Thoughts from "Bittersweet"

I'm in the middle of "Bittersweet" by Shauna Niequist. She writes short chapters on her life story. Each chapter is like a little sermon using the everydayness of life and how God enters in.

The chapter "Twenty-Five" is about being a girl at that age, about finding out who you are and the advice Shauna gives about how to live, really live. I think it translates well for any age, and so below is a portion of her chapter that I love.

"Bittersweet" is a fast read that you'll want to extend over a few coffee shop visits. It's a great book that I recommend.

From "Twenty-Five"

There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming...

Stop every once in a while and go out for coffee or climb in bed with your journal. Ask yourself some good questions like, Am I proud of the life I'm living? What have I tried this month? What have I learned about God this year? What parts of my childhood faith am I leaving behind, and what parts am I choosing to keep with me for this leg of the journey? Do the people I'm spending time with give me life, or make me feel small? Is there any brokenness in my life that's keeping me from moving forward?

These years will pass much more quickly than you think they will....

Now is your time. Become, believe, try. Walk closely with people you love, and with other people who believe that God is very good and life is a grand adventure. Don't spend time with people who make you feel like less than you are. Don't get stuck in the past, and don't try to fast-forward yourself into a future you haven't earned yet. Give today all the love and intensity and courage you can, and keep traveling honestly along life's path.

I think of Audrey Assad's song "Restless" when I think of how to navigate this life. It's true that we'll always be restless until we rest in our God. It's not to say that life can't be satisfying or great, it's just that we were made for eternity, not for temporary. I would add to Shauna's chapter to remember that we're made for something more than our earthly desires. We are made by God to love Him and to shine His hope to others. We will forever be restless in our temporary earthly things. We can (and should) find happiness in earthly life, but let us find joy in serving the eternal and simply resting in His love.

Check out Audrey Assad's song "Restless" on Youtube.

And then go out and live.

Really live.

This is a season of becoming.

What do you want to become?