Tonight's Word 🌱

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
- Ecclesiastes 3:11

This month was the start of my vacation, and I felt quite exhausted, run down and out of shape, but oh so thankful for the break. I was being convicted that I needed to start taking better care of myself and I was determined to let this vacation find me at the end of it in a much better condition than I was in at the beginning. By God's grace, I have set out to be more intentional about my diet, to have a more consistent exercise regime, and I have established some goals that I hope to see achieved by the end of the period. This week my mind went back to a photo a student shared of a butterfly captured a few days before vacation began. The decision to have a 'self-care July' came first, but the photo lead me to use the butterfly as a source of inspiration and motivation to the end goal. I imagined myself being transformed into a better version of myself, like a caterpillar striving toward that stage of being a butterfly. I have even had some encounters with butterflies and caterpillars this month, like signposts along the way, all serving as a reminder and motivation for my personal growth and development.

We are given only one body in this life, and taking care of our bodies is one of our personal responsibilities as human beings. Sometimes, we tend to go through seasons of neglect, and bad choices, but thank God for grace, the opportunity is always there to get back on the saddle, and re-align ourselves with His will for our lives in treating ourselves well, be it in the form of eating and drinking healthy, being around healthy environments, or making better choices.

Our bodies are our gardens, to which our wills are our gardeners. -William Shakespeare

Just as how we may establish goals for ourselves, our Creator has goals and a vision for us, His creation. He desires that we not only prosper and be in good health but also he desires for our souls to prosper (3 John 2). He sees us with all our negative experiences, our faults, disappointments and bloopers. At times, like the caterpillar, we may go through dark phases, not seeing our way, feeling stuck in a circumstance or cycle, and even question the purpose of it. He sees the end from the beginning and He is doing a work within each of us, refining, molding, purifying. All things work together for good, to them that love God, and who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). It is God's will that we prosper. His plans are, and always will be better than ours. Maybe we have been trying within our strength to do somethings, but if we place all our life into His hands, we cannot begin to imagine what a beautiful result can come out of it. Let's recommit our lives to the Lord once more, and as often as it takes. Let Him have His way today.

Perhaps the butterfly is proof that you can go through a great deal of darkness yet still become something beautiful.
– Beau Taplin

Prayer:

Dear Creator, thank You for the ability to reflect, to make choices, to change direction if needed. Today we acknowledge that within our own varied strengths, there are some things we are not getting right. Forgive us for the times we have made choices that don't do us well, and give us the strength to move forward. We want to be transformed from the inside out, in ways only You can for us. We submit to you, asking you to have your way with us. No matter how many times it takes, Lord, make us over. We give you all the praise, honour and glory. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Be blessed by the following song. 🎧🙂

Change in Me [Casting Crowns]