Divinely Detoured

Once you’ve lived a head full of memories, you find you can only hang on to the most important ones. And sometimes, it’s not the ones you’d expect to keep. With so many planning a perfect table for Thanksgiving this month, I wanted to share the five lessons from Mom’s imperfect table and an ordinary plate that have lasted my lifetime. 

Even as seasoned believers, we are still learning to lament when we realize lament is different from complaint, and actually demonstrates belief.

Faith is foremost believing He can, and the bigger, gnarlier part of faith is being good with His decision not to. Hoping for the yes, but accepting the no. Believing His decision is better than my own vision. That’s the mature part—the rougher part—of faith.

When we consider our staying and going decisions, we should focus more on abiding in God than in the physical place.

In developing eyes for the invisible, we must recognize not only invisible types of illnesses, but our own heart issue as well.

When we are suffering, we often we think we know what we need, but by being open to bigger, unidentified needs, we can begin holding our "need" and God's provision at. the same time.

Saudade is indeed, absence with a presence. But it is also absence with a pull, absence for a purpose. This God-shaped space in our hearts represents the most important saudade we must deal with in this life.

Through every season of life, God never leaves us. Even though at times, He seems difficult to find. He never leaves the scene we're living.

Carrying a cross makes no rational sense until we realize we are called to help but not to save, and that miracles can happen on the way.

When God's goodness is difficult to remember, we must avoid a dangerous bias called recency syndrome and lean on the God of the long-term.