Effortless ...

The word popped up in a conversation with an old friend last Sunday ... while we were discussing how it was that we were worshiping in the same church ... on that day ... it isn't often that we do that anymore ...

... it used be to routine.

Taking a break. Resting. Recharging.  That's what he was doing.  Spending a little time with himself.  And God. 

It's funny.  People think that people who pour it out ... day-after-day ... week-after-week ... do what they do ... touching lives ... making a difference ... by giving of themselves ...they do it ... and it's effortless.

That's what he said.  And we both laughed.  A little.  Because, well, we know better.

So I've been pondering "effortless".

Lots of my friends are in transition right now.  And I guess I am, too. 

Stalled.  Impatiently waiting patiently.  That's where I am right now.  I quit worrying over it ... trying to take control ... fix it ... recently ... which is really not like me ... usually I am do-it-if-it's-wrong kinda gal ... you know, making things happen.

This time it isn't working that way ... not for me.  It's been wasted effort.

One friend told me ... and God ... that she guessed she needed a burning bush ... so there would be no doubt of what she was supposed to be doing now ... next ... she'd been trying so hard ... to move in the direction she thought she should be going.  Truth is, it was the direction she WANTED to be going. 

God has other plans.  Effortless ones.

And late yesterday, in the midst of the pouring rain, I received a text that simply said "I got a burning bush!"

How cool is that?!?  A burning bush in the midst of the storm.

A new leaf.  That was another message ... from another friend ... who is struggling to make sense of it all.

Effortless.  It's all so simple.  Really it is.  So why do we make it so hard?  Trying to do it our way ... as if, we even have a clue.

Earlier this week I had dinner with my friend who has always been like a sister to me ... who is now married to my brother ... guess that makes us "family" all the way around ... legally and in the heart ...

She is so special. 

Growing up, I wanted to be just like her.  Beautiful ... bold ... bright ... intelligent ... fun ... confident ... there wasn't anything she couldn't do ... at least that's the way it looked to me.

When she got those  brown wooden Candies  ... with the three straps ... I had to have some, too.  Remember, we wore them all year-round ... feet bare in the warm weather & with our bright colored socks in the cooler times.  LOL.

And when she took the road less traveled and chose French over Spanish in high school .... I knew that was exactly what I was going to do as well.

In junior high she had a boyfriend.  They wrote notes and talked on the phone.  She called him "botchulism".  She smiled when she said it ... and once again, she was leading the way as we came of age ... discovering who we were and who we weren't.  I wanted to feel that way about some boy ... someday.

She has always done the good stuff first. Showing me ... how easy it was ... effortlessly.

Like being independent .  She's been an entrepreneur from the git-go ... it took me years to get there ... here ...

And finding happiness.  Once again, she is blazing the trail.  After waiting a lifetime, she has found her way into the arms of her best friend ... and they both have found their passion there.  It seems so simple now ...

I want that, too.  To feel that way.  Safe & secure.  Traveling through the rest of my life with my best friend, lover & adventure partner.

She has always made each transition appear effortless ... to me.  Even though I know that it really hasn't been easy ... a lot of the time.

So we had dinner with our mothers.  Then we chatted & caught up ... just the two of us. 

She asked questions & made some comments about the different things in my blogs.  She said she loves reading what I write.  That made me smile. 

The she said the most amazing thing ... she said she looks forward to each new post ... that what I have to say always lifts her spirits.

... and there's no one in the world whose spirits I would rather raise ... right now ...

And God laughs ... outloud ... aren't you reading those messages I am sending you about "work" and  "passion"!?!  Aren't you seeing all of the signs pointing you in the direction you need to go, MJ?!?  Put the map away ... turn off the GPS ... quit trying to figure out the shortest distance from here ... to what's coming next ...

Put the top down ... shift gears ... push the pedal ... move ... forward ... accelerate ... LIVE!

You lift my spirits.  That's what she said.

I had no idea. It's just what I do. Write what I write. Share a little piece of my heart.

Effortless. 

http://www.lifelessons-mj.blogspot.com/
(c) Mary Jane Sawyer, 2010