Freely Speaking Devotion

 “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him" Romans 12:1 (MSG).

It’s a new year, and people around me are planning the "changes" they want to make for 2024. I'm looking in the mirror and asking, "What's next Lord?"

I've always disliked resolutions. They would fall to the wayside, no matter how determined I thought I was when I started. So, this year, I'm looking to scripture for direction and inspiration. Romans 12 seems to be the chapter I'm drawn to; "...present yourself as a living sacrifice...," and "Do not conform to this world, but be transformed with the renewing of your mind..."  I especially like the Message version of this scripture, quoted above.

God has been so close to me these last few years as I’ve walked the path of caregiving for my husband and navigated all the changes Alzheimer’s/LBD brought into our lives. In church, the pastor used this quote from a man named Dallas Willard, "The most important thing in your life is not what you do; it is who you've become." That quote made me think, who have I become? How can God use the pain I’ve been walking through?

I'm also reminded of Luke 8 and the parable of the Sower. It's always been one of my favorite parables. The planter threw seeds everywhere! On rocky soil, it was eaten by birds. It was choked out in the weeds but grew and yielded a crop on good ground.

So, I've decided my spiritual goal will be to toss those seeds this year and ask God to use whatever he has planted in me to help others and to present myself as a living sacrifice for His purpose.

What about you?  Who will you become this year? How can you make a difference?