It was a Happy Canada Day, even though pretty much everything about 2020 has been weird and unexpected. Covid19 didn’t care that it forced celebrations to look and feel different But that’s ok, because the word of the year is PIVOT.
I’m learning to pivot and to be ok with it. Happy Canada Day. Pivot: celebrate at home with the family, read a book, relax in the hammock and learn how to do a Facebook live (that’s what I did). Actually it wasn’t so bad!
So, one of this year’s lessons has been: learning to choose my mindset and not let my circumstances push me into how I’m going to feel. Canada Day was another example of the lesson of the year. Yes, it has been a super-off-the-charts year with reframing and choosing my gratefulness.
I decorated the front of my house with a couple of Canadian flags in my garden, and a big one on my front living room window. Very patriotic and festive, even though this year’s Canada Day lacked the giant fireworks display at nearby Columbia Lake with its community hub and hustle.
This Maple Leaf in its bright red inspires me; with its vibrancy and spirit.
I have had seasons where those words have described me too. Bright. Vibrant. Spirited. Conversely, I have had other seasons where they haven’t.
As I decorated patriotically, my attention snuck away from me and I remembered a picture of a forlorn little maple leaf I had taken a couple years ago. So I had to share it with you:
Happy Canada Day?
I took this photo a few years ago in early springtime. This dear little maple leaf had made it through winter-time but the season had been hard on it. Minus 40 degree Celsius is hard for anyone to endure. Especially a leaf.
Apparently the wind had knocked this leaf off its branch. Pelted by rain and then snow. Melded to the asphalt. Scraped over with a shovel multiple times. The season must have left the little leaf gasping. Has life ever made you feel like this?
Well, I admit that seeing this picture opened up the dialogue box with God, and He and I start this conversation in real time.
Me: Yes, Jesus, I have felt like that leaf sometimes. A little ragged and worn. Still here, but feeling weary and ready for a new season. Did You notice?
Jesus: Of course I noticed. And I took it beyond a notion of just seeing you; I felt your sorrow of the season that left you feeling lifeless and withdrawn. And I gave you my Life and Spirit so that you could get through it Jenn.
Me: Really? I mean, on some level I know that, but why is it so easy to forget that in my lowest moments?
Jesus: (more gently than ever) I knew how fragile and tender you were in those moments, and I wasn’t going to rub it in that you’d forgotten me. But I was still there, filling you up with strength and courage – my Love. When you pause and turn you attention to Me, you will always see My nearness My deep affection and My never-ending support.
Rest. Renewal. Reformation. (Re-Formation).
And so the season of obstacles and hardships (even the 2020 quarantine – yes!) always opens the way for something new. New perspectives. And new strength. Endurance that has been tested – and passed with flying colours. So many intangibles that build up our inner person.
The prophet Jeremiah wrote this in his book of Lamentations 3:19-26: I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet I call this to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
Then in Isaiah 40:31 we read: but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
And when Gideon found himself facing an inner battle for himself and an outer battle for his nation: battles that could only be solved by God’s radical intervention, (he found himself between the proverbial rock and a hard place), God filled Gideon with solid courage in the moment: “Go in the strength you have …. I will be with you,” (Judges 6:14,16)
Canada Day: 2020
Know that whether it’s been a happy Canada Day or a nostalgic Canada Day, God is with you. Not only does He see you, but He is transforming lowly moments into mountains of breakthrough. He will exchange the weariness of the ‘quarantine season’ into a new season of vibrancy with deepened faith, trust and strength.
God is gently training us to be resilient, flexible and capable of taking every thought captive to Christ. Jesus is sharing His infinite resource of strength with us!
There is an upgrade of victory and breakthrough assigned to every moment of every day with God. This is His gift to us. And until we see the completed breakthrough and victory, He gives us strength and courage to rest, refresh and become transformed in the middle of it all.
So yes, this year’s great lesson has been: learning to choose my mindset and not let my circumstances push me into how I’m going to feel. By God’s grace I’m learning to rest, renew and reform how I think … by reframing with God’s truth and choosing gratefulness.
We are soooo loved by God!
Happy Canada Day Friends,
Jenn
PS. Keep your eyes and ears open for the release of my new book: Hope Breaks Through: Discovering God’s Signs in Your Life. It can be a self-directed or a 30 day journey to uncover personal signs from God for healing, direction and transformation. Details for book purchases will be available here: in Resources & Updates.
Copyright (c) 2020 Jennifer Bryant-Choong. All Rights Reserved
