Becoming HIS Tapestry

Christian Lifestyle Blogger

2020… WHO KNEW?

Hey friends, how are you today? It is another beautiful day in my neck of the woods.  Today’s high temperature is a marvelous 87° under a brilliant, bright, blazing, beautiful sun.  I love days like these and thankfully, praise the Lord, lately, we’ve had quite a few days like these.  Days that remind me to ‘look up”; days that remind me that the Lord is God of this universe; days that jog the memory into reflecting on the goodness and grace of a good God.   I recall, on days like these, that I have a choice to be grateful that I am counted among the living and that’s only because of the precious mercy of God.  I choose to rejoice in this day because this is the day that the Lord has made…

2020! Wow, who knew, right? Did you know and didn’t tell me? Perhaps a little warning have been nice, then maybe I would be better prepared and we’re just into the first half of the year.  Well… if the first six months are any indication of what this year holds, I suppose we could say, we’ve been warned.  

Is God still GOD? Did He abdicate His throne? For a minute there, I might have forgotten these truths, I glanced at the issues which have plagued our world and although I did not say the words out loud, I may have temporarily thought my God was not enough; He was not powerful enough, mighty enough, strong enough, good enough, fAithful enough.  One of the most beautiful knowledge of God is His stability and dependency. He is dependable and faithful which leads to His trustworthiness.  

I’ve had reason to go back to a familiar passage of scripture that has been my source of hope when life throws a curve ball, which may threaten my foothold, and this is Psalm 27.   I love this passage of scripture from the first to the fourteenth verse.  I can’t choose a favorite from this chapter because they are all so good; go ahead, read it in its entirety, I promise… you will not regret it.  The Lord gives hope in this chapter of Psalms.  He reminds us, in verse one, of His character; He is our light and salvation, He is the strength my life.  With Him, I need not fear anything or anyone.  He tells me to seek His face and my only response is in the affirmative.  He reminds me that there is always hope as long as I have life and that I aught to wait on Him and while I wait, I should also be of good cheer. It is possible to endure hardships with joy when I keep my eyes on the Lord. 

At the beginning of the year, I did what I usually do; I made plans.  I talked to the Lord about those plans; plans to lose weight (again) plans to grow and become, plans to attend our first born’s college graduation, plans to celebrate my milestone birthday, plans to go on vacation and just travel more; good plans (or so I thought).  Well… 2020 came, brought some mild temperatures for winter in Upstate NY for the month of January and I thought we were off to a good start.  Boy was I wrong! Our God always meant for 2020 to be exactly what it has, so far, turned out to be, none of its circumstances sneaked in and took Him by surprise.  All of 2020 has been for His glory and for our good.  Someone said 2020 is the year for change and what a profoundly true statement, this had turned out to be, so far.  

Change! This word usually brings with it, discomfort, distress and sometimes disappointments.  I prefer gradual change; slow and of course it would be nice to be told that change is coming, so then I could somehow prepare myself.  But that’s not how our God usually works, is it?   Change in the midst of chaos and confusion and commotion; if only I was ready, Lord, if only I was ready! 

 But what does it take to be ready for life’s curveballs? The unanticipated, unforeseen, unexpected and usually unwanted ones? I’m not sure we can ever be fully prepared for such a time,  but we can have hope, we can enjoy peace in the midst of it, we can find the beauty in the very trial simply because we can trust the God of the Universe. We can trust in His goodness and grace.  We can trust in His justice and mercy teamed with forgiveness. We can trust in the knowledge that He finishes what He starts, He never leaves an incomplete job.  We can trust in His faithfulness.  Our God is trustworthy, and His promises are very true.  

We hold with both hands to the Almighty and All-Powerful God when we spend time in His Word.  We are stabilized in a sea of chaotic waves when we trust in the Word of God. Though our foundation may shake, our Anchor is immovable and rock steady, eventually we get over to the other side with our faith intact and we are better for the change.  As a matter of fact, now we are even thankful for the change because it has made us stronger and more confident.  When we believe the Word of God and prioritize our communion with Him, we find that joy and beauty in spite of our circumstances.  

The past few weeks have a bit emotional for me with too many memories but also with great opportunities to talk and discuss the social injustices in our country. I thank the Lord for you; thank you for standing in the gap for us, we appreciate you.  Together, united as the people of God,  we can bring hope, we can show the world what harmony looks like, in spite of our race.  In a perfect world, the color of our skin should not define us, but we do not live in a perfect world.  As Christians we serve a perfect God though, the God who created every ethnic group, every tribe, every person beautifully and in His very own image.  We dishonor Him when we treat others as less than, when throughout His Word, He gives clear cut rules of the way everyone should be treated. 

I am a Christian who is black. My blackness does not define my Christianity; my Christianity defines who I am and the person I am becoming. Make no mistake though, I am proud to be a black person, I can assure you, my God did not make a mistake when He made me. How do you see me?

How have you been? Who are you becoming?

Let’s continue the conversation over on Instagram. Follow my Instagram and I will follow back, just let me know in the comment section. I would love to meet you 🙂

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

 

←
→

60 responses to “2020… WHO KNEW?”

  1. Oh who would have thought it would have shaped up like this? But I was getting a strange feeling in my spirit about this year. I actually felt it from since the ending of last year. This has been really eye- opening and has allowed me to walk closer with God and take my walk with Him more seriously than just serious, I mean I always had taken it serious but just more. ❤ God bless and keep you.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. A couple years ago I started working in a large store which was known for being tolerant of the accessories and hair styles employees wore. It was a bit out of my comfort zone, but I learned to work with guys who wore earrings, and girls who had hair of two different colors. After awhile I didn’t see the earrings or the hair colors; I saw the people behind those things. God took out of my comfort zone so I could learn people’s appearances don’t really matter.
    I love the compassion, faith and wisdom you expressed in this post.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Praise the Lord, we naturally lean toward judging people from the outside in (we can’t see their heart) so relationships are formed when we spend time with them. So differences are good, gives us opportunities 😁😁

      Like

      Reply

  6. I loved reading your post ma’am. Yes God is still faithful and we can trust Him in and through it all. And love the last notes. Being a child of God is our first and only identity. And that is what defines us. And God made no mistake creating you because we are all made in His image. ❤

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  7. Brenda, I see you as my sister in the Lord! We are sister’s from the same heavenly Father.
    I too am defined by my relationship with Jesus Christ & I too am a Christian woman proud to be His child born in Australia.
    Bless you,
    Jennifer

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  8. Grace abounds much more is very true.
    We have to look pass what is physically in front of us (problems) and adjust our lens to see God working behind the scenes.
    There is more in the details.
    Humanity is learning something new, coming into something new, and if we keep going something amazing will come out in the end. We can’t give up now.
    Especially as more and more are coming to know Christ.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  10. I’m so thankful to read your God-given wisdom during these times! I pray you can feel Him surrounding you with His comfort and love! Thank God that His Spirit unites us so we can see all aspects of His glory and image reflected on Earth!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Amen 🙏🏽 At the beginning of the year, I prayed to become stronger in my relationship with the Lord. Although this is not exactly the path I expected, I realized He answered my prayer by placing me in a position to exercise that very strength

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  12. Absolutely beautiful!! And you have every reason to be proud of how God made you!! I’ve so missed your post but I get that breaks and time for self is necessary.
    Praying unity for our nation and thankful God is faithful and in control even when it feels like Satan is running the show…as Christians we know that God is ultimately the director and will wrap things up in His perfect timing!!🙏🙏🙏

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. Wonderful post Brenda! You mentioned one of my favorite truths, “God is faithful.” This has been a crazy year! But As you mentioned, God is not surprised by anything. He is in control and is working everything out according to His will. Thanks for sharing. ❤️

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  14. Brenda I see you as God see’s you. My identity is in him. I don’t identify with skin color. Just the way God made me. He showed me some things so I let him work on helping me to see others through his eyes. I don’t believe in racism. I believe we are all one race. The human race. I believe there are a lot of named sins but still they are sin and separate us from God when we don’t seek forgiveness restoration to him. The blood of Jesus washes me clean. As to the weather it’s hot in Oklahoma. I have been watering my garden today. Getting ready to take a nap. I pray you have a beautiful day.. I am a Intercessor. Let me know how I can pray for you.
    Peace and joy to you Tom

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      • One of my pastor friends said this am he was going to quit looking at peoples skin color and identify them by that. That is great for him and others. I cannot count the times that I said to people with a different skin color quit identifying with skin color and got in trouble for saying it. The Lord showed that to me years ago. I grew up during the civil rights movement in LR Ark. Believe me God is changing my heart. Blessings and peace to you

        Liked by 1 person

  15. 2020….I almost don’t know where to begin..except that I do 🙂 To God goes all the glory. This could have been a disastrous time for our family. For so many, it has been. But the minute we knew how serious it was about to get, God whispered to me that we would be ok. He has us in his hands and we would be ok. He set up so many things for us ahead of time that were so much bigger than I realized at the time. I am so very, very grateful to God. No words 🙂 I am so happy to hear you are well and praising God. I see you as a friend and a mentor and I am so glad you are using your voice to give glory to our God. God Bless you and your family now and forever 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  17. I absolutely love this post. It seems that you have poured out your heart into it. For me too, 2020 sure has been different than anything I could have dreamed up. God has his plans too. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jer 29:11) God has an expected goal in allowing 2020 to happen. To our natural eyes, it looks like he is tearing down and stirring things up, but I believe that he is working on ushering in huge changes for his people, no matter their color or race. In order to restore his divine order, he has to tear down the mess we’ve made of things and that looks like a train wreck sometimes, but it will have beautiful results. I feel like he’s working on a very special project and we’ll like the end of the story, but the plot has a lot of twists and turns. Thank you for your unique perspective.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  18. Seeing beauty in the trials… yes, that’s a good thought. God will bring that to our eyes if we look to Him.
    Thank you, my sister in the Lord, for your faithfulness and encouragement.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  19. So beautifully said. I guess I never really consider race or ethnicity the way others do. I just never have- the way I see it, if we differ from one another in the Body of Christ, it’s only to reflect the vastness of His beauty and one color, heritage just isn’t enough to contain the full image of Almighty God. How I long for the day when I can worship in the fullness of His glory with all my Christian brothers and sisters.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Amen and amen and definitely an agreeable amen 🙏🏽 there is beauty in diversity, even twins have differences and are unique. As Christians, we should delight in our differences and build up each other. God bless you, my friend

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  21. Great blog reminding us all that while we have been taken aback and by surprise in 2020, God is always in control. I love so many of your words, but especially these: “We dishonor Him when we treat others as less than, when throughout His Word, He gives clear cut rules of the way everyone should be treated.” So. True! I can’t get beyond how this ugly part of 2020 is even happening; or is even a “thing.” Lord, bring us together, in and through Jesus. It’s the only answer, the only way.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  23. As we hold hands with God , let us also hold each others’ hands through these changes and uncertain and, let’s face it, scary, days. We know our Lord is in control, but each day brings new and more shocking headlines that can shake us up. Yes, let us look up and let us hold each other up. Christians must stick together because that is our family. I’m thankful to ‘know’ you and always glad to hear from you. Enjoy your hot day! Heat advisory here . Are you still running?

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Indeed we must stick together, as Christians. There is unity within the Triune Godhead and we represent the Lord well, when there is harmony. I do still run 🏃‍♀️ and I praise the Lord for the good weather in this regard

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  24. I love your continued focus on honoring God and bring attention to Him. The division and hatred and anger that is consuming our world is heart-breaking to God. I pray for God to keep on using you to share the gospel. As a sister-in-Christ, I love you and pray for peace, reconciliation, and healing in our nation, which can only come through Jesus. I hope to meet you in heaven, my sister!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.