Kite Strings

The very things that tie us down give us the freedom to soar like kite strings.  They are balance and tension between the concepts of life and reality.

Dreams. Visions. Goals - God driven ambition. Lofty ideas, concepts and philosophies that soar right into and from the gates of Heaven - slam into balance - painful. Hard. The day in and day out reality of character forming drudgery. Patience and waiting. Endurance. Growth. – The kite strings of the minute-by-minute details that allow for and are the working out of the dreams into realities.

Gender. Identity. Made equal and in the image of God. Masculinity. Femininity. Uniqueness. Distinctly different and beautiful. Created to need and be needed by the other – slams into - different roles and purposes.  Boundaries. Thought processes. Communication styles. Physical differences. The perfect balance is found in the kite strings of the tension between the two genders. Embracing, honoring, upholding and loving the very limitations in each gender is one and the same with that which makes each of us able to be free. Accepting the limitations and the freedoms that come with each gender.

 Spirit. Holy. Awesome. Comforter. Helper. Discernment. Wisdom. The forgotten and tangible part of the Trinitarian Godhead – slams into – fear. Human, sinful nature comes face to face with the Convictor. A power we can’t understand or control but need. The Holy Spirit is the balance between knowledge of God and knowing God. Between loving the gifts and the Giver of the gifts. He is the kite strings of balance and tension between standards and liberty, laws and freedom, truth and love.

Kite strings are a bit like perspective or perception. They guide us and steer us in the right direction. At first they appear to hinder or control, but really they are the very things that give us the power and ability to experience the fullness of life, of joy and peace. The irony of life – that in the tension is really the perfect balance.

-unedited and from the heart this week.

I Learned How to Fly!

How in the world do I put this past semester into words? They escape me. How to explain the deep workings of the Lord within my heart, the refreshing, healing, and the freedom I found? Or the community and friendships developed that will transcend time into eternity?

How about the deeper worldview foundation, and leadership skills that were built; allowing me to challenge and engage the culture around me winsomely with truth? Is it possible to capture and embody what it looks like to learn and live out your identity in Christ? I hope so.

For the past 4 months, I have been drinking from a fire hydrant of information. It will probably take me a lifetime to live out and unpack what I have learned at Focus Leadership Institute, and from working in Focus on the Family’s, Family Ministries Division.

The semester closed with each student giving a 10-minute symposium/speech of the highlights/lessons learned from the semester. Impossible to put 4 months into 10 minutes, but in one word, I found freedom. Freedom through learning what my identity in Christ is and how to use the strengths God gave me, and who He created me to be as a woman. The freedom in balance and boundaries and freedom found discovering that my deepest hurts and brokenness, are really the wellsprings of transformation and passion to live out the Lord’s call in my life.

My prayer going to FLI was that it would be a time of refreshing, challenging, clarity (interpreting my previous experiences), vision and transformation. The Lord answered those prayers in deep ways, though not always in the way I was expecting.
I learned how to let go and have fun again, and yet at the same time I feel as if I grew up in many ways. Balance and intentionality took on new meanings.

I was asked to complete the sentence ‘I am…’ at the beginning of the semester. I wrote – I am waiting for the dawn. In so many ways I had sensed the Lord moving in my life this past year, but couldn’t grasp or define it. It was a cold place of frustration. At the end of the semester, I would still write that ‘I am waiting for the dawn’. But it is a different place of waiting. This is a dawn of hope and bright promise. My slate was wiped clean during my time at FLI. I can’t wait to see what the Lord is going to write on it, in the light of the coming days.

Before a butterfly can fly, they go through metamorphosis (transformation). They break free from their cocoons. At FLI I learned how to fly.