Making Waves just reached a major milestone – 10,000 times someone has clicked to read a post. I am so thankful for the time each of you shares with me. In recognition of this landmark moment, I’d like to take a few moments to reflect on the journey.
At the same time, the First Fruits ministry came to an end. After seven years of coordinating workdays and meeting with troubled neighbors, God thanked me for serving well and released me from that role.
It didn’t take long to start asking “What’s next?”
In May, 2018, I mailed a letter to a friend that was titled “Redeemed” (click to see). While I was writing it and again when reading it afterward, God’s presence was tangible, like being wrapped in a warm blanket. I began to spend more time in a quiet corner of the living room, processing my thoughts and capturing them on my laptop.
I was hooked and Making Waves was born. Each of the past 67 posts has been part of my continuing effort to experience God in everyday life.
It began with blessings spoken over my family – my dad, brother, Erin and James. I have mourned the changing of seasons – the kids moving out in “Letting Go“, coping with my mom’s dementia in “My Mom’s Pictures” and her subsequent passing in “Living in the Moment“.
I searched to find a voice of joy in “We All Have a Psalm Inside“, and questioned greatness in “Granny’s Cookies“. When I grew weary of being labeled by the world, “The ADHD Test“, challenged whether our weaknesses were part of God’s design and our created purpose, only to turn around and question the pursuit of bigger things in “Make a Joyful Noise“.
I chronicled the family’s growth that came with my daughter’s wedding beginning with “My Blessing” and continuing for several other posts. I also begged my friends to stay with me in “Please, Don’t Hit That Button!” My family and my life are different than they were. I suspect yours are, too.
Through all of the changes that have come, a few constants have emerged. I’d like to share these with you, because they have grown beyond a blog into a greater part of how I try to live my daily life.
Sixty-seven posts may have been published, but more than a hundred have been discarded. So many times, I sat down to begin writing and felt that the process was going nowhere. In those times, I have stopped and prayed for God to guide my thoughts before writing anything further. Eventually, he would put something on my heart and I would begin again.
When God’s favor rests on my work, a calmness comes with it. It can still be difficult, though. Wrestling with a specific truth can require hours of deliberation, but there is peace in the effort.
During the times that I want to write, but God takes issue with the timing, it can be frustrating. Summoning him on command as my captive muse does not work, and he reminds me that our relationship doesn’t work that way.
I began to realize how much of my own words I disagree with after I wrote them down and read over them. The platitudes made me shudder, knowing that nobody is comforted by them. They are shallow and insincere. My reality is more complex and it deserves better.
I reveal things about myself even at the expense of losing people’s respect. I want to be loved as God made me, not embraced because of a false image.
Less than two months after starting Making Waves, God put it on my heart to tell How I Met Jesus. It was really hard. I’ve never been proud of that part of my past, and God asked me to make it one of my earliest posts published on Facebook. I learned that my fears were wrong. My story is His story and sharing it gave me freedom.
The fear of being mocked for my past is mild compared to that of being ridiculed for my ambitions. Even in my post, Candle in the Wind, I couldn’t reveal my secret wish. I wasn’t strong enough to imagine people quietly laughing at me, but I am trying to build my faith in who He says that I am.
The post “Breaking Free” was born out of a time when I was exasperated with a friend of mine. When I wanted to attack this person, I tried to back down and offer hope. I don’t know if my friend gained anything from the post or not, but I did. I learned to try and see a better day instead of complaining about a lesser one.
The past months have been wonderful. God gave me a gift in Making Waves and I hope it helps me to become a better man. I hope it helps you, too. Whatever life holds for us, I look forward to sharing it with you.
Thank you for your support.
Jimmy – Thank you for taking the time to write these and for your transparency. They are from the heart and so impactful. We look forward to reading them!
Jimmy – Thank you for taking the time to write these and for your transparency. They are from the heart and so impactful. We look forward to reading them!