The Power of I AM

My good friend Twila Belk has written a devotional titled The Power to Be. The copy she mailed arrived hours before we left for Nepal last month, so I didn’t have a chance to open it until this week. Perfect timing, it was.

I mentioned in Monday’s blog that finding my new normal is an adventure. My life is so, so different than what I’d imagined at this stage. On Wednesday, for instance, I hoisted my new laundry bag onto my back like a giant backpack and carried it a block to the marina laundromat. I loaded two washers, paid with a nifty credit-card-like gizmo, and then walked along the river as the machines did their 30-minute job.

An hour later, after the dryer had completed its cycle, I took my plastic laundry basket from the boat to the facility. I folded our clothes and towels, loaded them into the basket, and walked the block back to my boat. This block, by the way, takes me through the commercial parking lot beside our marina. I passed weed-whacking landscapers, dog-walking seniors, athletic-looking cyclists, and two Canadian geese enroute.

I needed to wash our sheets, but I skipped that task because I knew I wouldn’t have time to remake the bed. Have you ever tried making a bed while kneeling on it? Try it sometime, pretending there’s no access on the sides or at the head and foot. My bed’s a V-berth, and the mattress fits snugly between wood paneled walls on every side.

Yes, life looks different now, and it takes a bit of getting used to. Making those adjustments coupled with the craziness of the past four months of purging, moving, writing a Bible study and then going overseas for four weeks has left my mind in a flutter. It’s not a bad thing that’s causing insurmountable stress or sleep loss or anything like that. I’m just feeling a tad distracted these days.

Enter Twila’s devotional. I think she wrote it especially for me.

So far, every day’s meditation has been my favorite. The latest quoted Exodus 3:14-15: “God said to Moses, ‘I AM who I AM. This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.’”

Twila’s reflection on this verse spoke deeply to me. She wrote, “I may not retain everything I learned in elementary school, but I do remember that “I AM” is present tense. And knowing that God’s name is present tense gives me a sense of peace. When he says I AM, he means that’s who he is right now. Today. Time makes no difference in who he was, is, or will be.”

As I write this, I’m sitting in a hotel room in Saskatchewan. In a half hour, my hubby and I will hit the road in a rental car, headed for a little rural church in Manitoba. We’ll speak four times this weekend on marriage and family-related topics. We’ve taught together in times past, but never for a full weekend on these topics. I enjoy speaking and teaching; Gene—not so much. He’s an administrator, servant kind-of-guy. This weekend will stretch both of us. More change. More growth. Why not? I think we’re on a roll in that department!

As I look back over the past few weeks, I’m grateful to have experienced the great I AM. As I look forward to these weekend, I know I’ll experience Him again. Here are a few thoughts I’ll leave with you today in that regard. Take them and apply them to your situation.

I AM faithful to help you successfully navigate change.

I AM the source of courage and strength you need to face new challenges.

I AM the source of wisdom you need for the problems you face.

I AM the One who supplies perfectly for every need.

I AM pure joy.

I AM peace.

I AM.

Can I hear an amen?

#bgbg2 #IAM  #PeaceinChange