God’s Direction – something we’re always wanting to know, yet, seems to elusive. We beg Him daily; “God, please show me what direction to take.” But rarely do we get a very clear cut answer.
God’s Timing – I’m a big time planner. I like to know what’s happening and when it’s happening and exactly what outfit to wear! LOL And when things don’t go according to “the plan,” this girl gets so stressed out. So you can imagine that waiting for God’s direction is so NOT fun! It does stress me out but I must constantly remind myself; “God’s timing is not my timing.” If you’re a big planner like myself, you feel the pain, am I right or am I right??? You’re going to have to bear with me for a moment while I tell you the story of how God’s plan for my life changed. This will help you understand what brought about this blog post. Grab that coffee, get comfy and let’s chat….
How did God’s Direction Change for My Life???
I have been in the fitness and dance industry for over 20 years! Started out as a dancer from a young child and then went on to a professional dance career; ballroom dancer and owned an entertainment company. In my late 20’s I discovered that you can dance + exercise, enter Jazzercise! I started my own Jazzercise franchise and had very successful classes for years. Once I moved out of Atlanta and into a small town, I realized my ballroom dance business was not going to be successful in a small town; now enter Zumba! I opened a Zumba studio, which I loved and was enjoying a booming biz.
God’s plan for my life seems to have changed with my precious furbaby…
The year was 2017, my hubby and I just arrived at a beachfront hotel in Florida and we left our precious pup, Sammy, back home with neighbors; something we RARELY did, Sammy went everywhere with us. As soon as we settled in with our umbrella drinks, we got the most dreaded call EVER! Sammy had been hit by a truck and didn’t make it. Needless to say, I was completely devastated. Sammy was my baby; I would have done anything for him! For many days, I was just a walking, crying zombie. But something else happened that seems to have changed God’s Direction for my life. A few days after this event, my neck completely seized up and here begins a new journey. God’s plan for my life is slowly starting to change.
Over the course of a year and a half, the neck pain, turned into upper back back, which turned into, low back and leg pain, which turned into Hypothryoidism coming back with a vengeance, which turned into horrible vision and cataracts and the beginning of macular degeneration. I mean, REALLY??? I feel like I’ve gone from an extremely healthy lady in my 40’s to an old lady in my 90’s! Why is all of this happening at once? So many of the doctors even tell me, “we don’t see this a lot in people your age.” Why am I turning into those people that complain about ALL of their many health issues. And guess what? My favorite thing to do, fitness, isn’t happening anymore. I had to stop all workouts because I just hurt so much. But don’t worry, I was not sitting on the sofa eating bon bons; although tempting. I made sure I did SOMETHING everyday, whether it was walking, stretching or yoga, I never stopped. I am still doing this regimen and it kills me to see all of my hard work (lean body, muscles, toning….) disappearing. But it’s important to stay focused on God’s plan for your life, right peeps???
How do you know what God’s Direction is?
You guys know that saying, “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans!” While I’m sure God’s not up there laughing His head off at us, but I do believe He wonders why any of us thought we had the right to determine our course in the first place. His word is full of scripture about HIS plans for us! NOT our plans!
The 3 Time Rule
So why do I tell you this long story about my background???? I tell you because God may have to do many things to get your attention. It may not be health related at all, but you never know what God’s going to do to get your attention. Of course, me not being “all knowing” like God is. I can’t be 100% sure that God is putting me all through this for the reasons I think, but I truly feel He is.
Fitness has been my “identity” for over 20 years! Everyone has always known me as a dancer, fitness instructor, and fitness coach. To be able to do none of that kinda kills me! Telling me not to workout is like telling me not to breathe. Can my fellow fit ladies relate to this??
This last year and a half, I had to really re-evaluate my life because I wasn’t posting non-stop workouts and motivating my peeps like I used to do. The only thing I could do was show pix of me walking daily; not very exciting for a fit coach, right? I joined a business mastermind group and met some amazing Christian women in this group and happened to ask for their business advice. What they told me was God’s plan for my life changing in front of my eyes. When you hear things 3 times, you know that’s GOD! That’s like Him hitting you over the head because you didn’t “get” it the first 2 times.
*My 1st conversation was…”do you think God is taking you out of the fitness field and you’re supposed to only focus on Faith?” ME: “heck no! Fitness is my biz and that’s all there is to it. I can’t give that up!”
*2nd conversation was my hubby saying pretty much the exact same thing and I argued with him just like I did with my friend.
*3rd convo: reached out to a former assistant of mine who knows me well and tried to get her opinion. I did NOT tell her what the other’s said, I just called for biz advice. You can guess what she said, “I truly feel God is wanting you to focus your business on faith alone and not fitness. ”
What the what???????? That’s a 3rd time, which is pretty much gospel! You gotta run with that. You don’t even need to pray about that one because that IS GOD SPEAKING, lol!!
Sudden Call
So maybe you don’t receive a message 3 times but instead in one sudden call. You feel a nudge, you think is from God, but it’s a HUGE change; like a move, quiting a job, leaving a relationship. Whatever that sudden thing is, do make sure you evaluate this in several ways before doing something drastic. As humans, it’s possible we “heard” wrong.
- Spend time in the Word. Read scripture and study it. God’s direction is in His Word.
- Consult with Christian friends. If you don’t have any good friends to consult, see if your church has a counseling service or join a Bible study group. The more Godly advice and prayer from fellow Godly friends, the better. Sometimes getting another perspective from a fellow Christian can make all the difference in the world.
- Prayer! This pretty much goes without saying, but spend a lot of quiet time with God. And not just speaking, but truly listening. Be Still before the Lord.
- Journal your thoughts. I like to write down my thoughts and prayers. Not only does it help clear my mind, but it’s a good way to go back and see if God may have spoken and I didn’t even realize it.
Are you feeling a nudge or maybe a major push from God? Make sure you evaluate using the above 4 steps; it truly will help you clarify those thoughts. I wanted to share my story to help you understand how I “heard” God’s voice, but also because I am still figuring all of this out and exactly what God wants me to do. But I do know He wants me to focus on Him and what’s Numero Uno in my book, is that my business bring Him glory! Make sure you stay tuned to see what’s a comin with me!! Your guess is as good as mine, but I’m excited for this new journey in my life.
I want to help Christian women worldwide grow closer to God, make that daily time with Him and put Him first in their business and lives.
I’d love to hear from YOU! Have you felt God’s direction changing in your life recently? What did you do about it? OR, is there anything I can do to help you? I want to learn what will help my ladies the most
If you’d like a free download of my book “But First, Pray”, click HERE
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