Thursday, July 4, 2013

Woven

(click here to re-pin this on Pinterest)

This morning, upon turning to July 4th in "A Mother's Prayer" mini daily calendar, I read:
 
"In the midst of the praying, it is comforting to remember that God considers families important.  Before he called a nation, he created a family." ~Quin Sherrer
 
Of course I was first drawn to the word "nation" with today being Independence Day, but then when the quote ended on "family," so did my thoughts rest there. 
 
My family is currently on hold so to speak...at least temporarily.  With my extended family this is true as we've all been scattered about the different states of the nation, each one taking a little needed space to just breathe while we all individually deal with the losses and struggles we've had to face over the past few years.  For my immediate family, we feel on hold as we wait in prayer for the Lord to move and open the door to adding more children to our midst. 
 
With my world seeming on hold for so long, life had begun to feel stagnant, like I was being cut off from the deepest desires of my heart - my dreams of writing, of having more children, and of needing those deeper and more meaningful relationships in my life.

 
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit..."
~John 15:1-2a
 
 For several years I sat apart from God hopelessly watching these things wither away.
 
"If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers..."
~John 15:6a
 
But now, as I sit here on this 4th of July, 2013, much has changed.  Or I should say, God has changed much.  So much so, I can't stop saying how in awe I am of Him..."AWE" being my word of the month.  I have been praying for connections with Christian woman, connections with Christian writers, and connections with Christian moms in general, while over this past year re-learning how to remain in Him.
 
"I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." ~John 15:5
 

The way in which the Lord has answered, is remarkable.  He has taken all the smallest details of my life, all those withering branches so to speak, and Woven  them together creating for me many "little families" amongst the "nation" of Christian woman and Christian woman writers of whom he has called.  It began with Proverbs 31 Ministries and Melissa Taylor's Online Bible Studies.  Then that led to the forming of the Facebook small group #37 - you ladies rock!  And now a tremendous group of woman writers to chat with on Facebook who I'll be attending She Speaks with three weeks from now - wow is all I can say about that right now.  Oh, and I can't forget the family of prayer warriors - a group of woman, many of which who've walked beside me from the beginning of my journey in Christ, who are now holding me up in prayer as I venture out in faith towards that God given dream to write - such a blessing you all are.  
 
With all of these woman God has Woven  into my life, a beautiful circle of friendships, encouragement, learning and prayer has been formed - a wreath crafted for this caterpillar to rest on.  And as I sit here under the wings of these beautiful butterflies, hearing how loudly and strongly their hearts all beat for the Lord - I can't help but smile, thanking God for this great honor and privilege, and looking forward with great expectation to the day I too will be transformed and able to fly with grace towards my dreams.    
 
Wishing you all a very happy Independence Day, and may God bless our great nation through the blessings of our many greater families!

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe." ~Hebrews 12:28  
  

16 comments:

  1. I am in awe of this beautiful, encouraging, heartfelt post. So much spoken into my own heart as well. Thank you for sharing!

    Jennifer N
    OBS Exec/Teaching Teams

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow Jennifer, thank you. It's always encouraging to hear when God uses my writing to speak into people's hearts. God bless!

      Delete
  2. Thank you for sharing Katrina! I echo Jennifer's sentiments. You are a true blessing and I am so happy to know you. I look forward to more of your writing. Blessings to you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Tristine for your words and for following my blog. I'm glad to be getting to know you as well :)

      Delete
  3. This is a beautiful blog Katrina. I am so glad you shared it - the verses, the picture. I loved that part about how He called a family before a nation. Debbie W. (P31 OBS Facebook Group Leader)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Debbie! Thank you for your encouragement. Blessings sweet OBS sister :)

      Delete
  4. Katrina that was so beautifully put, thanks for sharing.This is what jumped out at me ----With all of these woman God has Woven into my life, a beautiful circle of friendships, encouragement, learning and prayer has been formed - a wreath crafted for this caterpillar to rest on. And as I sit here under the wings of these beautiful butterflies, hearing how loudly and strongly their hearts all beat for the Lord - I can't help but smile, thanking God for this great honor and privilege, and looking forward with great expectation to the day I too will be transformed and able to fly with grace towards my dreams.
    God is awesome!Blessings to you
    Marilyn Vaters

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your specific feedback Marilyn. It is always beneficial to learn what stands out to my readers in my writing. God Bless!

      Delete
  5. I feel so blessed and honored to be a small part of this ministry, and to get to do life with each of you ladies! Thank you for sharing!!!
    Lauren, OBS SMall Group Leader

    ReplyDelete
  6. You are an amazing writer!!! I love your post, your thoughts, how you emphasized Woven throughout the post. I, too, love the quote you used about God calling a family before calling a nation. It goes very much with a devotional I was reading this morning, God has got to be telling me something here! Thanks for sharing!

    Kris (OBS Small Group Leader)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow Kris, thank you! I appreciate your encouragement so much.

      Delete
  7. Katrina, Wow! BEAUTIFUL! I echo what the other ladies said! Have a great day, Martha

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well done Katrina,you inspire me with your write ups, I enjoy all I have read on your blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Faith! Thanks for following my blog. I'm glad that you are enjoying the posts here on The Word vs. the world. God is good. Look forward to interacting with you more in the future :)

      Delete