Consider the Lilies

So I have unexpectedly found myself looking for a new job. I submitted my resignation largely due to an unfavorable work-life balance (a matter of opinion per leadership...there's a bit more to the story than I care to literally spell out on this blog). I'm looking for a new job in a time of global pandemic, and economic uncertainty. But for today, at least, I have peace that God will lead me to something better.

I tried something new, rapidly obtained a new certification - but in the end it became clear that this past work situation wasn't going to work out. I learned that a job that requires me to be "on" all the time, where regular 12-13 hour days still weren't sufficient to complete all my day-to-day work tasks may not be the best fit for me. I do actually need some time to rest. Working too many hours during the evening and feeling the need to work on the weekends for more than a few months isn't the healthiest choice for me personally.

I'm on a new journey - seeking to trust God as best as I am able. The other week I started reading a book entitled Guarded By Christ: Knowing the God Who Rescues and Keeps Us by Heather Holleman. The first few chapters highlight the need to remember truths about God. But how do we remember these God-given truths in a world that sends all kinds of information and data at us in a seemingly endless 24/7 cycle? What spiritual hacks can we use to bring to our mind that God really does rescue us, keep us, guard and protect us?

In one chapter, Holleman makes the argument that God has always given His people something to serve as a reminder of a spiritual truth. Jesus used stories to communicate, but used stories that were relevant to his audience. Stories that used things or objects that they might encounter on any given day. For example Jesus talked about seed that might fall onto various types of soil and challenged people to think about how what spiritual truths could be better understood by such a story. Remembering is important and tools to help us remember are important.

Maybe that's why I like to be near nature: open-water swimming, walking on the beach, driving in the mountains, on a hike, sitting on the porch, watching the birds. Maybe that's why I like certain art forms: photography (I tend to like landscapes), or drawing and painting (I'm not great at it but I do enjoy it when I find/make time for it).

I remember being at the beach quite a few years ago, in the ocean up to my neck, and some of the words of one of my favorite Christian hymns came to my mind:

"Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus

Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free

Rolling as a mighty ocean

In its fullness over me

Underneath me, all around me

Is the current of your love..."

I distinctly remember thinking over the words to that song as I enjoyed the water of the ocean all around me. Recalling the lyrics to a song wasn't any intentional tool I developed to remember a spiritual truth but it worked in that moment.

Still, over the past week, I've been trying to brainstorm how I can be more intentional about calling to my mind spiritual truths throughout the week - not just on Sundays, not just during a few minutes in a day, but throughout my day. Which brings me to considering the lilies. There is a rather large lily plant just outside the porch. It is as tall as I am. White lilies are on it. So as I worked from home a few of my last days of my previous role, during my lunch break, I grabbed my camera (on my phone and my nicer camera) to snap a few pictures. Then I looked up to see exactly where the phrase consider the lilies appears in the Bible.

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes so the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seeks after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." - Matthew 6: 25-33

I think that's an appropriate passage for my current circumstances. I'm thankful to have a few early leads and responses to sending out my resume. And I'm praying that God will make it clear how He wants me to spend my time to earn a future paycheck. But I will continue to brainstorm how I can more intentionally recall God's truths throughout all my days.