My friend, Renee, is one of our Partymob members.
She’s been following Jesus for almost 25-years, but says she’s still growing in her relationship with God in new ways as she learns to develop sensitivity to the different ways the Holy Spirit works.
Earlier this week, Renee sat on her deck overlooking a river reading a sample chapter from Wonderstruck: Awaken to the Nearness of God on the wonder of rest.
As she dove into the chapter, she noticed a ladybug land on her shoulder. She thought, “How sweet!” Then the little creature flew away.
She read a few more pages and the ladybug returned and landed on her chest.
Renee began to giggle,
God, are you trying to grab my attention?
The ladybug flew away.
She returned to reading.
The ladybug returned a third time and landed on her foot.
Renee’s mind flooded with the words of the Psalmist, “Be still and know that I am God!” Then she remembered a scene from a film she’d seen years before, Under the Tuscan Sun.
In the movie, a small girl desperately wants to catch a ladybug. She does everything she can to catch one of these magical creatures but eventually grows frustrated. Exhausted from her striving, falls asleep.When she awakes, she’s covered in ladybugs.
“This was a lesson on striving for me and how for so long my relationship with God was about striving and perfectionism,” Renee says. “I now find my relationship with God is taking on a new level of depth as I learn to slow down and be more quiet.”
Renee’s encounter with a ladybug was one more reminder of God’s presence and yet another invitation to experience the wonder of rest.
May you cease striving to today, rest assured that God is securely on the throne, and #livewonderstruck.
