Devotion 324 - lanes

“Yesterday I forgot that and tried to get out of my lane and make something with my own hands.  And it ended badly.”  Melanie Dale

Yeah boy,  I have done that, badly and a lot.  If there were an award for getting in the wrong lane, I would have won it.   Strangely,  I do it, knowing I am doing it and hoping no one will notice.

I followed a car for at least two miles the other day.  In front of me was a car determined to get in the fast lane.  In front of him or more probably her, was another car who chose to drive in two lanes simultaneously.  Oh, Miss Two-Laner toyed with us for a while almost choosing right and then with a crazy jolt of the wheel she was back again to the left but not all the way.  It was entertaining and I was absolutely delighted I was not car number two.  Car number two had someplace to go in a hurry and they were stuck quite literally behind lunacy. 

And for the moment, the 2 mile, 2 minute moment I was glad I was not the lunatic.

Do you choose your lane?  I often have trouble with that.  On any given day; I could be a two-laner.

It has nothing to do with circumstance, money, position.  It has EVERYTHING to do with seeing me, us, we, as God made us to be.

It is taking inventory of gifting as they are stacked up in our hearts and character.  It is rejoicing with those giftings and forgetting that today or maybe tomorrow we will meet someone that is better, smarter, thinner or richer because we Beloved are the very best we can be.

He didn't create two of me or three of you.  He created one to reflect the ONE.

What an awesome responsibility we have.

You see I have been the mom who should have chose the bag of chips on the class snack list and instead drove over to Pinterest and made me and my children frenzied with frosting.

I have been the one who said I can add one more thing to the list and brought tired tears to my eyes.

I have been the one who saw a Renoir and forgot I was a Monet.

You see from far away,  perhaps very far away, I most days look pretty put together.  When I walk into the gallery, I can see the water lilies exactly as God intended them.  

The petals are distinct, the colors glorious,  the scent, yes I am sure at the time, under the Japanese bridge as the master went to paint, I am sure the fragrance wafted into his nostrils delighting and inspiring.

That’s me on a good day.

But if I take a step closer and then another, I see the strokes don’t make sense, the colors look messy and the image drifts into something it appears a child would create with a pallet of pink, green and blue paints.

Perhaps that is what I need to remember when life seems a mess.

 We are not finished.  Or more aptly, He is not finished with us.

What were the very last words from the very last breath…? 

“IT is FINISHED.”

Perhaps that should be my motto, It is finished, but I am NOT finished. Thankfully He is still working on me and I just need to remember my lane.

In His wild creativity, He only made one you, one me.  And He amazingly and with the most mercy we could ever conceive is creating a masterpiece.  

Oh we want to see it NOW, or perhaps that is just me.  I jump in the other lane wondering what it looks like to be this, or “all that.”  But then the guy or gal behind me honks, and I sheepishly realize there is one sound I should be listening for, HIS Voice.

The voice, His voice, beckons me to rejoice in my song playing His notes, His rhythm.  He is the one I can dance with.

He is the one that makes my heart sing in gratitude and hum in delight. 

Oh glorious friend listen…………. your melody plays out of the very beating of His heart.

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.  Romans 12:6