The Question
“I wonder if
I should have
posted that?“
Over the course
of the last fifteen years,
ever since the day
I posted
my very first
blog post,
I have asked myself
this question
many a time.
It’s a vulnerable place
to find yourself –
opening your heart wide
and inviting the world in,
especially when
you feel God nudging you
to tell that which
you’d rather not.
And yet,
time and time again,
it is in the most
vulnerable of places,
the places
I’d rather not go
that God does
His sweetest
and tenderest work
in the heart of others.
But still . . .
after I’ve hit “publish”,
after it’s “out there”,
after I can’t take it back,
the question comes:
“I wonder if
I should have
posted that?”
This new series,
in particular,
has me asking that a lot.
ABUNDANCE
This is the word
God spoke to my heart
for my word of the year
for 2024.
And while I
wasn’t at all sure
what God had it mind
or where this word
would take me this year,
I didn’t think
it would involve
me sharing
so deeply,
so personally,
so vulnerably
from my heart.
But, I should have.
This is my calling.
It is why God
has given me
the gift of
words on paper
in the first place.
This was never
more evident to me
than when I first
lost my husband.
A week into my loss
God called me
to my keyboard.
The words that
poured forth there –
as I poured out
from the
deepest,
rawest,
most vulnerable
places of my heart –
have been used
by God to bring
healing,
comfort,
encouragement,
and strength
in the lives of others
in ways I could have
never, ever imagined.
And so,
here I sit again –
answering His call.
Even now, though,
eight years into
knowing what God does
in this space and
with these words,
the question
sometimes tugs
at my heart
and at my mind,
still.
But then,
just a few days ago,
a Facebook comment
on an ABUNDANCE post
I’d shared there,
brought me face to face
with this question
in a whole new way –
a way that brought
an ABUNDANCE
of peace (and confirmation)
to my heart.
The comment was simply
and beautifully this:
“You always share your heart.
Thank you for trusting us to understand.”
This,
followed by
comment after comment
from still others
thanking me
for my transparency
and my honesty,
cemented this truth
in my heart:
I write because
I trust the nudge
from God to do so.
I write because
I trust Holy Spirit
to take my feeble attempt
at conveying
what most times
I don’t have words
to adequately convey
and add His anointing
and His blessing
so each word ministers
intentionally and precisely
to each heart
in each way needed.
And,
I write because
I trust you,
the receiver of my words,
to understand.
And it is in this place
of abundant trust
that God does
what only God can do.
“The thief does not come except
to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
I have come that they may have life,
and that they may have it more abundantly.”
~John 10:10
Doubt.
Fear.
Insecurity.
Second-guessing.
Imposter syndrome.
These are
all weapons
of the enemy
of our soul.
And I realize now,
more than ever,
the only question
I should ever ask
is this:
“Who would miss out
on God’s intended blessing
if I don’t post this?“
Because you see,
my ABUNDANCE
is directly related
to your ABUNDANCE.
And your ABUNDANCE
is directly related
to the ABUNDANCE
of those in
your sphere of influence.
Our Jesus paid
much too high a price
for us to allow the enemy
to derail us
from all God
is calling us to.
Our God given gifts
are not meant
to be kept
to ourself,
they are meant
to be torn open,
and spilled out.
Yes,
sometimes the
tearing open
and the spilling out
can be painful
(and yes,
extremely humbling
and embarrassing.)
Trust me,
I know.
But I also
know this:
We can trust
The Giver
of the gift
to take it –
tears,
sweat,
pain,
vulnerability and all,
and use it
in ways only He can.
But,
only if we
are willing to
share our
ABUNDANCE
so others
might be
abundantly blessed, too.
~Stacy
This post is the eleventh post in the ABUNDANCE series.
The first post is “Abundance”, followed by “FULLY LOVED”, “In a New Light”, “Less is More”,“Choose Life”,“Run to The Father”, “Keep Looking”, “Doubling Up”, “The Referral”, and “Really”.
