Let your light Shine!

The Listener magazine caught my eye today. On the cover is a photograph of Eleanor Catton. She's just won the Man Booker prize for her second book, The Luminaries. She's only 27 years old!
I came away from the shop feeling past it; over the hill; on the shelf.

At home I read Psalm 47 :4
"He chose our inheritance for us
The pride of Jacob, whom he loved."

or as the Message translation puts it:

"He sets us at the head of the line,
prize-winning Jacob, his favourite."

I felt better after reading that. Earthly accolades will fade away. I wouldn't say no to some along the way, but I sense God is saying to me, as he said to Elijah in 1Kings 19,
"What are you doing here?"
My answer has little to do with collecting prizes and everything to do with becoming the person God created me to be.
And it occurs to me that, when we are united with Christ, we are all luminaries.

All change.

"I Am ...this has always been my name, and this is how I always will be known." Exodus 3:14-15

I came out of the doctor's surgery today and spotted that my car had a flat back tyre.
"Great! That's all I need." I said as I kicked it.
I drove to the nearest garage and pumped in some air. It looked OK. Maybe I could just ignore it and get on with my day. I pondered this idea for a few moments before heading into town, straight to the garage which sold me the tyres.
Once there, the mechanic took off the wheel and showed me the screw that was deeply embedded in the rubber. The tyre would have continued to deflate; it was unsafe. I asked him to repair it.
I had twenty minutes to kill so I went into the Christian bookshop and "Becoming myself" by Stasi Eldredge caught my eye. In the first chapter she speaks about God being called I Am.
"He is not becoming. He already is. And now because of him, I am becoming myself."
This resonated with the journey I feel God is leading me on. I'm excited to have been led to Stasi's book. I have struggled with poor health for as long as I can remember. I've started on yet another regime of liver detoxing and healthy eating. This time I'm bringing God into my struggle. I feel that I'm like a punctured tyre, constantly running flat. I keep getting a little more air in but I'm soon deflated again. I'm trusting that my journey of healing will be different this time. I am seeking to become the 'myself' I was created to be. I hope that in uncovering that person God will remove the screwed up image I've been bumping along with all these years, and that he will fill me anew.

Today's thought is:

Are you pressing on with life when you know that there's something which needs to be removed?

Prayer:

Thank you Lord that you are leading the way on my journey. Help me to keep my eyes on you, trusting that I am being transformed into your likeness with ever increasing glory.