Listening ...

…to God through the story of my life; and a special thank you to Laura.  

For the past few years I’ve been pondering how we (I) listen to God; how we hear the voice of God; how we discern the will of God; how we see and experience the work of God.

My journey tells me that God is active and leading; omniscient and wise; loving and affirming.

Often I am asked, have you always wanted to write? The answer is no. My first writing steps were assignments from mom to write thank you notes (a practice that prepared me well for my adult life). My next writing memories come after we were married; I started regularly writing letters home to my family and to Bill’s—it was part of my Sunday afternoon ritual. This was a self-assignment and also a bit of an ought.

Eventually the ought morphed into desire—a desire to more than stay in touch—a desire to be a blessing. I remember long-hand letters written and copied to friends who were in the same stage of life—young children—sharing about the books I was reading with our boys.

With the age of computers, it was easier to live out my desires. The friend letters continued and the content expanded sent via email. The family letter grew into Sunday Conversation with …(you fill in the relationship) that I mailed to everyone in our extended family for whom I had an email address. Today that goes to over 40 family members almost every Sunday.  

Then the birth of my blog. I’d been mulling over this desire to write a blog for over a year; fear kept me from starting: would I run out of stuff to say?, and the big one—technology—not my strong suit. God was persistent. It became an obedience issue. What a gift when obedience lines up with desire (does that happen more than we’re aware?). 

But my fear of technology held me back. Enter Laura. Laura is a new friend. She and her husband were coming through town and called to set up a lunch date with Bill and me. During our conversation I mentioned to her about my blog desire. She jumped in and said, I can help you get started. And she did. After lunch we spent the afternoon at my kitchen table with the computer between us. She helped me navigate the process; decide the options; choose the background; took my picture; and wha-la, Echoes of Grace was born. Laura even became my first follower.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, Laura!

My writing career is an illustration of leading and listening—although I didn’t realize it in the process. The Holy Spirit was guiding all along—even back to those thank you notes. After all, it is God who created me and gave me desires. Finally I heard, this is the way, Sue you need to start that blog!  Obedience became the issue. Now I’m pondering a book—YIKES!

What about you. How is the Holy Spirit guiding you? What have you been dabbling with your whole life that is possibly part of God’s message to you? I’d love to hear.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth”

John 16:13

“This is the way, walk in it”

Isaiah 30:21