Don’t Get Discouraged: This is part of your Journey

It’s always a huge bummer when puffy eyes and blotchy skin give you away.

Yes. I’ve been crying.

And worse… I’m surprised by these tears. I didn’t know I cared so much about that house.

Moving is stressful. That’s just a fact. And even though I’ve been coasting on unexplainable peace… the gift God promises to those to trust in Him in Romans 15:13… there are times where that trust is tested. Like when the DREAM house for you isn’t the dream for the rest of your family. And then it goes under contract. So it’s gone. Dream, I’m telling you. And beautiful and CLEAN! Why do so few house smell good and clean?Alas.

Here we are about to chat with our realtor and walk into one more house. And he could tell I’d been crying. My big cry was almost an hour ago in the shower where I thought no one could hear me. (I was wrong.) I had composed myself. But no, apparently, I’m no good at hiding how I really feel. I never have been.

He looked at me and said, “Don’t get discouraged. This is part of your journey.”

Ok, you know those moments where you feel like the Holy Spirit gives the mic to someone else and let’s them talk straight to you on His behalf?? This was one of those moments.

I keep thinking about it today.

“Don’t get discouraged. This is part of your journey.”

He’s right. It takes time in life to really figure out what we really want. With houses, you’re always going to find something incredible about every house. But there will be plenty of other things that aren’t perfect nor incredible. So you learn to prioritize. What on my list is most important to me and what on my list can I compromise on or just give up on? Because something always has to give. Especially when there’s more than just you in the decision-making process.

This relates to dating too. You may feel like there was that one that got away. You may feel so ashamed or discouraged by just how bad that last one really was. You may wonder, “How did I get into this mess? And how can I get out of it?” People feel that way with houses they buy, relationships they get into, career paths they try.

Any of that resonating with you today?

What if you held that dead-end road/job/house/relationship/hope/dream in your hand right now?

What if you were brave enough to lift it up to God and actually tell Him how you really feel about it?

You know what happens when we are finally honest with God? He rushes in to comfort us.

“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you;

you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;

your bones shall flourish like the grass;

and the hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants,

and He shall show his indignation against his enemies.”

Isaiah 66:13-14

If you skimmed that, read it again. This time, read every “shall” as a promise that God WILL and SHALL fulfill. Not might or possibly. He WILL & He SHALL.

I needed that promise this morning. It helps me take one more step on my journey, one more step closer to full surrender and trust in God.

So what say you? Can you trust that this hiccup is helping you get to the next right thing?

About now I’m hearing an old Rascal Flatts tune in my head. Are you?

“Every broken road led me to where you are, others who broke my heart… they were like shooting stars. Pointing me on my way into your loving arms, this much I know is true—that God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you.”

We can be so traumatized by our poor decisions in the past that we can’t even move forward to what’s next. But if we trust God when He says that “All things work together for good for those who love Him” (Romans 8:28), then we can keep moving forward with an assurance that better things are coming.

If this is part of your journey, if this is part of prioritizing what you really want… then I ask you today. What do you want more than anything?

The upside to when things bottom out is this—it unveils the truest desires of your heart.

At the end of the day, I lost out on a dream home because the truest desire of my heart is to honor the one I love. At the end of the day, all those not quite right relationships and those very horrible relationships taught me what to look for and how to find the one I love. At the end of the day, I really do love Jesus more than anything.

When things bottom out, you really can take refuge in these truths:

1.)    We’re longing for a heavenly home, not one down here.

2.)    We’re welcomed and adopted as sons and daughters in heaven, even if we’re out-casted here.

3.)    Somehow, praising God transports you from here to the throne room of God. And there’s no better place to be!

After I had my good cry, a song of praise bubbled up.