I do not know if this is going to be for a season or what God is doing, but, I am going with the flow of the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Again, woke up with a phrase and even a place in mind this time. “Lost in the Parking Lot.” This has two parts. The first one is particularly for me and maybe for some others, and the second is up for grabs for all of us!
Part 1
When I have these phrases or words going through in my mind, I think to myself, this is silly and too ridiculous to post about. What are you all gonna think? You must think I am certainly strange and imaging things! Then I chuckle, and realize part of my healing process is “regaining what I lost.” Another important thing I lost in my childhood was my “full sense of humor.” I am learning and trying to regain going back to my old roots of enjoying my life and not taking everything so flippin’ SERIOUS!!! God does have a sense of humor. He too can enjoy his whimsical side in recent post titles such as... “Parachuting With God, “ ”Zebras,” and now “Lost In A Parking Lot.”
Believe you me, this is all new to me, as I have never, ever, ever, ever, ever had this before happen to me and I have no idea how long this will last!! I do not look for this first thing in the morning. I am just grateful I can finally pull myself out of bed and move. So, in what I feel is obedience to the Spirit I will post about I feel I am being led to.
Part 2
The place, Disney World. The parking lot! I am sure we have all been to a theme park in our lives, especially the big ones! And if we have driven, we need to remember where we park and are usually told to remember a certain landmark, have a map or aisle number. God does not need to have a landmark, map or a number for us. He knows each one of us so well, He never loses us to begin with. Many times, we get sidetracked, off the path that He has planned for us and we lose our way, but He is always waiting for our return, to gently direct us and show us, how ever many times it takes, His good intentions.
Those are some very good points JBR! Sounds like God is getting ready to use you for something big!! Embrace it. Have a wonderful day! And thanks for all your encouraging comments on my blog. I'm doing a bit better today. Just trusting in Him to give me strength and guidance.
ReplyDeleteway-to-go JBR! These posts of recent are interesting.
ReplyDeletethis is great. The analogy hits home. I agree with what Rhonda said. God is going to use you big time. The way you are putting things is real. You're real. Sarah
ReplyDeletewhat a stunning post!
ReplyDeletei'll never see parking lots with the same eyes again...
ReplyDeleteSuch an awe inspiring post, bless you sweetie.
ReplyDeleteI like this post. God must've been moving in you in a special way to have you wake up mornings where the spirit was working through you as you were sleeping to share these tid-bits with us to bless. Not everyone is blessed in this special way. God Bless.
ReplyDeleteWay to go, JBR!! Makes me smile to think of you following His lead.
ReplyDeleteI get lost in every parking lot. I try to remember, but never can. The only place I don't get lost :D is at the American DIA parking lot. I never get lost there, go figure.
ReplyDeleteDear JBR,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this post and you following the lead of the Holy Spirit. Recently God is asking me to walk by faith and not by sight. These post are a good example of what God is encouraging me to do. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will ask me to do something and I say, "OK, hesistantly". "Are you sure?".
Then someone will be healed! Then I say, "WOW!"
When I read this post it touched my heart knowing that with all the people in the parking lot, He knows where I am. "God does not need to have a landmard for us. He never loses us".
That is a profound statement. It made me cry tears of JOY for that reminder today.
Blessings,
Tammy
There are a lot of great insites in this post, but the one that struck me the most is something I have not seen mentioned in the comments.
ReplyDeleteI love the comparison between us losing our cars and God never losing us. If my car decided to switch parking spots, that would be kind of a problem for me since that is not what I planned for it to do. Interesting way to make me think about my connection to God and my true path.
But the thing I was most struck by is this:
In my childhood there were two things I did not get that every child needs. There were other things as well, but these two go hand-in-hand and are what I see reflected in your writing.
One is validation. When something felt important or profound to me, I was not met with encouragement. In fact, quite often anything that I was sincerely passionate about was scoffed at, ridiculed, or joked about.
The second one is acceptance. There were things that felt like they were a part of who I was, but quite commonly my reality was not accepted. I would say, "I feel this" and would be told, "No, you can't feel this." I would say, "I like this." and would be told, "Nobody likes this." I would say "I want this" and be told "No, you want that."
Because of these two things I learned not to validate myself oro trust my own feelings.
Mhy point is, by posting about these "messages" here, you are validating yourself. To you, they feel important and profound, like a message from God. Accepting your feelings about the messages, daring to tell others what you think about them, is a proclamation of YOUR TRUTH.
It's a huge step to get to the point where you can validate yourself and accept yourself. COngratulations, you made it!
I usually dismiss those kinds of thoughts as silly and move on. I think searching for their meaning and finding a message from God is very inspiring!
ReplyDeleteThis is a recurring theme in my dreams. Being lost in a school, a maze,etc... I either can't find my way out or can't find my family members. I have always thought these stem from abandonment issues from my childhood,epecially the teenage years when I began to understand that all families were not like mine. I think when God is trying to heal us, these things come to the surface. I found your post very interesting and again, I thank you for sharing with us. It is true, the Lord always knows where we are and we can trust Him. I keep you in my prayers. May God bless you and continue to inspire you!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you're sharing what God revealed with you as we also learn from these lessons. They are not strange! I think it will only be strange to those who don't know God. I love your description in Part 2: " God does not need to have a landmark, map or a number for us. He knows each one of us so well, He never loses us to begin with. Many times, we get sidetracked, off the path that He has planned for us and we lose our way, but He is always waiting for our return, to gently direct us and show us, how ever many times it takes, His good intentions."
ReplyDeleteGod bless JBR! Take care.
I really enjoy reading your blog posts. Your courage in being real inspires me to be more honest with myself and with others!
ReplyDeleteWhat comes out in your dreams is really fascinating. While I still ponder about your lst two posts I figure I never will see zebras or parking lots with the same eye.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words on my blog. Often when I take pic's Ithink of you and take special pic's for you only. Knowing about your deep faith I have plenty of pic's with crosses (7.century), churches inside and statements in latin etc. Maybe one day I find a way to pass my JBR collection on to you. Hugs Paula
JBR,
ReplyDeleteWhat a divinely inspired post! Great analogy and I too, will never look at parking lots much in the same way again. I used to hate when I forgot where I parked and it seems like the older I get the easier it becomes for me to remember. Now I just grab my cell phone with the camera and snap a shot of the parking lot sign and enjoy the rest of my day. I still have the picture with me to remind me of where I need to be.
Love and Hugs ~ Kat
Really great post.
ReplyDeleteGod just never quits, does He? Thank God!
ReplyDeleteI agree a sense of humor is essential to a healthy life. I'm glad you're getting that back.
ReplyDeleteI think God is giving you a break from the heavy work and letting you have a little fun!!!
ReplyDeleteI've never lost my way in a parking lot but I have certainly forgotten where it was I was heading. I often think it happens because we are supposed to be redirected for whatever reason. keep investigating. You'll find out more as you go. Hugs. Tammy
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is that I firmly believe that when you have these phrases and images with you as you wake there is no (to me) better indicator that you are healing and healing right. It is that spirit we call God bringing you tot he divine understanding. Go with it kiddo, it is a fun and worthwhile ride from here to there.
ReplyDelete