Repetition

This post is kinda a sequel to my previous post...only written just a little bit later than I would have wanted. Sorry if I left any of you hangin' :)

But anyways, back to my heart. It's been through a lot lately, but God is teaching me soo many things. It's sometimes a bit overwhelming, but it's so refreshing. It brings tears to my eyes just typing this. Two things come to my mind specifically from today, but there are a few other things from just recently.

First, as some of you know I have this lovely 5 credit class that I am taking this semester. I think it's going to kick my butt, but I think I'll walk away from it more energized and pumped up than ever. And the only reason I can say that with confidence is the fact that God hit me with some pretty big news today. Here's the story: When I was a junior in high school, God called me to teaching. It was unexpected, and at first I ran away. I was afraid. "I can't do that God...I'm not qualified enough, I don't think I would do well speaking in front of a classroom...it's such a hard task." Then I was sitting in church on Sunday, and Pr. Chuck was talking about Gideon and it hit me. "Ashley...I'm going to be with every step of the way. Don't be afraid." (If you don't know the story of Gideon, look it up.) Anyways, ever since then I've been pursuing a career in education. Okay, back to what that has to do with today...I was sitting in this crazy kick butt class when I was overwhelmed with my fear again. There's just sooo much stuff going on behind the scenes in a classroom. It's overwhelming....How the heck am I going to do all this? How am I going to be able to meet the needs of all my students? Jumping ahead to 5pm. I had small group.
And you know what we talked about? Jeremiah...(if you don't know that story, look it up). But basically, God hit me again, just like he did that very Sunday in church. "ASHLEY, how many times am I going to have to tell you this? You are not alone. I am here. And yes you may feel overwhelmed or unqualified at times, but that's where I come in! You can't do this on your own, but with ME you can! Just listen to me, follow me, and do what I have told you to do...stop fretting!"

So that's that story...

Then there's this other thing. These last couple of weeks I've just been thinking about some stuff that I've held on to too tightly. I decided to put it on an altar. You see sometimes we have to step back and let go of what we want in order for God to do his work. And even though it may hurt REALLY bad or it feels like your heart is being ripped apart, it is totally worth it in the end. Why would we ever want to get in the way of what God is trying to do?...but anyways, I was doing my homework for COR 300, and guess what this workbook section was on? ha...Abraham and Isaac. It just blew me away...

I love how God speaks in repetition. He speaks, then he speaks again. And THEN you know what he does?...He hits the repeat button again!