Grace on a Thursday: in Megan's words (with a Giveaway!)

Well.

This is a special Thursday indeed. Megan is a unique guest-poster. For one, she is an awesome girl whom I know and serve with at church. For two, she is a legit author, people. The other day, I was at Barnes and Noble, browsing the Christianity section, and my eyes landed on her book. Yep. It's there. Because she is the real deal. She wrote a book about her journey as a single, Christian woman called A Year of Blind Dates: a single girl's search for "the one".

So after I got over my tinge of envy that she has a book at Barnes and Noble (!), I asked her if she'd share her heart with you guys. I was so honored that she said YES.

I know some of you find yourself in her same shoes. And I know that some of you know and love women who are single and may need some encouragement. Well Megan has generously offered to give away TWO signed copies of her book!

To be entered, just leave a comment below. You get an extra entry for being a follower of my blog, and if you FB or tweet this giveaway (leave an additional comment for each entry). The giveaway will run through Sunday and I'll choose and announce the two winners on Monday. Awesome opportunity, right? You know how excited I get about books.

Okay, now stop thinking about wanting to win, and soak up this girl's wisdom. You're going to be blessed. Thank you so much, Megan, for sharing your heart (and your books!) with us.

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Grace in the waiting

A few years ago I had the privilege of hearing Donald Miller speak at Mariner’s Church in Irvine. At this event, he talked about waiting. Waiting on the Lord to do something specific in your life. Something you’ve prayed for. Longed for. That thing you so deeply desire and yet, it’s still not yours. For me it is marriage and motherhood.

It is my deep desire, but at 34, my ring finger remains bare.

We all know waiting is hard and painful, but it can also be a time of conflict in our heart. A time when we just do not understand what God is doing. We know we should trust Him, but we struggle to do so. Don (I’d like to think we’d be on a first name basis) expressed how conflict (and waiting) is present over and over in the Bible, starting in Genesis 2 before The Fall. The start of conflict was not when Eve tasted the apple; the first conflict was actually Adam’s desire of wanting a helpmate and not finding a suitable one.

Then The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper who is right for him.
Genesis 2:18 

God says it, so he does it, right?

Well…yes. But, in His own time. Instead of immediately creating woman, God creates all the animals, brings them to Adam and asks him to name them. This, I am sure, took a very long time. Not days, or weeks, but most likely years and years.

Instead of Adam sitting idle, aimlessly waiting for this helpmate, God gave Adam something to do. This job, this very important job, was God’s grace in the midst of Adam’s waiting. As a result of Adam’s new title as CNG (Chief Name Giver), Adam was obeying God and making an impact. I’m confident during this name game Adam found joy and contentment, but as a human I imagine he was conflicted as he kept looking for a suitable helpmate and coming up short.

Was he always wondering if the next animal God put in his path would be The One? Was he hoping (like I am) that it would not be much longer before he had a companion?

The man gave names to all the tame animals, to the birds in the sky, and to all the wild animals. But Adam did not find a suitable helper that was right for him. So the Lord God caused the man to sleep very deeply and…used the rib from the man to make a woman, and then he brought the woman to man.
Genesis 2:20, 22

Eventually, in his own perfect time, God delivered.

“Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh” Adam says to describe Eve. Someone so perfect for him that she is made from him and one with him. I’d like to believe this is more than Adam could have ever imagined for himself. In the end he received a double dose of grace in the gift of naming animals and the gift of a suitable helpmate.

This passage in Genesis challenges me to look at my time of waiting, my season of “naming animals”, from a different perspective. As I wait, I want to see the wonderful things God as given me. From my career as a teacher, to becoming an Aunt, to climbing the Great Wall of China and publishing a book, the list is abundant. It’s rich. It’s a gift.

It is His grace in the midst of waiting.