God speaks...

My sister and I were discussing the many ways that God speaks to us the night before I left her new house and headed back home. Sometimes He uses other people to speak to us. How many times have you been thinking about something and a loved one brings up the topic without you having said a word and it gives you a fresh perspective on it? Sometimes He uses His word to speak to us. How many times have you read a particular Bible verse and either your home group leader or your pastor decides to preach on it, or a friend sends it to you in a text or e-mail saying, " I thought you could use this..." Then there are the times when He uses imagery (i.e a book or t.v program) or even our dreams to speak to us. I think that people (myself included sometimes) think that if we do not hear a voice in our heads physically SPEAKING to us, then God is not communicating with us and we miss imperative messages that He has for us because we are looking in the wrong place. I have thought A LOT about this lately and I have come to the conclusion that He chooses his method of communication based on what He feels will be most effective. For example, if you have made a vow to spend quality time immersed in the word and are being diligent about it, God would most likely choose that method to communicate his message. If there is a particular friend that we are spending a lot of time with, then that person would be the most likely messenger. Okay so now that I have spent an inordinate amount of time setting it up, let me tell you about the latest thing that God has shared with me. My life has been pretty chaotic lately, and I HATE when things get out of control. From my foot, to financial struggles, to my eye infection I have felt like a pebble in the midst of high tide, being tossed around and disoriented and feeling helpless. It seemed like every time I took a step forward, I was having to take 5 steps back and it was getting frustrating. So frustrating that I ended up in tears pouring my heart out to my sister and she told me in the simplest of terms, " Give it to God... let HIM take care of it. At least that's what Aaron tells me whenever I feel that way." I knew she was right, and I should just let God take care of things, but like I have said before I am a born worrier and it's a hard habit to quit. I'm saying all this because I had a dream the other night where I relived a portion of our trip back home from Jenn's house. I was sitting in the back of the truck, all cozy warm and reading a FABULOUS book and listening to the High Flight Society on my IPod, when I happened to look up. All around was a flurry of snow and the sky was gray and the hills (which had been brown on the ride up) were COMPLETELY white. I looked at my mom, who had a concerned look on her face, and then I looked at my dad who had a very focused and determined look on his face. For a brief moment i felt a sense of panic, because it looked really gruesome out there, but then I felt a sense of calmness wash over me because I know my dad is a skilled driver and I was confident that he was using those skills to guide us through the muck. Then, in that magical moment where the lines of sleep and consciousness are blurred, I heard a distinct voice whisper, " That's how I want you to feel about me..." I woke up startled after hearing the voice and as I rubbed my eyes and looked around my room, I realized that no one was in my room besides me and Riley, my golden retriever. I laid my head back on the pillow and contemplated the message I was just given. Although it was true that I had the briefest moment of panic, because the scene outside the truck was scary, I felt completely at ease knowing that my dad was driving because I knew he knew what he was doing. That's how God wants us to feel about him. Although the paths he takes down may look treacherous sometimes, He knows what He is doing and is the skilled driver in our lives that we should trust. Whenever I begin to doubt that I will remember that time in the truck and feel reassured once again. Until next time... blessings to you all!!!