Happy Birthday to me! I’m celebrating today with a new look for my blog and my very own website – www.stacynewell.com!
Thirty-six years ago my birth was announced to the neighborhood with a 4′ x 8′ sign. My dad is a sign painter and wasn’t letting the opportunity go to show off his new baby girl! I was the first girl born in my line of geneology in over 100 years and he was excited about having a daughter. He scrambled to finish the sign when I unexpectedly arrived one month early. (And that’s my mom in the picture, too. Yes, she had just given birth a few days before this photo!)
As I grew up, gave my life to Jesus, and tried to follow His will for my life, sometimes I fell into the trap of assuming that my Heavenly Father would also announce the rest of my life with giant, unmistakable signs:
- Go to this university!
- Marry this man!
- Do this with your life!
And although there are some times in the Bible where it does seem that God speaks with that kind of clarity, most of the time, He simply doesn’t. It actually came as a shock to me that He allows, and even forces, us to make our own decisions as to where and how we will live out our lives in many instances. Many times when we just want God to tell us what to do, it seems like He says, “Well, what do YOU want to do?” It’s obnoxiously frustrating, but such an amazing gift when you stop and think about it.
Rather than mandating our agenda at every step, He often says, “Use your passions, your giftings, and your talents to LOVE Me.” That’s it. The complex God of the universe gives us the opportunity to creatively express our love for Him in every type of vocation, in a multitude of worship styles, and without constantly worrying about whether or not we’re making a mistake.
I think far too many Christians are doing nothing for God because they just assume that a sign will show up on the front lawn if He ever has a plan for their life. Guess what, He does have a plan for your life and here it is: Love Him with your heart, your hands, your feet, your money, your sweat, your blood, your tears, your passions, your strengths, your weaknesses, your fears, and your inadequacies. Don’t wait for Him to tell you when to give, what to do, and who to reach out to. If you see someone lost, hurting, poor…that’s your sign. That’s the only sign you may ever get. If He does send you a giant sign, do that, too, but in the meantime, throw yourself at a cause greater than yourself.
Part of Mark and I’s story is that we never really felt a clear direction about starting a church. We never got the sign that God was asking us to specifically go in that direction. What we did know was that we had to do something to reach people with the love of God and our passion was within the walls of this thing called church. We attacked launching North Creek like it was a life or death situation. We just figured that God would stop us if He ever needed to. So far, so good.
So, what are you waiting for? Have you spent too much time questioning whether God would really want you to pursue your passion? Are you gripped with fear that you’ll do the wrong thing at the wrong time? Let it go. God is big enough to stop you if He needs to, but in the meantime, you might just impact the world.