New Year, Sixteenth Step

I am going to confess to cheating a tad on today’s posting. Due to a required trip to ferry two of my college-age children back to school, necessitating a combined total of  fourteen hours of driving, I started this post yesterday in anticipation of today’s heightened exhaustion factor. With the added challenge of dealing with a painful case of dry socket from last week’s tooth extraction, I am giving myself a pass on a longer length post.

On my last visit to Washington DC, I took a quick tour of the new, recently opened Martin Luther King Memorial located at the Tidal Basin. The large statue of MLK stands against the backdrop of a wall in which are inscribed many quotes made by Dr. King during his life. Quotes tend to catch my attention as I like the succinct, often meaningful message that they convey, in a memorable manner. Had I a pad and paper when I visited the MLK Memorial, I would have taken copious notes from the quotes displayed.

Today I thought I would highlight a quote that I read at the beginning of this month that inspired me as I contemplated the year ahead.

“A vision puts enthusiasm in you, a thrilling understanding of God’s Word, and you soar above in tremendous ecstasy; then you come down and run without being weary, then you come to the grandest days and walk without fainting.” Oswald Chambers

This is extremely encouraging unless, like me, you don’t have a vision you can clearly identify, or are not sure how to find one that fits, suited to your passions or interests, if there even is one. Those considerable sticking points aside, I still appreciate the truth and promise these words express. Rest assured, God has a vision for each of us, and He will reveal it to us—maybe little by little, perhaps in one “a-ha” moment of revelation. Regardless, God created us and He is the supreme visionary with a vision in which every person has a participatory role. No one of us is excepted; in Him, we are all accepted and beloved, with unique gifts and callings.

I don’t always feel like this is true, but I believe God and His Word. Either all of His promises are true or none of them are. Visions are life-giving and life-guiding, none more so than the vision of relationship God invites us into as His children and the fullness of life He has given us access to in Christ.

“Father of glory, give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You. May the eyes of our understanding be enlightened; that we may know what is the hope of your calling and what are the riches of the glory of your inheritance in the saints.” Ephesians 1:17,18