Heart of the Process

In the final days of December many are reflecting on the year, reliving beautiful moments that are now cherished memories or looking back on the struggles that had come throughout the year. Those moments when you feel like time has stopped to remember, before the first days of January and the new goals are set in place.

It was in those final days of December, and I had had very few moments to stop and reflect on anything let alone what I had for breakfast that day. But I found myself in Downtown Dallas looking out a window, down at the streets, up at the tall buildings, watching passing cars and the occasional pedestrian quickly walking through the cold. Standing at the window with a dear friend and a warm cup of coffee, we watched as it began to snow, and she asked me how it was being home with my family for Christmas. Honestly, I hadn’t thought much about it because of all the craziness of the season (driving from Arkansas to Oklahoma to Missouri to Oklahoma to Arkansas to Dallas all in a week and a half). As we stood there by the cold, drafty window, I began to share with her the things the Lord had been placing on my heart that I had not even realized until I stopped to notice.

The Christmas story had hit me differently that year. I had heard the same story for 26 years and was amazed by it anew like I had never heard it before. As I heard the story all over again, I wondered "God, you created Heaven and Earth with just words, and in that instant they were born." And I thought to myself, "God, you could have also saved us in an instant, you could have done it all in seconds" then out of my curiosity I asked, "why did you take years? God you could have sent Jesus as a full grown man on a beautiful horse with a sword here to save the day and every day after that!"

As we know that’s not how the Christmas story goes. There are years in Jesus’ childhood that we never know about. Then the Lord spoke the word “Processes” to my heart. God loves his people, he loves humanity, and Jesus being fully God and fully human got to experience all of humanity. In the process of Jesus going up on earth he experienced the joys of special moments, worries of life situations, pains of an injury and the sorrows of loss. Even though He could have done everything in a second He chose the process. For all the things that are cultivated in any process makes the end result so much sweeter.

As we stood together looking out the window at the end of that long quiet hallway, knowing it would soon be filled with college students flooding out of the meeting rooms chatting about the session they just heard, I was overwhelmed by the love Jesus has for us and a love for the process. In the last few moments of silence, we took time to reflect on what the Lord was speaking and were in awe of God and His design and purpose for process.

I have spent many a time praying to ask God for the next thing or the next season in life. I was never satisfied with my current happenings and wanted to be in control of everything that would occur in my future. You know...trying to tell God how things should go...kind of prayers. The Lord has been asking me to enjoy the process instead of looking ahead to the next season in life and completely missing the joys right before my eyes. I can't say I do it perfectly but it's part of the process.

Seasons are never in a hurry, they don't rush the process, and they each have a beauty all their own. If we keep the Heart of the Process in mind it makes the journey purposeful and can bring us closer to the heart of God.