Becoming

Photo by Kristyn Rhynard

I gave up my drug of choice, sugar, a few weeks ago. Along with it I said goodbye to sugar's friend, caffeine. I think they are cousins or maybe 3rd cousins twice removed. Anyway, it has been an interesting journey full of crankiness, headaches, blah feeling and cravings the size of Texas. On the other side of all that is this wonderful and amazing gift - clear thought. The fog has lifted. It's a glorious thing!

You may be asking, "Kathy, whatever possessed you to do such a thing?" Well, here it is the big reason, the "why" behind my choice, the driving force that has kept me going - I want to be who I am becoming. I don't want to be the same old me. I desire to be the woman I am becoming and to do that I had to change. That is how it works, you know. If you don't change then you stay the same. There is no 'becoming' because there is no forward movement, no metamorphosis.

It is not an easy peasy thing to change. It is hard work. It often involves blood, sweat, and tears - sheer grit and a lot of help.

Before time began, God knew who he was creating you and I to be.

"For you created my inmost being;

                you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

                your works are wonderful,

                I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

                when I was made in the secret place,

                when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

                all the days ordained for me were written in your book

                before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:13-16

I am a wonderful work of God. You are a wonderful work of God. He knew there would be muck and mire; pain and heartache; temptation and sin. So he sent his Son, Jesus, to die on a cross so that you and I could become who we were created to be - wonderful and so much more. As Christ followers we are always in a state of becoming, if we choose to get dirty and do the hard work. The nice thing is we don't have to do it alone. We can ask for help from friends and family. We can ask God for inner strength and perseverance.

Be who you are becoming. Don't wait another day.

Who are you today? Who are you becoming?

Surrender to the Waves

As I sit in the January sun, hot cup of coffee in hand, and gaze at the awe inspiring scene before me, I can't help but ponder the power of water. A small piece of the Pacific Ocean is rising and falling; advancing and retreating; soothing and calming; rhythmic and deafening. It obeys the boundaries set by its Creator, boundaries designed to be kept in check by the moon. The tide rises and the tide falls. All in a perfect dance set in motion at the beginning of time. Its power is undeniable and unstoppable. The beach that it pounds against and washes over, day in and day out, is at the ocean's mercy. The water is relentless in its ability to constantly change the shore onto which it flows. The sand is moved and churned. The rocks and shells are washed in or washed out. The drift wood is rearranged like furniture in a living room. Each tidal cycle reveals a changed landscape. Sometimes the changes are subtle on the surface but when scrutinized reveal that each grain of sand we can see is a different grain of sand than we saw hours before. Sometimes the changes are drastic and startling. Large pieces of driftwood have been moved like they weigh no more than a feather or new pieces are added after their long journey in the sea. The ocean is powerful and relentless.

The ocean bears the mark of its Creator. God's power is undeniable and unstoppable. Like the beach as the waves wash over it is altered, so an encounter with God alters one's life. The experience changes you forever. You will not be left the same way you were found.  

This is how it is when we encounter Jesus Christ. Every encounter with Jesus leaves us changed. Maybe the change seems subtle on the surface but is actually transformative deep in our soul. Sometimes the change is drastic and easily seen by all who know you. The woman at the well is such as encounter.

Let me paraphrase the story from John chapter 4. Jesus decides to go through Samaria as he travels with his disciples. Jesus waits at a well, tired and thirsty, while the disciples head into town. At this well, Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman whom he should not speak to because Jews and Samaritans don't mix. He asks her for a drink from the well which begins a life changing conversation. After chatting for a bit about religious viewpoints and her shameful personal life situation, Jesus brings her to a moment of revelation.

"The woman said, 'I know that Messiah' (called Christ) 'is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.'

Then Jesus declared, 'I, the one speaking to you - I am he.'" (John 4:25-26, NIV)

What happens next? A once ashamed woman, chooses to boldly go into the village that shamed her to tell them about the Christ that told her "everything she ever did" (v. 29). She was transformed by the powerful and relentless love of God. It washed over her and left her altered. She no longer bowed her head in shame. Instead, she walked with joy.

Through her transformation others came out to see Jesus and many more experienced the love of God washing over them and they, too, were altered. None of those who encountered Jesus that day walked away the same.

What part of your life needs washed with God's relentless love? A love that not only forgives but transforms. A love that wants you to become who you were created to be. A love that can rearrange our souls - moving some things to a different place and removing those things that don't belong there. Will you surrender and allow him to do this in you today?