Haha…Alright, I’m sure no one finds that quite as funny as I do. I apologize. Moving on.

Seriously, any girl…most girls in fact, catch themselves longing for the day they have that special someone to kiss good morning and goodnight. When we meet someone who makes our hearts skip a beat – it’s so easy to get caught up in the excitement and want to jump ahead of God’s perfect timing. It’s so easy to want to text /call/tweet/Facebook/email (pick your preferred source of modern day romantic communication) every morning and every night just to feel the comfort of giving and receiving a good morning and goodnight and a few x’s and o’s.

But is that really where we should draw our comfort from? Until you are at that point where it is clearer than the Oklahoma summer sky that God made you for each other – is it really healthy to allow yourself to get to the point emotionally where you can hardly stand going to sleep without hearing his voice or reading his text?

I’m not an expert on the subject…but I’m kind of thinking no. After all, Psalm 37:4 says: “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” If it’s a life-long companion and partner that your heart desires – Delight yourself in the Lord now…and he will give you your heart’s desire when the time is right.

So here is my challenge to myself and any other women in this lovely stage of life between adventurous girlhood and faithful wife -

·         Find your comfort every morning and evening in your Lord.

·         Instead of craving a good morning kiss; Delight in saying Good morning and Goodnight to your first love – Jesus. Try literally saying “Good morning, Beautiful Lord” When you first wake up.

·         Continue to respect your Dad as your leader on earth. Pushing our Dads away in order to “grow up and be on our own” will only fuel the God-given desire in you to have another man as a leader. Strong, independent women are still women…and God created us to desire a leader and protector. If anyone knows about wanting to do things on your own and be independent – it is me…but sometimes the need for guidance overrides the desire for independence – look to your Dad for that guidance.

·         Stay busy working for God – doing everything you do as if you are doing it for the Lord and not men. Sitting around and day dreaming about your future will not bring it about any faster, it will not encourage your mind to think only on whatever is pure, true, right and lovely, and it certainly won’t prepare you for that future. Working for God with your mind, body, and spirit will allow God to work in you and prepare you. God has a special work for you in every stage of your life, find your job for this stage and get crackin’! The Lord of the universe planned out this life special for you…trust him, he’s got this.

(Kelci L. Goad)

Well as difficult as it may be to not worry about the storm that is to come, it’s even more difficult to be content while right smack dab in the middle of a storm. During our cross-country move last year I came to a point when I found myself wanting to pray “God, I was sure by now you would step in and save the day!” But as the thunder of the moving truck rolled and the lightning strikes of goodbyes started flashing, floods of tears came pouring down. I went back to my scripture: Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again; Rejoice! ….But it seemed so difficult. How could I rejoice in the Lord if I can’t see Him? In all the hustle, all the boxes, all the noise, all the sleep-less nights…where was He?! Then I heard one of my favorite songs on the radio. “Praise you in this storm” by Casting Crowns. A portion of the lyrics goes something like this:

“I was sure by now, that you would have reached down and wiped our tears away. Stepped in and saved the day! But once again, I say amen….and it’s still raining. As the thunder rolls, I barely hear you whisper through the rain “I’m with you”

As your mercy falls, I will raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away. I will praise you in this storm, I will lift my hands…you are who you are, no matter where I am. And every tear I’ve cried, you hold in your hand…you never left my side. And though my heart is torn, I will praise you in this storm.”

“You are who you are, no matter where I am” Wow. It suddenly hit me that maybe God wasn’t the one that moved. Maybe it was more difficult for me to see God because I moved further away from Him! If He is the same yesterday, today, and forever…it’s not His problem I can’t seem to find him, it’s mine. So what should I do to draw closer to Him? The lyrics of the song were rushing through my head. “Though my heart is torn, I will praise you in this storm”. Ah. Perhaps I should focus more energy on praising God, rather than searching for Him. “As the thunder rolls, I barely hear you whisper through the rain” Perhaps instead of getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of the cross-country move, I should stop for a minute and listen for a whisper though the storm. After all, how could I hear a whisper if I was constantly crying out? I couldn’t.  About this same time a friend encouraged me to read Psalm 46:10 – “Be still and know that I am God.”

That was it. The reason I was so stressed and strung out…I was so busy moving about and crying out to God that I couldn’t hear Him over my own noise. That day, I slowed down. For me, God’s little whispers through the storm came in forms of a single daisy in the pasture, a hug from a family member, and a beautiful sunset.

When storms in your life are huge, don’t get so overwhelmed by them that you forget to be still and notice the small but beautiful whispers God sends your way.

 (Kelci L. Goad)

“Don’t be so afraid it’s going to rain that you sit and miss a sunny day to avoid the circumstance” I thought this was a lesson I had learned last year about this time, but apparently it was just the beginning of a lesson that would take me a while to get down.

It was towards the beginning of 2009 when Dad came to my room and broke the news to me “Looks like we’ll be moving to Oklahoma”. I knew there was a chance this might happen, but I had tried to shut it out of my mind…I didn’t want to think about it until we knew for sure. Having lived in the beautiful state of Washington for seven years, I was quite content with where I was in my life. So far, my “core” growing up years had taken place in this home that backed up to the horse ranch where six years prior I had started taking riding lessons and working. Through that ranch I had met my current instructor, trainer, 2^nd mom and good friend, Allison and her family, who I love dearly. I was in my senior year of high-school and planed on apprenticing to train horses with Allison in the fall of 2009. All of my best friends lived within 20 minutes of my house…life was good.  A flood of emotions rushed over me as I tried to contemplate what was happening. All of the friends I’d have to say goodbye to, all my plans for the year following high-school, all the beautiful places I’d be leaving behind, the huge chore of moving my horse across the country! The last few months I had been hoping against hope and praying harder than I’ve ever prayed that we wouldn’t have to move if it could at all fit in to God’s plan. Prayers had now been answered…with a no. Let one of the hardest lessons of my life begin! Contentment, trust, happiness….these are the things that seemed so difficult for me to keep close to my heart that year. Before this news, if you asked any of my friends to describe me in one word…most would use words like “happy!” and “joyful”…that reputation felt difficult to hold on to in the spring of 2009. How could I be happy when in just a few short months I’d have to say goodbye to the people and places I love most? The people and places that have made me who I am! I could hardly stand the idea. It was during that time when I came across one of my favorite scriptures.  Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again; Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  By this scripture, I was reminded that my joy should come from the Lord, not from a place on the map. I also started to realize I could either be worried and sad about the storm that was about to come, or I could be thankful and make the most of the time in the calm before the storm. So, during the summer of 2009 I tried to put the goodbyes that were to come out of my mind…I focused on the time I had with my friends and worked to make the most of it. I went on an ab-normal amount of coffee dates, trail rides, and shopping sprees just to spend as much time as possible with my dear friends. I’m so thankful I was able to take the lesson to heart and create memories from that summer that will last a life time.

My advice to you: Don’t be so worried about the storm you know is coming that you miss the miracle of the moment you are living in. This is the only moment we can do anything about…so breathe it in, be thankful for and make the most of this time God has given you. And read Philippians 4:4 on a daily basis! ;)

(Kelci L. Goad)