The Setup of Second Guessing

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten things wrong: names, pertinent pieces of information, my sense of direction, perceiving personality and relational dynamics, giving feedback, and making suggestions. You name it, I’ve gotten it wrong.

I’m learning however, that there is something Greater for us to discover when we second guess our answers to life’s opportunities. The Greater calls us beyond the second guessing and into the certainty of our faith.

Black Woman In The Berkshires

Recently, I traveled over 2,500 miles to the middle of the Berkshires in Massachusetts to support my third camp of the summer. I was confident that the ask to support was answered prayer. The opportunity itself, in my estimation, was a growth opportunity for the blessings the rest of the year holds. While I was there, however, I felt like an outsider. Not only had all of the campers been open heart surgery patients, all but one of them were White and were not accustomed to Black people in their environment.

Don’t get me wrong. They were warm in their welcome. But they didn’t know how to connect with me. Being accustomed to building rapport, I asked questioned and smiled softly as I listened for their responses. But it was a challenge. Sometimes the kids simply stared at me and would turn their face when I looked their way. When speaking to them, at times, they seemed not to hear my voice. Oh, it was a challenge. But a very valuable one at that.

With the growing feeling of being out of place, I had to hold on to the Greater reasons I was sent there. Soon enough, I found myself praying at new levels that required me to remember how temporal and precious life is. There is only so much we can do in the time we have. Yet, in the time we have, we must seek Wisdom and overcome our own limitations.

Even when people don’t know you or your mission, remember God does.

We can walk into some spaces and know automatically that we belong. I’ve felt that and it can feel so nourishing. We can walk into other spaces and doubt. But then we are proven wrong. That’s one of the best feelings. There’s something about walking into the spaces that tell us we don’t belong (in the way we think we should) and seeking God’s guidance on the last directive He gave us.

While I don’t suggest walking into every room to discover your sense of belonging, I do suggest staying open and obedient to the call of God on your life. With this type of alignment, He will take you on roads you have not traveled. He will nurture and sustain you with the unseen best the environment has to offer. And He does this because of Who He Is and His commitment to us in Him. He loves us when others are not interested in even knowing what there is to love about us. He loves us beyond measure and beyond words. As we lean on Him for our understanding, we experience the reality of being created in His image, recipients of grace, and carriers of His glory.

May you be encouraged today to stay true to the word He has given. May you see your prayers answered. May you recognize the authority He has given you and that with that authority, the universe as an environment responds.