When I was younger, I used to believe I was born in the wrong time period. I believed that I was an old soul and I didn’t fit in with modern times. Living history was a dream come true, because I got to wear costumes and reenact past times where life felt simpler and easier to manage.
I’ll be honest: sometimes I got so stuck in my longing for these past days that for a time, I may have missed what was in front of me.
My days of full-on living history events are pretty much over now (my size 6 waist is history after becoming a mom for sure). I do miss it. I made some good friends and good memories at those events. But as I reflect on this topic, I realize that my fixation with the past blinded me to pursuing my present, which has been slowly unfolding opportunity by opportunity.
If I stayed stuck in the past, I wouldn’t be trying new opportunities. I wouldn’t have signed up for an online writers’ conference, where I met a group of wonderful women with whom I am currently writing a collaborative book. I wouldn’t have started this blog, forcing myself to write once a week to sharpen my skills. I wouldn’t have written my first Bible study or started an Instagram (@lynnemillerlent) for my writing. None of those things could have taken root and begun to grow had I stayed stuck in the past and never realized that God made me for more.
When God made me, knit me together in my mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13), He ordained this life for me. This is His creation, His design. If He wanted me to actually live in those olden days, He would have put me there. But He didn’t. He made me for here, for now, for such a time as this (Esther 4:14). He made me for these days. And He made you for these days.
Put your hand on your chest and close your eyes for a second. Do you feel that? Your heart is beating. It’s pumping blood through your body, delivering oxygen and everything else you need to all parts of your body. Your heart belongs in this space in time. Right here. Right now. God set you in motion, set your feet on a path, and designed work for you that He will carry through to completion (Philippians 1:6).
Numbers 23:19 (NIV) says, “God is not human, that He should lie, not a human being, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?” He has a purpose for your days, these days here and now. Your life is not an accident. He will equip us with everything we need to not just survive these days but also thrive.
To close, I want to leave you with this song by Jeremy Camp called “These Days.” I hope it inspires you just like it has me.
I believe that you and I
Are in the right place, at the right time
God called us by name
And He doesn't make mistakes
I know we were born to shine bright
In a dark world that needed some light
Don't have to be afraid
Maybe we were made for these days
~Jeremy Camp, "These Days"
Blessings,
~Lynne
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