Sweetly Subtle Side Effects of Surrender

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been noticing more and more benefits to saying ‘Yes!’ to my big ‘D’ desire of having a beautiful home and serene sightlines.

(click the links to read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3)

Surrendering to where I felt God nudging me, and getting myself into Divine Alignment, has re-awakened old passions (Part 4) and started to break down a lot of the walls I’ve created around my soul over the last few decades.

It has been helping with the healing. I’ve been feeling more rooted. New possibilities are opening up to me.

It has felt good.

In addition to the Big 3 – the trinity of big passions that have been awakened that I talked about in Part 4 – there have been a whole raft of more subtle, much deeper changes happening.

We’ll look at a few of them here…

Writing

I didn’t know, when I got the Desire for beautiful sightlines, that it meant I’d be writing a lot more…

… but there it is. It turns out that part of creating and sharing – at least for me – is wrapping a narrative around my creations so that you get to see what I’ve done and also learn more about me and my heart.

You get to learn Why I’m doing it as well as What I’ve done.

So, here we are, 1000s of words later, crafting a story together about making a house into a home and bringing our lives into Divine Alignment so that what we do makes a difference – both here in the physical now and for eternity.

A picture may be worth a 1,000 words but, as this word-loving gal has discovered as I’ve gone through a few decor books, I don’t even look at the picture until after I’ve read the captions.

The pictures don’t mean anything to me until after I’ve heard the author’s heart.

Strange, right? But that’s just who I am. I’m a word girl. And that’s why I’m so grateful that you’re on this journey with me. Words don’t mean nearly as much when they aren’t read by another.

Connection

Which, I guess, leads into the next gift, which is Connection. There is a lovely decor community on Instagram and though we are spread all over the world, there is an intimacy that comes from sharing photos of our homes and the feelings of our hearts.

If all you ever do is look at the pictures, and when we’re in mostly unconscious scroll mode that’s what we do, you’re missing out on the human drama being shared by many of the posters.

Pieces of daily life. Our fears. Our victories. Our struggles. Our kids. Our spouses. Our faith. Our falters. Our huge strides. New businesses starting and old businesses evolving.

It is this microcosm of intimate, feminine humanity that has been a joy to step in to. Supportive and kind and wrapped in homespun beauty.

And, yes, there are moments when the uglier side of humanity shows up, but, from what I’ve seen so far, the community quickly rallies and equilibrium is restored.

It’s kind of a miracle, to my eyes.

Joy

Real joy. Leaning on the Lord and knowing He is always good, feeling it deep down to my bones, kind of joy.

The joy that I feel when I overcome the fear…

(and, yes, there is so much fear right now about sharing, about creating, about slowing down and investing the time into an unknown venture with everything new that often trips me up and derails me for days or weeks)

… and see something beautiful that I have created with my own heart and hands. That is a joy that brings a lot of peace. It’s the joy that I have when I’ve finished an event or had a huge win with a coaching client.

It’s the joy of knowing that I’m in the right place at the right time doing exactly what God would have me do.

It’s the joy of being on Mission and fully alive and in the flow.

I wasn’t expecting to find it here and I’m so glad that I have.

It helps when I’m getting cranky about a pillow cover not working out or the lighting not working.

Softening and Stillness

This one isn’t so much what I’ve noticed as what one of my best friends has noticed. The last few times we’ve been on the phone or in one of our precious face-to-face meetings, she has remarked on my changed energy.

I’m softer, she says. Calmer. Stiller. There’s something different and more peaceful about my whole being. The Bible talks about this kind of transformation a lot.

“And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” ~ Ezekiel 11:19-20

That alone makes this whole thing worthwhile, that change is happening on such deep and subtle levels that I am being made new. My heart of stone is being turned to flesh. I feel more alive. More present. Less angry. More patient.

And I know that there is much more to come. God never starts a thing without having a good plan in mind and the ability and desire to take it to fruition and I’m excited to see where this will lead.

I can’t see very far down the path but I know I’m on it and walking it in faith. And that is one more big benefit:

Trusting and Surrendering

God’s work in us is never complete. There is always something new and something more that He is looking to do. And one of the best ways for Him to grow us is for us to get into something new and challenging.

And I can feel that happening here. I’m picking up loads of new skills but, more importantly, I’m feeling a difference as He uses me for His purposes. I don’t know what they are but I can trust that they are good.

I don’t know where I’m heading but I can trust that it is good and surrender to letting this unfold in divine timing and purpose.

This is a very counter-cultural way to live and I love it.

Look at me! I’m a rebel! LOL!

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” ~ Romans 8:28

As I’ve said, I don’t know where this is all leading but I do rest in the knowing that with God laying out the path, it’s going somewhere very good.

What about you? What new thing is God seeding in you?