I had the distinct privilege of talking on the phone this morning with a dear friend and prayer partner.  I call it a distinct privilege on purpose.  It’s always fun to talk with her; we laugh and I cry (I do that easily, ask anyone who knows me well) and we give and receive encouragement.  So why was today’s conversation a “distinct privilege”?

It was distinct: clear, certain, emphatic

She had some very specific clear communication for me as my dear friend.  She knows my heart and she knows my gifts/talents/skills and she knows where I am prone to fall.

She said clearly in response to my awareness of a need I would be skilled and experienced to fill: “that is a mud pit you don’t want to fall into.”

  

Distinct.

When I went on to share a bit about what I’ve been up to since we last spoke, she responded with more: “you are in a good place. You’re stumbling in the right direction.”

That statement caused me to grab a pen and write it on an envelope (the closest piece of paper at hand before I lost the words!)

Stumbling in the right direction.

 

We do stumble at times don’t we?  We want to make a change, or do a creative project, or make a new friend.  But things happen, sometimes out of our control and sometimes because of us.  The change is harder than we thought.  The project doesn’t work.  The person we hoped to be a new friend we discover isn’t really a good fit.

Stumble.

A stumble isn’t a fall.  There is hesitancy.  There is the recognition of fear of falling and of embarrassment.  But the motion of stumbling is usually moving you in the same direction you were originally going.

So stumbling in the right direction implies you were heading the right way in the first place.  Which of course begets the question:

Do you know where you’re heading?

It seems like I have been in the business of answering that question for 7 years!  But the process of coming to an answer has really been the evidence of ‘stumbling in the right direction.’  The fact that this process has taken me 7 years might say different things to different people, but for me the theme of these seven years has been clarity.

I have spent time asking God and family and friends, to help me find clarity. Help me see connections between experiences, talents, skills and gifts.  How best to make use of those connections.  I started a blog. Way back in 2007 when I turned 50!  This is actually my 3^rd blog (the other two archives are connected here if you’re curious)

I became a Life Coach in 2009 as a connection of e.t.s.&g. (see above)  I love listening and asking questions of my clients, helping them connect the dots in their lives.

I am speaking to women in mentoring roles and in front of groups as opportunities present themselves.  I really love speaking encouragement to women!

I am writing. Not as much on paper as I have in my head to say but I am writing.  Especially in my journal. 

Through these actions I have gained clarity.  I know why I am here.  (at least at this moment!)

I found clarity in connecting a dot from a long time ago; so long ago, it was almost forgotten.  It is actually a question for all of us:

What is the chief end of man? (think humanity here)

To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

Yeah yeah, grown up Sunday school answer right?  Not at all.

Sit with me here for a moment.

If all of my moments are given as a gift from God, then thanking Him for those moments brings Him glory.  He gets the credit. Not me.  So being thankful for even the hard, yucky stuff we all go through at one point or another, is half of the main purposewe are here.

The other half? It’s

linked to life itself—enjoying God forever.  Not in forever.  Right here.  Right now.  And it’s linked to thankfulness. 

In everything give thanks for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

 

In my stumbling in the right direction, I stumbled upon an old maxim which is bedrock.  The first question in The Westminster Catechism.

Which brings me round to why I said my conversation with my friend this morning was a ‘distinct privilege’.  She is a gift of God to many.  Her friendship and wisdom is refreshing.  We all need people like this in our lives on as regular a basis as we can make time for.  And we all need to thank God for the privilege that true friendship really is. A distinct privilege.

Two things for you to consider:

Where are you heading?  Are you stumbling in the right direction?  Into the arms of a loving God who gives good and perfect gifts?

 

Who are the friends with whom you have the distinct privilege of relating?  How can you encourage them today?

Please share your thoughts; all your comments are moderated so if it’s too private for public reading, let me know and I won’t publish it here.  I’d love to hear from you!