The Path to Barbies
- by: Rebekah Crosby 06/25/08
"When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who know my way." Psalm 142:3
My friend Stephanie and I have known each other for 20 years. We played Barbies together until we were 14 (we had to be secretive about it because our older sisters loved to tease us for playing with them while in middle school). Stephanie and I stayed in touch up until college, and then somewhere along the way we lost contact. Our paths crossed again four years ago when she and her husband moved to New Orleans. We have picked up where we left off...minus the Barbies.
There are times in our process of sanctification where we seem to lose touch with Christ. He seems like a distant friend who changed their email without telling you, remote and unknown.
I have walked that path that leads away from the Lord. It was not intentional, it just seemed to happen. I woke up one morning and could not feel Him. I couldn't communicate with Him. It was as if His address was erased in my address book. I knew in my head the logic of having a relationship with Him, but the relationship was no longer there for me.
It was during this time that the Lord anointed my sister to be His love. He knew that I was walking out of harmony with Him. He knew that I was not talking to Him or looking for Him anymore. But He knew my path. So He loved me through my sister. He bestowed His kindness and gentleness upon me, wrapped in the flesh of a 34 yr. old mother of three kids. I may have shut Him out, but He was still pursuing me. He showed up in my life like Stephanie did...and immediately made Himself at home again.
You may be at that point in your spiritual walk where God seems like a distant friend. Maybe you are hiding from Him because You are afraid of what He'll say. Maybe you have been thrown into a situation that was not in your plans and you are trying to adjust to this new circumstance. Perhaps you have simply walked away from Him because you are tired of the road.
If you feel like He is not with you, guess who moved.
God does not stop knowing You because You choose to stop knowing Him. He will find a way to walk beside you in your path. Your friends do not know the way. You do not know the way. It is only He who has the foreknowledge and wisdom to know the way. So should you continue living without experiencing Him firsthand, rest assured that He has not closed the guide book on your life. He will send someone or something to direct you in the midst of your distance from Him...it may be armed with a diaper bag or a Barbie doll. Either way, He will come.
May you have the discernment to see Him...and pick up where you left off.
Personalize this prayer: Lord, I love you intensely. I love you because You first loved me. I love you because You have mercy on me. Thank you for always pursuing me...regardless of how far away I stray. Thank you that You have Your hand on my heartbeat, that you know when I sit and when I rise, that You perceive my thoughts from afar. Thank you for loving me in a way that speaks volumes...even when I've shut out the sound of Your voice.