Partner and wander
Summer. Home for the summer is such a lovely thing — one made up of a much slower pace compared to college. College is full of very consistent rhythms and less empty space on my calendar, so as I have been settling into summer, I have been praying a lot about how I should be spending my time.
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you. (Psalm 42:1)
Once I was all unpacked at home, I sat down to journal and pray over the summer ahead. 1) That I would learn and grow. 2) That I would draw close to the Lord and be attuned to the Lord. Two very simple, but good and edifiying things. Throughout the busy year I am naturally noticing the Lord throughout my day, reflecting and learning so much. But, as I slow down I want to make sure that I hold the same posture, listening and looking for the Lord. The Lord never wanders, but we do, so it is so important to pursue. There are moments that may feel and be ordinary, where I am not learning something specific, but again, the Lord never wanders. I can always draw near to the Lord and He is there.
And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat they bones, and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. (Isaiah 58:11)
As I was reading Gentle and Lowly before bed one night and writing down what I was reading, I realized that I was living out an answered prayer. I was learning, learning more and more about the heart of our God. The Lord so deeply cares for us. Deeper than we could ever understand and everything that He washes over us flows so abundantly. The joy of tasting and seeing His goodness.
There are so many moments where God does just this thing — answers our prayers. I think we tend to forget the small things we bring to God. But, if we listen and if we look and if we are dwelling close to Him, we will see His gentle hand. Even in the ordinary. There is never a dull moment, where our Father is not working.
In New Morning Mercies, Paul David Tripp wrote, “Grace has delivered you from the bondage to the delusion of your independent ability to be what He has created you to be and to do what He calls you to do.” After reading this I wrote down,
Partner with your Maker.
To be complete, or to be made whole, is only possible with God.
So, what would it look like for this to be our day to day posture? To commune with our Maker. To be attuned to the Holy Spirit. To let the Word of Christ dwell richly in you.
A good, beautiful, and true thing to wander to.
