Learning to Just Be and the First Ever WIP Wednesday Link-Up

For these WIP Wednesday posts, I’m going to *try* to relax a little in my writing and just talk to you. Tell you what’s rolling around in my head and heart. I can’t promise it will make sense, but I think that is sort of the point. We are “works in progress”. On Wednesdays, we are coming together to celebrate the work that God is doing in our lives, but all that work is still in progress, you see. So we may not have it all figured out and down pat just yet. And that is just fine.

I’ve been reading Grace for the Good Girl (affiliate link) by Emily Freeman and studying 1 Peter.

Last week, I focused on 1 Peter 2:1-3:

“Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

Have you ever been around a newborn baby when he is hungry? I remember when my little man got hungry, nothing made him happy until he got mama’s milk. I just gave up on the whole schedule thing and fed him on demand. Mama’s milk was the good stuff, and he knew it. No substitute would do. After a feeding, I would get so tickled watching him grin in his sleep. “Milk drunk” we called it. Blissfully happy with a full tummy.

Do I feel that way about God’s word? That is what “spiritual milk” refers to in this passage. I have certainly tasted and seen that the Lord is good, but do I crave His Word? Honestly, some days yes, and some days no. At the end of my study of this passage, this question was asked: “What is this passage leading you to do?”

I knew the answer: memorize Scripture. If I have tasted and seen, I need to hide it in my heart. I think I’m going to join up with Do Not Depart in the Fall and memorize with them.

Which leads me to Grace for the Good Girl. This book has really opened my eyes to the motives behind some of my seemingly “good” actions. I’ve talked already about how fear motivates my behavior and my concern over letting people see the real me. Last week I talked about how I related to the righteous brother in the story of the Prodigal son. The one who stayed with the Father the whole time, doing what he was supposed to. What I realized then is that sometimes I am doing all the “good” things in an attempt to earn what I already have. Everything the Father has is mine. I don’t have to work for it, and my striving doesn’t change anything.

Which is where I meet my quandary. I don’t want to add Scripture memory to my list of things a good Christian girl does so I must do it too. I don’t want it to become a burden. I want to crave it like my little man craved his milk. How do I make that happen? I don’t think I can. Actually, I’ll say that I know I can’t. Emily asked a question that has lingered with me long after reading it:

“Are you trying to be who Jesus wants you to be? Or do you trust him to bring out who he has already created you to be?”
Grace for the Good Girl: Chapter 11, Receive

God created me to delight in His Word just like he created little newborns to crave their mama’s milk. You don’t have to force a baby to drink milk. They come out looking for it. So I trust that God will help me to be just who He created me to be.

What is God doing in your life? Link up a post below or let’s chat in the comments!

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This post is linked with thanks to:

Works for Me Wednesday
iFellowship
Women in the Word Wednesday
Living Well Wednesday

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