing this, it is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and the end to the Christmas season. My Christmas decorations are all boxed up and the house looks a little emptier (and dusty and dirtier, to be honest. Note to self: Next on the new years to do list…cleaning😉)
Not only is my house empty of Christmas decorations but it is also empty of people. My adult children who came home over Christmas are all back to college, work, etc. The quiet in my house has returned. Mix this with a new year and you get a lot of thinking and reflecting. Which is good and scary all at the same time. We all know it is good for us to embrace the silence at times. Let our minds dream and wonder. This is where creativity is born. Even more importantly, this is also where we can pray and hear God’s voice. Our culture avoids the quiet at all costs. You don’t have to think too hard about finding something to do or something to waste time on or numb yourself out on. It literally jumps out in front of you and even screams at you sometimes. Because of this, we can’t hear God speaking to us. We are far too distracted most of the time. Anyways, I digress…back to my thinking and reflecting.
2023 was a big year for our family…lots of changes. These changes led me to start thinking about my life as a whole and all the decisions I’ve made which led me to this moment. Good and bad decisions. As I was reflecting on all of this, the centuries-old aphorism, sometimes attributed to St. Teresa of Avila, came to mind “God writes straight with crooked lines.” (God writes straight with crooked lines | Diocese of Bridgeport (bridgeportdiocese.org)
And boy does my life look like a bunch of crooked lines. Can He really straighten out all my crooked lines? All those times I did it MY way instead of HIS way, causing bends in the road? All the times I took the steering wheel instead of letting Him drive. So, I decided to dig into scripture… Psalm 32:8 immediately spoke to me…. “I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”
So…. yes, He will straighten out my crooked lines IF I but turn to Him for instruction. I just need to listen for His voice….in all that silence. He WILL counsel me if I listen for His voice…in all that silence. (I’m sensing a connection here to the silence in my house…..hmmmm😉)
I need to be patient for Him. His timing, not mine. The lines don’t become straight all at once.
And He’s been there by my side the whole time…through all wrong turns, bends in
So, if you are feeling any bit like me…a little reminiscent along with even a little regretful over past decisions. Allow me to offer a little hope…. If you are looking at all those crooked lines of decisions over all the years of your life…in all areas of your life. I offer a simple prayer that has become my prayer…God grant me patience as I await your timing in making the crooked lines in my life straight. Help me to lean into the silence to better hear your voice as you make all things new.
Trusting in His Care,
Christine