God's Hand & a Joyfully Expectant Vision

God is always at work at the intricate tapestries of our lives, even when we can't begin to see it! Each person goes through God-ordained seasons of life that can have times of hardship and times of joy. The Gorecki family has been going through a time of transition and have I resisted! I've struggled with selfishness, self-pity and pride...I'm not saying it's wrong to struggle with times of transition but the Lord has revealed to me that it is a sin to rely on our own understanding instead of clinging all the harder to the Cross. 'Growing up,' (I use the term loosely) has been hard for me...dealing with the responsibilities and decisions...including driving lessons in empty parking lots. One big struggle has been staying continuously joyfully content, and gentle and calm during this transition season, that I know is good, it is from the Lord, and His hand makes no mistake. It is just hard to remember that when I am so caught up in my own 'routine' and efforts. All I can say, and all that I cling to is the blessed Gospel and, "My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore."

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Last Tuesday evening, I was blessed to be able to visit my friend Courtney and her husband Dan to see their three day-old baby, Rebekah Diane. Sara was so sweet to watch the littles that evening, as they had colds, while Mum and I went to the chiropractor and then to visit our friends. Courtney and Dan's story truly has God's hand prints all through out it and is a true testimony to the perfect will and timing of the Lord. Holding the 9 lb. baby Rebekah in my arms and giving Courtney a small token in celebration of her daughter's birth, felt almost surreal for me. I realize the Lord has a unique plan for each individual in every facet of life but I felt goosebumps on my arm as I thought that I will be able to share in this joy with each one of my friends and family down the road. The Bible says to rejoice with those who rejoice and to mourn with those who mourn and to walk next to Courtney each month of the pregnancy and through her and Dan's relationship and marriage was a joyful privilege. The Lord is taking Courtney into a new season of life, that of a mother, and though I am not in that season yet, I can rest assured of God's promises to give me the desires of my heart. In the meantime, I am so excited to see what wonderful marriages and families the Lord will raise up amongst my friends in the years to come. Speaking of generations to come...

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Through the visit with Courtney and the new baby, and also another outing, the Lord revealed to me a facet of His sovereignty and omnipotence in my life in the past, present and future. Monday evening was our local homeschool group meeting that I attended with Mum who was to lead a devotion. She called when she arrived there and said, "Morgan's here!" Dear Dad ran me to the church it was at, only two minutes away and I was blessed to fellowship and share the evening with my dear friend, Morgan and our kindred spirited mothers. It was the first homeschool meeting of the year and many women whom I've known for years, as well as a few new ones, all sat around the table and shared their hearts. They revealed hard times, heart struggles, questions and exhortations ranging from familial to just life as wives, mothers and homeschooling mothers and all that they entail. The Lord was definitely in the midst of that meeting of Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 women. I can say with an expectant joy that I was incredibly blessed and encouraged by all their words and the sweet fellowship of like-minded women, though the role of a homeschooling wife and mother is not my season of life right now. I was reminded of God's power, complete sovereignty and perfect plan for my life. Morgan and I talked after the 'official' meeting was through, and I shared with her how thankful and blessed I felt to be not a first-generation Christian or homeschooler but that my years as a homeschooling mom would be the second-generation. I realize that I will still have struggles and bumps along the way with my own children but that I do have family and of course friends to turn to that completely understand. My vision for my future family was strengthened and renewed with excitement that night and Tuesday night visiting the new baby.

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Isn't He good? Isn't He kind? Hasn't He blessed us, time after time? Isn't He good? All of our days? With endless mercies and ceaseless grace! Let us sing, He is good!

Serving

"He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."

John 12:25 & 26

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Serving has many facets. Facets such as in the home, in the church, family, friends. There are many different ways to serve; from making a simple meal for a family, sitting with an elderly relative, baking sweet treats for others. The Lord Jesus came not to be served, but to serve. When He calls His people multiple times in Scripture to follow His steps, this includes self-less serving others as a witness to Him. Serving, when focused on blessing others, honors the Lord. However, when serving becomes legalistic, tiresome or self-centered, it no longer honors the Lord. It is all about how our heart is with the Lord while we serve. We can be focused on the Lord and pleasing Him or we can be focused on how much of our time we are giving up, our efforts that need to be praised. Notice the word that was italicized. From the moment Eve gave into the serpent's temptation and what is now called 'the fall of man,' occurred, mankind has been focused on self.

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My parents, raising my three siblings and I, have always placed an emphasise on serving others in whatever ways we can. I cannot count the times Mum has made meals, extended hospitality or babysat in order to bless them and show Christ's love to them-often unbelievers. Dad, too, has always been a "Mr. Steady." He always makes himself available to serve others; his coworkers and bosses have joked that he 'sleeps with his boots on' and is always at the ready to work an extra shift, shovel a neighbor's driveway or help out family and friends at a moment's notice. My parents are a wonderful team of servants following in the Lord's steps. In turn, ever since they became saved, they have exhorted us all to 'die to self', look to the Lord and serve others. Also, they have been recently emphasizing the need to serve and grow outside of our comfort zone. This has been personally very difficult and has struck fear into my heart but I stand on the Solid Rock, not on sinking sand. When the Lord brings opportunities to serve others that I may not know or who are unsaved, to the Cross I cling and not my own 'feelings' which are fleeting like the wind.

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Serving inside the home is what I am personally most passionate about, however this does not discredit serving outside the home in any capacity as less important. Serving lost sheep outside the home is just as important as serving the little lambs the Lord has placed you in. Sometimes I've had a harder time serving in the home with a joyful attitude than out of the home. I can never emphasize enough the importance of passionate serving for the Lord in the home, and not getting bored and discontent with the mundane monotony of daily home life. The little things for the little ones in your life are just as important as the 'big things' for your parents; helping a younger sibling clean her room or organize her clothes, mopping the floors while the majority of the family is out for the day are just two ways to do this. Giving my little sister Anna a bath, getting down into a rather awkward position to wash her up in tub is probably similar, if not easier, than what Jesus had to do when He washed the disciples feet. Sure, Anna's toes can be filthy and stinky (but after a thorough scrubbing are as cute as can be!) but the disciples had, what we call our dad's feet in our home, 'big-ugly man feet.' They walked around dusty Jerusalem in sandals or barefoot in the heat of the day but Jesus tenderly washed each and every one of them. How much more can we not only not complain but joyfully serve our parents and siblings in the everyday chores of life?

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As Christian's, everything we are called to do is hugely counter-cultural. The world's humanistic way of thinking says to serve yourself and find true fulfillment. The Lord's way is opposite: serve others as He leads and only for His glory, not our own. To serve others with a genuine smile on your face and joy in your heart is different; it may seem 'odd' to others but in truth, it is a shining, beautiful light of the Gospel.

The Study of Attentiveness

I should write a book about the hilarious anecdotes and escapades of my family. We have words we’ve mispronounced, sometimes embarrassingly hilarious incidents and some of the precious, random moments in time that are hard to forget. My precocious baby sister, Anna, is five, almost six, she is quick to point out. All three of my siblings have brought so much joy into our lives but Anna is the girl with the most nicknames, (i.e: her full name is: Anna Lydia Peony Lucy Love Gorecki) the most energy, the loudest (the youngest and smallest needs to be heard!) and presently, the cutest. (My younger brother Ronnie, does not like to be called ‘cute’ and Sara, is blossoming into incredibly beautiful so ‘cute’ only applies to Anna) I’m a very biased older sister, as you can tell.

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We’ve just returned from our wonderful, week-long vacation in Lake Chautauqua, New York. It was wonderful to get away from it all and spend some quality time together as a family. My three siblings, all with their own individual gifts for wit, kept us in stitches with their antics and overall sweetness. While on vacation, to the mortification of my siblings, we started our home-school year. Not just any year of home-school-our twelfth and my last! I was more than happy to start logging days to be done sooner with my senior year. So Monday morning rolled around and we were all enjoying the beautiful glass-like lake and morning breeze. We sat in the living room of the lake cottage, Dad in his oversized chair and ottoman, Sara and I on the couch opposite Mum, with Ronnie and Anna on either side of her. Our character training curriculum was sitting on her lap as Dad closed our Bible devotions with a prayer. The first character quality to learn about for the Gorecki family was attentiveness. Mum read aloud, asked thought-provoking questions, drew out Ronnie and Anna, and overall, made a very successful start to our school year. Mum talked about being attentive to show respect to elders, I noticed Anna, across the room from me, sitting in a slumping Indian position with a glazed over expression in her big brown eyes. She wasn’t fidgeting too much, quite a feat for an energetic five year old, but seemed to be in her own little world as Mum continued the lesson. Right in the middle of Mum’s sentence, Anna says quite matter of fact, still staring off into space, “I rock.” Sara and I hear this and we attempt to stifle our giggles at her innocent vanity so Mum can finish her lesson. Two minutes later, Anna, still gazing off into space with a half a smile on her dimpled face, admits, “Sara rocks too.” Another few minutes goes by and she wraps up her bursts of random speech from her own little world with, “Sara and I both rock.” The whole room bursts out laughing as the lesson goes out the window and into the lake. I think our next character lesson should be on humility.