Do...and be shaped

Another blog I read http://mandythompson.com/ has a challenge for September. She talks about being a DOer. Check it out you will be glad you did. She asked her readers to share and today is my day.
My story is simple compared to the other Do Something stories. But at least in my life, my families life, and those around me in my church and community my experience as described below has made a difference. So here it goes...
I am a DOer because I have been shaped...
Have you ever noticed, when driving down the road, the way the trees are shaped? It almost looks like an upside down L shape. It appears to be a notch out of the tree branches where the trucks drive along the road. I have seen this before and not given it much thought until my pastor shared a story recently. He shared about a women who also saw the way the branches were shaped. But she didn't stop there. She decided to investigate further these strange shaped trees along a boulevard one day. What she noticed was the branches actually shaped themselves away from those trucks that would damage it's branches. It needs those branches to hold the leaves that help the tree grow. The tree shaped itself to become bigger and stronger, but away from danger. I just assumed the reason of the strange shaped trees were trees were broken and damaged. (They may have been at one point... but the healing and the new growth is the cool part!.

It is the burdens in our life that will shape what our life will become.


Our burdens no doubt shape us. We do have choices to make. Will we become bitter or anxious, depressed or lost? Will we turn toward Him? Will we keep on the path of self harm and try to do it ourselves? What would it look like if we trusted in Him? What could it look like when we use our burdens to become better and stronger and sturdy?

After the birth of my second daughter our family was faced with our own burden. My life isn't perfect, but up until that point things were going pretty smooth. When my newborn was 6 days old her doctor called to inform us that her Newborn Screen was abnormal and she had a potentially life threatening genetic disorder. I was rocked to my core. Life had thrown me the biggest "curve ball" of my life. I had choices to make. I chose to let Jesus shape me. I chose to learn and grow. Another choice was to use our experiences with our daughter to encourage others. God was using the "burdens (ie..worry, stress, illnesses, time)" to glorify Him. I had more compassion for those dealing with a difficult diagnosis. I choose to trust Jesus. I choose to take each day at a time. So much of our burdens are worries for what may or may not even happen! Be alive today. Be shaped today. Allow God to transform your life. Don't wait for the perfect time to be used by God. So many times we use the excuse that we can't serve until...we have the training, or time, or money, or less stress, or discover our "gift" or what ever. But he may just want you to use those burdens to do something big....now. Don't just sit there...do something.