In the Meantime I'm learning to walk...

I am a huge fan of Boundless. If you are a college/career aged person I strongly challenge you to visit. It's full of encouraging advice no matter where you find yourself.

Today I was reading Boundless and ran across an article that jumped out at me. As I read through Carolyn MacInnes' article on In the Meantime:What to Do While Waiting on God I realized that I needed to apply some of her guidlines to my life.

She spoke about being in that Meantime place when waiting on God to answer your needs & desires. How you should act in "the Meantime."  These are a few of the guidlines I will be putting into place in my life from now on.

• Get to know God. Obviously, I need to always be seeking HIM out. Seeking out HIS thoughts, HIS purpose, HIS design, HIS heart... This should be my first & foremost plan for each day of my life.
• Build a community. Community: those with whom I surround myself. Family and friends. My community is those who are with me no matter what. They don't walk out with things get tough. They are there for me, they counsel me, they build me up, and they simply love me. Community is essential.
• Do what you love. Do what I love. Wow. This is a hard one. I love to do many things. I love meeting new people, I love working with people, I love making a difference, I love photography...etc. The list goes on & on. I am going to have to start eliminating those negative things I don't love in my life. Things that bog me down. Not the essential things, just the little foxes I let into my life. Adios foxes!
• Discover something new. Something new. Finding something new about myself. Example: I have always wanted to paint. I need to discover it & start working towards it.
• Help others. Carolynn McInnes made a fantastic point. She mentioned how we need to step beyond outselves & reach out to others in need. When we get caught up in helping others our own problems become so minor in comparision.
• Buy dishes. This one made me smile. She was using the example about how she wouldn't let her self buy nice dishes because that was for her someday, her hope chest. We get this mindset that we can't treat ourselves to good things now because we need to save it all up for that someday dream. Me? I'm going to buy  some "nice dishes."
• Be reasonable. We need to be reasonable while waiting on God. Be reasonable in your choices, in your actions, and in your thoughts. Don't get caught up in this fantasy Someday that you have built up in your mind. Be reasonable. See things for what they are and what they can become.
• Don't compromise. Wow. Above all else, don't compromise what you believe or who you are. You will always regret it. Stand strong for your beliefs whether they be personal standards or God-given. Stand strong.

I'm going to start putting these steps into place in my life. I can't sit stagnant in my Meantime; stagnant water leads to a foul mess.  I must be like the words of the prophet Isaiah. I must learn to "walk and not faint."
Isaiah 40:27-31

27 Why do you complain, Jacob?

Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD;

my cause is disregarded by my God”? 28 Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.