PennyDaisy

i’m starting to see little examples of that radical obedience.
i didn’t realize how quiet it could be.

like my mother…
she takes care of us and does all the typical mommy things
she helps with our business
before sisters and i could drive, she took us everywhere (and i do mean everywhere)
she manages to fit in her pilates classes a couple of times a week
and she does it all with more patience for the lot of us than i could conjure up
she never complains that she has no life or that having so many children has stifled her
she doesn’t constantly look for more “things” to fill her life (my weakness)
she seems content with what God is doing right now
not to say that she doesn’t have dreams (like, for a bigger house that we could fit in)
or that she is perfect–she has her moments of human weaknesses
but does radical obedience to God mean we don’t ever fail?
obedience doesn’t mean achieving perfection, just trying for it (and being willing to ask forgiveness)

okay, so i found an example of suburban radical obedience
maybe two…

i don’t spend quite as much time around my dad as i do around mom
but i can see his obedience to God still
he works hard at his job
and he works to build a business that will take care of his family no matter what happens to him
to do this he as to give up lots of his own “dreams” and hobbies
things like golf, tennis, building furniture for the house, keeping the lawn perfectly manicured
he knows that someday he can go back to those, but for now he needs to provide this security for his large family
again, his obedience to God is not shown in a man who never falls, but
in someone who is willing to depend on God for the strength to obey

i’ve also noticed that radical obedience looks different for each person
someone who is called to be a nurse is obedient in pursuing the training, etc.
where someone who was called to be stay-at-home mother would be actually disobeying to pursue a nursing career
but who’s to say when someone is doing what God called them to and when they’re not?
i’m beginning to understand that only God and i know what obedience looks like for me
welling-meaning people have questioned my choices,
perhaps worried that my own
fears or that tyrannical (at worst) or old-fashioned (at best) parents are keeping me from my true potential
i only doubt my “life” when i spend most of my reading time in something besides
His Word,
like style and fashion books, woman power books, or singles-on-their-own books, sometimes even travel books or novels
i guess, too, that only God and i know what is not profitable for me
but if i am walking closely with God, i have no doubts about what i am doing
and by remaining in close fellowship with Him, i can be sure i won’t miss out when it’s time to change direction

sometimes i want to be a star…
fame, glamour–they have a strong pull for me
but as i ponder my Creator and begin to see my place in His world
i begin to desire to be not a star, but a moon
reflecting only the light of the Son