Pause, Rest, Worship



“When we have done all we can do,
 remarkable things happen when we surrender” Debbie Ford

                                                 

I love this sign, pictured above. It greets the driver as she comes into Yuma from the North. Follow the dirt road next to it and you quickly come to a tiny doll-house looking, one-man chapel. It encourages the sojouner to take a
break from the long journey; and do as the sign says; pause, rest and worship.......

Several weeks ago I introduced you to the idea of an internal guidance system that allows us to monitor how we are doing in making progress towards our passion.  We learned that when we feel energetic, excited, and motivated;  we are expanding…. physically feeling expansion.  But when we are feeling exhausted, cranky, unhappy…even miserable; then we are physically feeling contraction. And although we have learned that it takes action in order for our dream to become reality, there are times when our internal monitor is telling us to step back, take a break and re-evaluate. 

 

So what about those times when we step back...take a break…come back….and still no progress?  What happens when we have paused, and we have rested.... and still nothing?   When we have done everything we know how to do, worked as hard as we can work, given all we can give...and still...nothing?  Is our dream not meant to come true? Is our ideal life truly just a fantasy?  Are lives on fire and filled with passions only to be lived by others?

The authors of The Passion Test explain it this way: “When you feel contracted and you keep going anyway, when you’re feeling exhausted or constricted or uptight and you keep going anyway, you are insisting on your will and not listening to God’s will.”  

I rather like how Debbie Ford, best selling author and speaker, expresses this idea, “I always try and teach people that there is only so much effort you can put into the world…sometimes we just need to surrender. …Our natural instinct is to make things happen and to believe we can do everything, that we are the driver.  When you give up being the driver, there is a bigger driver that is going to do a much better job than you.  Remember to ask yourself,  What can I do today to resign as general manager of the universe so I can allow what I am supposed to be doing…. When we have done all we can do, remarkable things happen when we surrender.”
 

Here’s an example of those words in action, as Oprah shares an illustration of one of her greatest passions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrWxNJV6jJc

I think Oprah's last words in the video are worth repeating....
"God can dream a bigger dream for me, for you, than you can ever dream for yourself.  When you've worked as hard and done as much and strived and tried and given and plead and bargained and hoped...surrender.  When you have done all that you can do, and there's nothing left for you to do, give it up- give it up to that which is greater than yourself."

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 Email me at: smallsteps4bigresults@yahoo.com