Do you ever have one of those days where the thoughts just keep coming and buzzing around in your head and making you all crazy and it's happening so fast you can't get them out and onto paper and it's driving you crazy cause they are just great thoughts and important and MEANT FOR SOMEONE?!?!?!? Yeah.... that's happening in my head, RIGHT NOW.....
So here I am, trying to bring some of these thoughts into focus. Thank God for prayer! I could not do any of this without a conversation with our Father first. After praying, this is what we are starting with....
Intentionality.... What does that even mean? Well I attempted to look it up to tell you guys what the good ol dictionary had to say, but apparently it's not a "real" word. Funny, since a lot of non-believers consider Jesus to not be a "real" God. So if someone says something isn't really real, does that make them right? I'm gonna have to say no.
You see, I KNOW Jesus is real. Not from anyone else's experiences, but from my own. I KNOW the difference He has made in me. I KNOW the times He has saved me... either from someone, something, or more often than not... from myself. You see, I am my own worst enemy. I destroy my own confidence. I undermine my own authority. I react instead of responding. I know what I should do... that doesn't necessarily mean I do it every time. Am I perfect? Bwahahahahaha, not by any stretch of the imagination. Fortunately, I have a Savior who IS....
I may not be a great theologian. I may not be able to reach eleventy billion people with my awe inspiring prose. I may not have all the answers. (In fact, I'm pretty sure I don't have very many answers at all. My go to response is pray about it... mainly because until I pray about it and study, I am straight up clueless!) The good news is I don't have to be. I just have to be me... Be real... And be intentional about the relationships I am currently in and pursuing.
Intentionality can't be defined by a dictionary, and that's ok. I think I get it. Intentionality is deliberately, purposefully pursuing the people around us. That would be our kids, our spouses, our family, our friends, our neighbors, our community. And I know what you are thinking.. Mel, seriously that's a lot of people, how in the world am I supposed to do that?!? Well, by the world standards, you can't. We are dealing with something supernatural here... we are dealing with God.
He is Love... He is the Love you need to pursue that many relationships deliberately and purposefully. When you have a relationship with God, you know Him, you know Jesus, and you know the Holy Spirit... Each separately and all together. God can do what we cannot. With a little prayer, we can ask God for the strength, love and direction to forgive, love and grow a relationship that may be new, broken, or wounded. With a little faith, God can heal our brokenness. With a little trust, God can create in us a love for others that wasn't there before. With a little obedience, we can share the story of God's love for us.... not because He needs us to, but because of the relationship He desires with us... and by us I mean EVERYONE. He loves us ALL.
Don't you wanna tell someone? When you have that loving relationship with Him, you do.... oh boy, you do. If you don't have that loving relationship with Him, pray. Ask Him to show you. If you need guidance, ask for that too... It'll be the best thing you've ever done.
