Changing lanes without clear vision

When we left to go camping for a week, we loaded my dad’s HRR down with all our equipment and supplies. There wasn’t an inch to spare. The stuff in the car was piled so high you couldn’t see out the rear window, which meant the rearview mirror was of no use whatsoever. So for every turn, every lane change, and every instance of backing up, you had to use the sideview mirrors.

It’s completely doable, and I don’t feel like we took any major chances with not behind able to see, but there’s something intensely disconcerting about not being able to see straight behind yourself when you’re driving. If you’ve got to change lanes or back up, you don’t always get a clear picture of what’s behind you, what you might hit or bump or run over. Sometimes you have to see it from the side. Seeing something from the side isn’t always easier. Most of the time it takes more than one glance to make sure you’re seeing it clearly, but you can see it. You can know what’s behind you even if you’re looking at it from a different angle than you’re used to. And then, you have to make the choice and change lanes, even if it feels like you can’t see everything.

Today’s verses are Psalm 37:5-6.

Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.
He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

When you’re navigating through life, you aren’t always going to feel like you know the right answers. Sometimes it will feel like you’re trying to change lanes when you can’t see out your back window. In those moments, you have to trust what you know.

Just like I could use my side mirrors to see behind me, you have to use the information you have available to make the best decision you can. It’s the same for following God. You might not be able to see all of His plan, but you can see bits and pieces. And you can know who He is. So that gives you enough to go on.

Even if all you knew about living was that God is good, that would be enough to know you could trust Him. Because you can always trust someone who is 100% good. That person won’t ever do anything wrong, won’t ever do anything to harm you, and even if you end up in difficult circumstances, that person won’t ever turn against you.

But we know more than that about God. We know God is good. We know God has a plan for His children. We know His plans are His best for us. We know He’s promised that everything in the life of a Christ-follower will work together for our good and His glory. We know He’ll never abandon us. We know so much about who He is and what He does in our lives, how can we ever think that God is keeping secrets? How do we ever assume that God doesn’t love us, when He tells us in His Word over and over again all that He’s done to reconcile us to Himself.

So maybe you can’t see everything. Maybe you don’t have the answers to every question. Know what? That’s okay. You can know enough about one or two questions to give you an idea of where you need to go or what you need to do.

Maybe the view out the back window is obstructed, but you can see clearly enough from the sides–maybe not the whole picture but enough to know you aren’t going to run into or over someone else.

God gives us what we need so we know when to leap and when to stand still. He doesn’t just shove us out into the world and expect us to follow Him blindly. He does expect us to follow, yes, but He will provide all the information you actually need to make a decision. You just have to look for it.

When our daily bread doesn’t come daily

All my life, I’ve wanted to be a writer, and I’ve wanted to be able to make a living at it. In February of this year, the Lord made it possible for that dream to come true. I’m still writing books and blog posts, and I’m getting ready to start beating the street for more copywriting clients.

One of the writing outlets that I’ve been pursuing since 2011 has been my daily devotional blog, which I write every Monday through Friday and publish at 6am free of charge. I started www.AlwaysPeachy.com for myself and my own stress level, and God has used it to be a blessing in the lives of a lot of people in the United States and around the world. And that’s what I want more than anything.

Writing AlwaysPeachy takes a lot of time and effort, and it was different when I had a “real” job. I used the time in the morning to post the devotional, and then I went in to my office where I made a steady paycheck. Now? Every cent I bring in is an answer to prayer. People think working for yourself is easy, and in concept it is. But in practice, it’s ten times harder.

I’m not complaining. This is the life I want, and it’s the best decision I’ve ever made. That being said, I have to be open to other methods of earning a living now, and (here’s the tough part for me) I have to talk about it. Ugh. I hate talking about money matters. I’d much rather just sit back and see what happens, assuming that everyone who knows me already understands how this works. Well, you know what they say about making assumptions, right?

A couple of friends pointed me toward an online site called Patreon. I wasn’t sure about it, so I didn’t think much of it. But then I started talking to some other writers, and I discovered that they use it as well. It’s not like a crowdfunding thing. It’s a community of artists who create content, and the people who enjoy their content have the opportunity to support them. It’s pretty straightforward.

So, I created an account and am accepting sponsors. The minimum monthly payment is $5. Yeah. That’s $5 per month. There are some other options too, but I wanted it to be as reasonable as possible. And even if only 25 people would be willing to sponsor the devotional blog $5, that would help me with paying my insurance or buying groceries or even paying for my internet service so I can continue to post devotionals.

Regardless, I’m not going to stop writing the AlwaysPeachy posts. They’re a vital, essential part of my day. I can’t imagine not writing them. And as long as I have strength in my fingers, they’ll be free of charge for anyone and everyone, and I really hope that they continue to be an encouragement and a blessing to people. But if you read them (or any of my writing) and if you enjoy it, and if you’re willing to help me keep writing, I would be so honored and so humbled if you’d consider sponsoring it.

I can’t thank you all enough for your prayers and constant encouragement. This has been a tremendous journey so far, and I can’t wait to see where else it takes me. 🙂