It’s been a while since my last blog post. Primarily because I’ve been hiding out. I’m not generally thought of as being shy or timid, but the last few years, I have been an ardent avoider. Not in all areas of my life, just one in particular. This one.
If you scroll below this post, you’ll see that the last post here was in 2015. Hard to believe that I haven’t written anything here in 2 1/2 years.
You might well ask why.
I didn’t realize until recently that I was having a Jonah moment.
Jonah, according to scripture, was also an avoider. He was given a specific task to go to a specific group of people to tell them to repent of their sin. This group of people, the Nineveh-ites, some 120,000 strong, were a vile society and God had called Jonah to call them to repentance. Jonah, instead, goes in exactly the opposite direction. He’s trying to avoid the difficult task.
Four years ago, I began working on an idea. I set up a separate blog and a facebook page and worked at it here and there. Two years later, after a move, I resurrected said idea and developed it into a presentation which I gave at our current church in January 2016. I had several people tell me at that time that I was a gifted speaker and that I should turn it into a book and maybe start looking at giving that presentation elsewhere. These were people who I respected, who knew of my spiritual gifts and were encouraging me to seek God’s leading in this area.
Instead, I decided to hide.
I stopped writing altogether and focused on easier things. I was still using some of my gifts and abilities but I was really hiding out. In January of last year, I even took on a new job. This new job totally fit my skills and abilities, but it was really just another place to hide out.
Well, I’m not hiding any longer, thanks to a mission trip and the devotions during that time which God used to call me out of hiding and point out that I was acting like Jonah.
Expect to see more from me here.
Natalie Ames 