This was my second attempt at photographing these falls this day. My first attempt was met by a closed gate at 6:30am. This was taken after an unbelievable amout of rain in less than an hour. I have been here many times, but have never experienced this much flow.
As we approach our projected opening date of mid-July, I am ever aware of several things: 1) I am not, by my own might or power, qualified to do what He has called me to do,(but He qualifies the called) 2) His Grace is sufficient,and lastly 3) He is Faithful. Though this is a very busy time for me right now, it is a “good” busy. From the very beginning, it has been the most peaceful process thus far & I believe that is because 1) we know this is what He has called us to do, & 2) He has taken the lead in this & we have simply been obedient to what He has revealed to us & moved on that. I believe it has been an opportunity for us first & foremost to trust in Him, & secondly it has given us the opportunity to love on others & share the love of Christ to believers as well as unbelievers. It most assuredly has been a blessing for all of us involved.
I must say that one of the things that I have struggled with most during my adult life, is finding God’s purpose for me. I know that we have many purposes in life i.e……living for Him, raising Godly seed, providing for our families etc…. but, I want to know that when I get to Heaven one day that I have fulfilled His purpose for me while I walked this earth. Unfortunately, I think we sometimes get caught up in what our purpose is and forget to just live daily before Him. We forget whose we are. I told a friend one day that I was struggling with finding purpose with my life. What did God want me to do? And the friend replied “it is not “what” but “who” that is important. I realized that I had fallen into that trap of trying to figure it all out on my own. I was so afraid that I would miss His will for me. Can I tell you that is not a good place to be. I think we begin to doubt ourselves, our abilities, & even our relationship with Christ. We begin to say things like “well if I truly loved God and was walking with Him, He would have already revealed His plan for me.” Looking back now, I understand that He must take us to some places and teach us some things about ourselves that sometimes are not very pretty. It is a very humbling experience, but He has to show us that we can not do this on our own. We have to surrender our plans & dreams to Him that He may begin to birth in us His dreams & plans over our life. And that is what He has done for us. We always thought that if the Lord allowed us to open a coffee shop/gallery, it was always be somewhere else. As a matter of fact we even prayed, “Lord, anywhere but here.” But within 6 months of surrendering it to God and telling Him wherever He wanted to plant us, He opened the doors to dream over us right here in Macon Ga. So when He opened those doors, we simply had to be obedient to what He told us. We want to make a difference in our children, our community, & throughout the nations for the sake of His name. We by no means believe that we have it all together or that God has chosen us because we are special. On the contrary! I don’t believe that I have in me what He is calling me to do, but I do believe that where He leads us, He equips us. “God is not looking for ability, but availability”. (JF) “If we will decide to make a difference, then God will make up the difference. We have to believe in ourselves, if only because God believes in us.” I read an alarming statistic the other day about how many teens commit suicide every year. One of the most common reasons was because they felt they had no purpose. That they were somehow a mistake. If you are still here on this earth, it is because God has a purpose and a plan for your life. And God does not make mistakes.
I know that when we surrendered this dream of ours over to God, He began giving me visions of what this place would look like months before we even had a building. I began sketching in my journal all of the details from the layout all the way down to the materials we would use. I know, most people would say I was putting the cart before the horse. But I knew that it was God revealing to me parts of His plan for this place. And when we walked into the building the first time that we were to later buy, I could see everything the Lord had revealed to me. I was speechless! And now that we are only a month away from opening, it has been incredible to see all of the details of His plan take shape and come together. God’s timing is perfect. God does not push; He leads. We can not jeopardize God’s best by becoming impatient trying to make something happen that only He can release. God has a perfect time and a correct way for everything. So, can I encourage you to exchange your dreams & plans over your life for His. Praise Him right where you are now. Pastor Franklin says “When you praise Him, you invite the presence, the calmness, & the serenity of God into your life. With praise comes prophecy. With praise comes direction. With praise comes God’s plan for your life. You have a call of God upon your life; you have an appointment with destiny.” So,cast all your cares upon Him, & lay it all at His feet. Oh yeah, and buckle your seatbelt, because you will experience the most exhilarating ride of your life. Will you be scared sometimes? Absolutely! Will you sometimes question why you are doing this? No doubt! But it’s okay! God has this. He is in the driver’s seat! He knows what He is doing! Just hold on tight!
Check out some of the details thus far! Can’t wait to see what God has in store for this place.
