My heart stopped as the horse fell. My daughter gracefully slid from the stirrups and rolled away. Thankfully, she was fine except for a bit of soreness. But how would she respond? Fear stood ready to rob her of her passion.
How do you respond when you fall while pursuing your passion?
That’s the place I currently find myself. I haven’t posted on my blog in months. Numerous ideas for writing and speaking fill my mind continuously, yet my mind empties when I sit to write. In two weeks, I will fulfill a dream and attend Proverbs 31 Ministry’s She Speaks Conference for equipping and encouragement as a communicator. Yet I question why I am going.
Cultivating rest in homeschool moms is not my hobby. Nor is it merely my passion. It is my calling. I know this is a God-given task.
What does God think when I fall?
As I have asked Him that question recently, He has graciously offered two responses.
“You are My daughter, in you I am well-pleased.”
Quite simple. God is pleased with me. He sees me through His beloved Son, and He is pleased.
But He has whispered more to my insecure soul.
“You are like a firmly planted tree, roots extending by the stream. You will yield fruit in its season.”
Regardless of my perspective of the harvest I am producing, truth remains. I am walking daily in relationship with my God. His Word is nourishing me. I might sway in difficult times, but my roots are secure. The fruit will come in its proper time.
This has been a season of grief for me. But that’s not all. This has been a season of healing for my broken heart – a season that continues. It has been a season of serving my family – as all seasons of mom’s life are. It It has been a season of doing the next thing in my local homeschool ministry – a season of evident fruitfulness.
I will hold to my dreams of fruitfulness in writing and trust that fruit to grow at its appointed time. For now, I will trust that my current season is yielding its appointed fruit.
I will imitate my daughter’s response to falling.
She got up, dusted herself off, and looked the horse in the eye. After leading her on foot a few minutes, she got back in the stirrups. Yes, she started slowly. But she started.
So today, I’m getting back in the stirrups. Pride tempts me to back-date posts, but I will allow the gap to remain. The gap reveals a different season. But now, it is time to receive grace and start again for the next season.
What about you, my friend?
Have you fallen recently from your passion or calling?
Will you choose to remember that you are God’s beloved daughter and He is pleased with you?
Will you wait for the season of fruitfulness?
Will you step back into your passion?
The picture of my daughter in her pink cowgirl hat is from years ago.
She was much older at the time of her fall and wearing a helmet.