To the one who feels restless, stuck, and/or discontent and senses there is something buried deep in the rubble of your heart…I see you.
If you quiet ALL the noise, you may hear a faint hum following you like a shadow with a steady soundtrack that never stops. Can you hear it? I can. It is the divine tempo that was knit into your innermost being and can be almost nonexistent when overshadowed or without attention.
The noise from the world muffles the melody. If allowed to mute the world for a moment you might hear a distant drum beat that beckons you to follow.
Maybe like me, you didn’t necessarily like the song you were given. Maybe you too wanted a song someone else had. Yet, despite your resistance, restlessness is reaching uncomfortable levels causing you to reconsider and turn toward it.
Reconsidering first looks like acknowledging, accepting, and stopping the fight against the beautiful unique song you’ve been given. This is a HUGE step.
I am drawn to souls in this reconsidering stage. Are you on the outskirts of what you were made for… yet…can’t quite see around the mountain of obstacles standing in the way?
It seems MY song searches for harmony in the faint hums of souls who aren’t yet fully embracing their song.
I believe wholeheartedly in your song and fighting for the purpose you were made for. Your discontentment may be the stirring God is allowing so that you become willing to listen to YOUR OWN divine tempo. What if your discontentment is a gift and it turns out it’s a “Holy Discontentment”.
Paul states in Galatians 6:4-5 (msg) “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life”.
Let’s break that down.
1) Make a careful exploration of WHO YOU ARE…Our identity. Our identity can be tied to so many things that are temporal. Doing some deep work here is essential (more on this in another post).
2) Make a careful exploration of THE WORK YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN. (Kind of the opposite of resisting or ignoring our song).
3) Then SINK YOURSELF INTO that. (Invest with intentionality - turn towards, not away)
4) Don’t be impressed with yourself. (Stay rightsized to God).
5) Don’t compare yourself with others. (Stay in your lane - sing your song, not theirs).
6) Take RESPONSIBILITY for doing the creative best you can with your own life. (I do think these statements are in this order for a reason. Knowing who & whose we are is a critical step. Then turning toward our assignment(s) with intentionality and staying close to God. That is how we are responsible. All of these steps require getting out of our autopilot mode).
But WHAT IF the gap is too big between where you currently are and where you feel a tug?
I hear your concern and it may BE a huge shift, but I want to invite you to start by just sitting with the possibility. Talk to God about it. Ask Him to help you soften your heart. God is big enough to move mountains and faith happens to be the activator of His promises.
God is graciously waiting for you to turn towards him with this part of your heart.
Paul tells about a promise in Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
He has a plan for your song. Maybe someone else needs your song in their life OR God may just want to hear your song for His pure enjoyment! He delights in you!
So, what is your song?
If you’re like me, you know something isn’t right but don’t know where to start. So, let’s just take some action (right or wrong). Action helps tune your ear to hear.
Here are a few ways you can move toward your song:
Find a place where it’s semi quiet, take a few deep breaths, close your eyes and ask the sounds that are still present in your mind to step back just a little. Now, take another deep breath and put your hand over your heart and begin to listen. Do you feel that life flowing through the rivers of your body?? Worldly clutter may have clogged some byway but as you sit holding your heart, you feel the distant beat. You were created with a song. Do you believe it?
As you listen to your unique beat, what might be some things to help you hear it better? Maybe smiling as you listen, being open to possibility and telling yourself “Someday…” Notice what surfaces as you allow yourself room to listen to your heart.
Now notice things that muffle and mute your beat. Things that make you want to put the covers back over your head and ignore it. I imagine there may be a part of you that has some strong feelings about you going rogue with your one precious life! Maybe you have a sergeant type voice, demanding “Get back in line!” “That is a hopeless idea!” “Don’t even think about that direction, it’s impossible!” This part, I’m sure has had some very valid reasons to want to keep you safe. We don’t want to make that part go away, maybe just step back for a bit.
Maybe the muffling of the beat is nothing other than a lot of good things. Corrie ten Boom once said, “If the devil can’t get you to sin, he’ll make you busy.” So, notice if there’s anything that immediately pops up as a good thing but doesn’t feel like THE thing. Make a note of these “good things”.
For the one who tried idea #1 and didn’t feel anything. The other noise was still too loud, don’t give up yet. I invite you to put a reminder on your calendar one month from today with a reoccurrence every month to revisit the beat of your heart. Gently, let it know you’ll come for it someday.
If that someday feels very close or you desire it to be close, I invite you to put a reminder on your phone for tomorrow to listen to the beat. Keep making space for it. Be sure to add a reoccurrence to this reminder. (Daily or weekly - you choose). The goal is to make room and let the part of your heart that has been tending to the beat all these years, know you have interest, and you want to learn the song!
You are not alone in this journey. You have Jesus, the great Shepherd who is eager to help. I picture him whistling for his girl in the most intimate way. Learning to hear the shepherd’s voice is paramount to this process. I have a resource I created to help myself tune in to the shepherd and I’d love to share a copy. CLICK HERE if you’d like a copy.
Huge steps are not required to make progress, just a willingness to start.
Check out this verse that has encouraged me over and over:
“Do not despise these SMALL BEGINNINGS, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…” Zech 4:10 NLT
If you want guidance on this journey, I would be honored to walk alongside you, helping you discern the beat to follow. You control the pace. I have a special place in my heart for those who like to tip-toe, as I do, myself. I have a feeling the song of the tip-toer is especially beautiful to God when it finally can be heard by Him and/or others. If this sounds like you, raise your hand by emailing me directly at lisa@lisacrowdercoaching.com or request more information about coaching HERE.
I am considering starting an online group for those interested in taking steps towards their calling or feel a tug of some sort and would like a safe place to explore. For now, I’m referring to it as “The Galations 6:4-5 Online Group” where we’ll discuss the 6 steps above. If you have interest in learning about the details as they unfold sign up HERE to get on my list.
Thank you so much for taking your precious time to read my words. May they be a blessing to you this month.
P.S. If you already know your song but aren’t singing it yet for another reason, I think the practice above is still beneficial to keep moving towards it and to keep from running ahead of Him with our own plans.
Here are links to things I mentioned above:
If you have a friend that you think would appreciate these words, please feel free to share it with them.
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Lastly, here are some additional posts from fellow Hope*Writers using the prompt word “SOMEDAY”:
Someday by Amy Cobb https://www.tayloredintent.com/blog/someday
Make Someday Happen by Ashley Olivine https://www.ashleyolivine.com/make-someday-happen/
Are You Waiting on Someday? by Sharla Hallett https://sharlahallett.com/are-you-waiting-on-someday/
Simple Is Better – The “Some Day” that Doesn’t Ever Quite Happen by Dianne Vielhuber https://simplewordsoffaith.com/2023/07/01/simple-is-better-the-some-day-that-doesnt-ever-quite-happen/
Photos by Aziz Acharki & by Angel Balashev on Unsplash