The Secret of The Stairwell

“It’s all about steps, not the top of the stairs.” -Scott Mulvahill song

If I consider the timeline of my day as a stairwell of tasks and To Do lists, my natural goal is to accomplish them all and reach the top of the stairs.  Yesssss!  Progress!   (Bonus:  Good exercise!  As a wife and mom and creative entrepreneur, the stairwells are usually pretty TALL).

Since I made the decision to put Jesus first in my life, my natural goals take a back seat to the supernatural plans of God.  I’ve found the secret of the stairwell!  I go about my day much differently than I once did.  Now, I routinely start my day with this prayer:

“Lord, be Thou my vision and order my steps.”

Though I may have a list of 30 tasks I intend to do, I commit myself to walking in His footsteps.  I’m willing to throw my list out the window if His list is different than mine; I’m ready to deviate from my set course if He wants me to.  “Not my will Lord, but Your will be done.”

Something pops up that I wasn’t planning for:  A friend texts and asks to meet for coffee.  “Should I do this, Lord?  I really don’t have time today?”  I feel in my spirit, Yes.  It turns out this friend is going through a hard time, and my showing up really ministered to her when she needed it most.

A conversation with a stranger starts in a grocery line, when a woman smells an essential oil I am wearing and asks questions about it.  The next thing I know, we have paid for our groceries and are talking on the sidewalk for 40 minutes.  It may be about oils (since I do have an essential oil business)…or it may just be the thing that got us talking and now she is tearfully telling me her cancer story…and I feel a prompting in my spirit to direct her to my friend Tonya who has an amazing “MiraCoral” story of overcoming cancer “the Kingdom way.”  I give her the information the Lord wants her to have, and I walk to my car marveling at how God just divinely orchestrated that meeting over Wonder Bread.

Later, while I’m in my boutique store adding and pricing new stock, someone stops in to browse and I ask if I can help with anything.  An item she is interested in sparks a conversation, and within minutes she is tearfully telling me about her life in California.  I ask if I can pray for her and she says yes.  We pray right there in the store!  I don’t care if people see us and think it is weird.  The woman seems a little shocked that this has just happened – that she has cried in a gift shop with a stranger. But I am not shocked at all.  I assure her this was a scheduled visit…God wanted her to be here in this moment so He could let her know how much He loves her, that He knows what she is going through, and He is with her.  (His gift to her in a gift store)!

As for my schedule, it ends up adding another 40 minutes to my planned time at my store…and another task I may not get to…but I don’t mind.  I trust that He will either multiply my time (supernaturally) to get everything done today, or He will help me get it done another day and in a better way.

I could share a hundred more examples, but you get the idea.  The point is, He points me in His right direction (which is His “righteous” direction) as I go about my day, because I have asked Him to.

I cannot even count the number of blessings that have come from this way of intentionally walking out His plans!  Rather than plowing up the stairwell to accomplish “my goals”, I’m discovering that submitting myself to HIS GOALS is so much more rewarding.  Even when it feels like I’m falling behind in my schedule, IT IS WELL with my soul.

That, my friend, is the Secret of the Stairwell.  Drawing from His well, I know that I am well.  Well-equipped for any and all stairwells.  His peace is there and His pace is there, and I am getting the best kind of exercise:  exercising my faith.

It’s all about steps, not the top of the stairs.  I may not reach my natural goals every day, but it’s more important to me that I hear God say, “Well done, My good and faithful servant.”  Having said this, there are plenty of times when I do reach the top…and guess what?  The view is so much more rewarding than it once was when I did it my way.  In fact, every step is a vista of beautiful blessings!

“And I said, “Here I am Lord, Send me!” – Isaiah 6:8 (b)

reSOURCEs:

“Top of the Stairs” song by Scott Mulvahill

“Be Thou My Vision” song - Selah

Book: Divine Time Management