Have a cup of 'chill out'.... Jesus has got your back.
Life as a girl in this world….. at extreme ends of the scale, moments of sheer brilliance, through to gut wrenching bouts of crying to love power ballads. And what about all the stuff in between? What about those goober-ish moments you don’t know what’s going on? Where you don’t feel clear or settled about things. What do you do then? I cringe at suburban wisdom that says “everything will work out”….. “there’s plenty of fish out there in the sea” or whatever generic, broad-brush band-aid you want to slap on it! Our hearts & minds demand more answers & comfort than that. I sit here a little perplexed trying to write this, not feeling clear about it – but I think that’s the whole point! There are moments in life where you have just got to go with the flow….. where you don’t have all the answers; you may not even know what the questions is. But that’s OK. The comforting thing is that God’s got your back. Jesus said in the Bible:
25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? (Matthew 6:25-27, NLT Surfers Bible)
Recently I have been trying to coax beautiful native parrots to my balcony with my thrilling repertoire of native bird calls & an old pita bread I found in the fridge. I think they’re thinking “what is that two armed fool doing?”…..”we get looked after by God, as if we’re eating her stale leftovers!”.
It’s nice to know we are worth more in God’s eyes than the birds! And we cannot make ourselves live longer by worrying. I think I probably shorten my life when I do! We have a God who cares deeply for us. So deep, that he actually asks us to let go of the ‘steering wheel’ of anxiety we grip on to so tightly & not worry. Profound!
I have noticed over the past few months, the more I actually just go with the flow of life, trusting God & not doing mental gymnastics over every detail, God brings about the most amazing outcomes anyway. Outcomes that have so much jaw dropping detail, fulfillment & breathtaking perfection. A result I couldn’t have made happen with all my best planning & carefully executed worrying! Go figure?! And through that I know God wants to show his love, dependability & all out coolness to me! As you stop worrying, you start to build up a tidy resume of all the times God has come through for you, when you leave it to him. It teaches you that answers are not needed; you just need to know God is there & that in itself is enough. It feels totally ironic & unnatural NOT to worry, but as Jesus continues in that passage, he tells us to just focus on today. Our only worry for today …..and this week, is to stop worrying. Give it a red hot go!
Something to think about:
What are some of the common worries of girls / women in life?
In your own life, what is the thing you are worrying most about?
How does Jesus’ words of assurance not to worry help you with that situation?
Read Matthew 6:25-27 – what word or phrase specifically speaks to your heart & why?
How could you apply that specifically to your situation?
How can you do life differently TODAY with this passage from the bible in mind?
What would that look like practically?
SOME ONLINE MOVIES TO GET YOU FROTHING!
Some quick movies to help your surfing!
