God is kind and patient. He understands our humanity, and so as He unwraps truth for our hearts, He will unwrap new things, little by little, over and over. When we give God our lives, we give Him our whole selves, and as we do, He will reveal things that He would want to breathe life into, and as He does, petal by petal, He peels away the old to reveal new, beautiful life inside.
When we peel back the brown petals on a rose, we throw them away. We don’t miss the old petals because what is inside is fresh and beautiful. This is what I have found as I have given myself to God. I don’t miss the old ways.
I thought following God was compliance, and so I tried really hard to press my life into a mold that I thought was what He wanted. I tried to do all of the things, but you can’t follow a God you don’t trust. I didn’t trust God yet.
I needed to stop trying so hard. I had thought by fitting myself into a playdough mold, doing the things that I was supposed to do so that I came out formed just like the next person, I would end up with a follow of my God that I felt passionate about. But what I found was trying is unsustainable.
I was pulling back the petals before they were ready, and in doing so, I was tearing apart my flower of a heart, and my follow wasn’t sustainable because I was relying on myself. My heart was not ready.
You can’t force yourself into a compliance that will lead to love.
So what do we do? We can place ourselves in His hands, saying, “Okay God, You and not me.” He will be faithful to reveal beauty you never knew was inside just waiting to be set free. We can give ourselves to our God, asking Him to change us, allowing Him to change us, and then as He does saying, “Yes, God.”
There is a reshaping of our hearts that is natural and organic. It’s the way we were created to live.
Our God can be trusted. He is kind and patient, and He will accept you.
This is the free life. This is the life I never knew I always wanted.
