Mining for Gold.

I’ve started the job hunt. And I’m not going to lie, it’s a little bit more difficult than I anticipated partially due to COVID-19. I truly wasn’t anticipating a global pandemic to be occurring when I started looking for my first full-time job, but hey that’s life right?

I wrote a little bit about this back in April, but this difficult, crazy season has felt different than previous hard seasons. I’m not usually one to see the good in the midst of something bad, but during quarantining and adjusting to this “new” way of life, I’ve really seen provision from our Heavenly Father.

Instead of dwelling on the move from in-person to online classes, I feel really grateful that I’m still graduating on time.

Instead of focusing on the trips canceled, I feel thankful for more time at home the past few months than I’ll probably get in the next few years.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. – Matthew 6:34

We love to worry. Well, we hate to worry, yet we do it. We worry and it doesn’t change anything. It just makes me overthink what is out of my control. “Relinquish power to the Creator of the universe,” I have to tell myself over and over.

I cannot control a pandemic; however, I can control the way I act during this season. The problem here is I feel like we don’t know what to do with these moments of pressing pause. We were running 100 mph and now we are forced to go the speed limit. The voices surrounding us have been limited, so we fill our mind with our own anxiety-ridden voice.

What if we stopped long enough to let God fill in the gaps? What if we allowed Him to talk to us in the quiet spaces?

What if we started mining for gold today? I want to start looking for the missing pieces in this puzzle we’re working through. One of the pastors at my church recently said, “There is gold in this season if you’re willing to mine for it.”

What have we been mining for? Has it been Jesus? Or has it been worldly things? I know what I’ve been after. (Spoiler Alert: It hasn’t been a lot of time with Jesus lately.)

This weekend, I was home alone babysitting our dog. I rarely am ever home alone. On Saturday night, I went up to my room to hop in my bed. I wasn’t that sleepy yet, but it was quiet. Still. And I found myself talking out loud to God about a lot of things I hadn’t voiced to Him in a while.

It was really freeing speaking to Him like that, but I found myself asking why it took me being alone and bored for me to speak to Him.

I think we’re being given an opportunity to see what we don’t need anymore. I don’t need every night filled with activities. If I don’t have the space to talk with God and spend time with Him, then I shouldn’t fill my calendar excessively. That feels simple. It’s not, and I know that. But I’m trying to work toward that.

We haven’t been getting past the surface while mining. We’ve taken our pickaxes and started working, but we get tired of chipping away at the surface so we lay down our tools and walk away.

In Luke 10, we see Jesus in Martha’s home. Martha was running around trying to make preparations for Jesus and His disciples, while Martha’s sister Mary simply sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to Him.

This made Martha mad. “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” Martha said.

But here’s what Jesus said in reply: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things but few things are needed — indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Few things are needed. Actually only one! A relationship with Jesus. Sitting down at His feet and listening. Really listening.

Today, I want to keep chipping away in search of the gold I know God has sewn in throughout my story. Throughout your story too. We can find it. It’s there, but we have to be willing to put in the work and get our hands dirty to really see what God has in store for us. The work can be as simple as this today: spending 30 minutes without distraction in the presence of Jesus. Journaling, praying, sitting in silence. It’s not running around. The real hard work is sitting still.

Have you seen some things you need to let go of moving forward? Have you found that your schedule has been excessively filled? I would love to hear what you’ve been learning the past few months.

Thanks so much for reading, friend.

xo,

msv