The Death of a Dream...er?

OK, so I already expounded on this elsewhere, but I thought I would post it here for posterity's sake.

My Sunday School teacher taught an interesting lesson not too long ago about the callings God places on our lives. So often, we are given a vision, or "dream" of how He plans to use us in His great plan for the world long before that dream is brought to fruition. Perhaps the purpose is to focus our prayers, give us hope, and just prepare us for what is to come. But all too often, we take that dream and run. We add conditions, we map out scenarios, we cram it into a neat little box of assumptions, timelines and grandiose expectations. Then (when we are completely frustrated and confused by our unmet expectations), we stop, shake our fist in the air, and ask, "What went wrong? Did I misunderstand you, God? Did I stray from the path and mess everything up? Just where are You in all this, and why didn't You do it like I planned?"

We hang our heads, give up the dream, and start mapping out alternate paths for ourselves...you know, the "backup plans" we feel we need to survive. We become comfortable, though slightly disgruntled, because we figure this new plan is what we're stuck with, so we'd better get used to it. We rock along, only vaguely and occasionally wondering why we just don't experience fullness in life (you know, the kind you read about).

Then one day, out of the blue, God breathes life into that once-abandoned dream. He starts whispering hope and giving an inch of direction. That's when we rebel, because that was supposed to be the plan, but it didn't work out, so obviously God forgot that we're doing something different now...and all those people God is trying to speak through to show us the old dream just don't understand that times have changed and people move on. Then we give in a little and think, "OK, just this once, maybe I'll indulge the old dream...but only for a little while...I've got a life to live, after all!"

Then it happens. Despite rebellion, callousness, resentment, and fear, a connection is made that was long-presumed dead. He reaches down with new hopes, new blessings, new directions, and new encouragement. Suddenly the pieces of the puzzle are fitting into place, all things seem possible, and we're not so concerned anymore about HOW things are supposed to get accomplished, because we're too busy SEEING them get accomplished despite ourselves! And somewhere between rock bottom and victory, He shows us that this is the way it was supposed to be all along. Until we reach the end of ourselves and let our degraded human version of the dream die, we cannot fully embrace or experience HIS version of it...the BEST version of it.

So maybe I'm the only one that took this exact path, but I think the principle is fairly far-reaching and common. It isn't the dream that dies, after all, it is the dreamer. Isn't that what He calls us to do daily? How many of us would experience the fullness and abundance of life every single day if we simply took His advice every single day and allowed Him to work on HIS terms, not our own? Pretty cool stuff.

At any rate, I said all that to say...I'm back in the business of leading worship! This time, I'm not giving any guesses as to where or how far He's going with it, but it's definitely somewhere very amazing. I'm all a-flutter with thanksgiving that He would even use me to accomplish the smallest task. I covet your prayers as I pursue each opportunity He puts in my path.

Dangerous Days at the Office

OK, I'm trying not to freak out. Pasted below is a description of our now-identified insect intruder (according to Wikipedia):

Lethocerus sp. (aka: "The Toe Biter") found in Florida and Montana

Bugs of the family Belostomatidae are fierce predators which stalk, capture and feed on aquatic crustaceans, fish and amphibians. They often lie motionless at the bottom of a body of water, attached to various objects, where they wait for prey to come near. They then strike, injecting a powerful digestive saliva with their mouthparts, and sucking out the liquefied remains.

Their bite is considered one of the most painful that can be inflicted by any insect; the longer the bug is allowed to inject its saliva, the worse the resulting bite, and as the saliva liquefies muscle tissue, it can in rare instances do permanent damage. Adults cannot breathe under water, and must surface periodically for air. Occasionally when encountered by a larger predator, such as a human, they have been known to "play dead" and emit a fluid from their anus. Due to this they are assumed dead by humans and others species only to later "come alive" with painful results.

Belostomatids show parental care and the eggs of many species are laid on the male's wings and carried until they hatch. Adults fly at night, like many aquatic insects, and are attracted to lights during the breeding season.

We have a theory that it hitched a ride in one of our shipments of Montana Silversmiths jewelry. The only other viable theory is that it hitched a ride in my purse on my way home from Florida last month. As you might imagine, I prefer the former.