My laptop died last week.
As fellow Assistants, you know the fear that can grip you in that moment. The moment when things aren’t booting up quite right so you try a hard restart and the start part never happens. Instead a dark, black screen simply sits there. No sound. No lights. No hope.
In a desperate attempt I reached out to our incredible IT department and explained the process of events that led to my current situation. They have always pulled a rabbit out of the hat for me and I’ve stood in awe of their skill and creativity to solve my technological issues. This time, though, I detected the concerned tone as they told me not to be too concerned. I left my unresponsive silver folder with them for continued efforts to bring it back to life and whispered a desperate prayer as I walked back to my office.
In a matter of hours, the team delivered a shiny new silver folder with 99% of my files restored. To say I was grateful is an understatement! What a relief to know that years of documents and work had been rescued from the black abyss. My prayers had been answered and once again they found that rabbit.
Yet, I found myself still hoping that 1% of lost work could be recovered. You see, that fraction of a fraction that was a casualty of this tech war were graphics that I had worked on for the past several years. I’m not a graphic artist but I do dabble in this arena for the Made Ready Trainings and You Are Adored weekly encouragements. This creative piece of my work brings so much joy and satisfaction. In fact, I had just finished composing nearly 100 images overlaid with scripture for our private Facebook page. All of them, along with numerous other images, were gone.
I heard the Lord say, “Let’s dream together.”
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11
The Lord wasn’t distressed at all by the hours of work that had been lost. Instead, He saw it as an invitation to dream! Somewhere along the way, I forgot how to dream. Life got busy and the (perceived) frivolity of dreaming was pushed aside for the (perceived) more urgent tasks in front of me. It took years for me to realize that dreaming actually has a very important role in my health and relationship with the Lord. He created me to be creative and stifling that part of me is like pinching a leaf on a plant – it withers and can cause damage to the entire plant. However, if I tend to that leaf it adds to the health of the entire plant and it flourishes.
Sadly, I had relied too long on the creativity of the past to carry me through. I delighted in the gifts God had given me, promptly constructed templates and systems from them, and rolled full-steam ahead! That isn’t a problem until creativity takes a back seat and conversation with the Lord for fresh imagination dwindles. The Lord had my attention once all that past creativity was lost and could finally hear Him invite me into the creative process again. He has new ideas and wants to share them with me. Am I willing to take the time?
Lord, I will wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God.
Psalm 38:15
The Lord gives us His gifts to enjoy but not to keep to ourselves. He gives His gifts for us to enjoy and share with others. We are blessed to be a blessing! So while I am fully aware that the creativity the Lord gave me is to be shared with others, I now realize that it is also in need of refreshing. Those graphics and templates I composed were fresh for that time, but now they’ve become stale and He has something new moving forward. Not just for me, but for our team. Not just for how we serve but, for the way others are drawn to Christ in the way we serve. And if what we do is meant to glorify and be in partnership with Him, I don’t want to take another step without His lead.
So, yes, Lord. Let’s dream together! Show us your plans, unveil our eyes, lead us in your way. Refresh us in your presence and help us experience your love in new ways. Whatever we set our hands to, we pray that you would bless it and use it for your glory. Reveal opportunities you have set before us and show us how to invite others into your presence so they can hear with their own hearts the whisper of our loving Father…
You are adored.
You Are Adored 