Is the Brake On? . . .

Yesterday, Bill and I went with our neighbor and ministry partner, Mark, to Bangkok for a Pastor's meeting. Mark drove his van, and we left at 8:00 a.m. for the noon meeting. Traffic actually flowed nicely and we made it to Bangkok a little early. The meeting, lunch, and prayer time were really great.

After the meeting, Mark offered another pastor a ride, as we were all going to the Sky Train. We pulled into the parking lot and started searching for a parking spot. The pastor we had given a ride to, called out that he saw a spot one row over, so we went down and around and started up the next row. He stated that it was the third spot from the end. We all craned our necks to see the approaching spot. I looked in disbelief, well yeah, there was an empty spot, but there was a vehicle double parked completely blocking the spot. As Mark slowed the van, the other pastor jumped out saying that he would move the car that was blocking the spot. I got a knot in my stomach as I imagined the car alarm going off as he pushed it, or worse yet, that the owner would approach indignate that we were moving his car. To my surprise, the car moved with ease. No one came running to yell at us. In fact, another man wondered if we needed help moving the car?! Hmmm, I am trying to imagine this scenario in America. :-)

I had heard that it is common practice for drivers to put their vehicles in Neutral when parking someone in, but experiencing it was another thing altogether. As far as the emergency brake goes, they do not use it because they never know when someone will have to move their car.

In Pennsylvania, we always put our car in Park, the emergency brake on and set the car alarm.

The Lord started to stir in my heart . . .

Oh how our lives can be like a parked car. When we decide to do something, do we leave ourselves in Neutral with the emergency brake off, in case we need to be moved by the Lord or by someone else? Or, do we dig our heals in 'putting ourselves in Park, with the emergency brake firmly in place, and our alarm set' just in case someone tries to change our course?

There are of course times to stand our ground and dig our heals in. That is when the Lord has clearly told us to stay the course no matter what. But, what about when the Lord tries to get us to change our direction? How willing are we to release the brake, turn off the alarms, and allow Him to move us? Yikes, this sounds like we have to leave ourselves vulnerable to change. Sometimes it can seem so logical to follow the plans that we have made.

However, I have found that in order to be in the Lord's will, I need to 'leave it in Neutral, the emergency brake off, and the alarm off' so that I can be movable enough for the Lord to use me.

Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)
Place Your Life Before God
“So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

By April