fresh flowers for June 23

The Care and Keeping of an Idea
copyright 2006, Lani Wiens
a fresh flowers original

I am an ideas person married to a visionary. Sometimes that can spell trouble. We've had to wade our way through many ideas gone awry where flesh overtook Spirit and created a mess. I hope that the illustration that's popped up in my garden will perhaps bring clarity and hope to other visionary/idea type people who've had their noses bruised on brick walls a few too many times.

We're going to use the analogy of having a baby. I'm very familiar with the sequence of events that goes into that process so it was easy to fit this little lesson into that framework.

Our idea is conceived, quite possibly an immaculate conception because most of our ideas stem from the hand of our Father's creative juices. He plants a seed of an idea in our belly and it begins to make itself known. Some of us are very careful with our ideas, not letting anyone know about it until we are absolutely sure we're safe...Only to find out that there really isn't a 'safe' time and ideas can come to ruin at any time for any number of reasons. Some of us shout our idea from the roof tops we are so excited about it and then have to get our feet back under us while the reality of the idea that something is brewing sets in.

It is here that the arm of flesh sometimes gets in the way and we lose our focus, forgetting why we're in this thing in the first place. Since we are pregnant we know that we are going to grow bigger, our fickle mind thinks that perhaps a bigger body requires a bigger bed. After all rest and comfort are essential for the growing of an idea. We put our energy into getting the bigger bed. When that is accomplished we admire this new thing and soon we realize that the room the bed is occupying is far too small. Hmmmmmmmmmm

Do we take out a wall or would it be more prudent to invest in a bigger house all together, you never know how big that idea could get, you want it to have lots of room to grow so that it won't be hampered in any way. In the midst of that rabbit trail you wonder if you should build or buy. Building would of course require a property, and where should that property be located? Buying requires consideration of location, size and cost of the inevitable renovation and upgrades, not to mention that all of this requires financing and many long discussions with bankers and financial advisors. We won't even mention the need for accessories, helpers and deadlines. In the meantime that little idea is gestating and getting closer to its' birth date completely oblivious to our frantic efforts.

By now we are in waaaaaaaaaaay over our heads, completely overwhelmed with all that goes into having a little idea. Immense amounts of energy and time have gone into research about all the accoutrements required to have an idea. We realize it is way too expensive, there is no way we have the resources to pull this off, perhaps we need to get into fundraising. We size things up and decide the plan is to difficult to accomplish with such a small team and in such a short time frame. How is this ever going to work? (Storm clouds are gathering!) Who thought this up in the first place? How can I gracefully back out after I've announced to everyone that an idea was on the way? Is the idea even still there, when was the last time we had it checked to see if it was okay? Has it managed to survive all of this extra energy output or has all this effort going to give birth to nothing? As it says in Isaiah, will we give birth to the whirlwind? Something that sucks up everything in its' path only to scatter it abroad where it doesn't belong? For the sake of this analogy we will keep our idea alive.

And then the labour pains hit. The time has come for that idea to be born. It cannot wait any longer the time has come whether we are ready or not. Suddenly all that other stuff falls away and becomes unimportant. All our energy and focus is on this moment. We are convicted of our wayward focus, we realize where our energy should have been going. Our idea could have had a better introduction to the world, maybe it isn't quite as healthy as it could have been due to our distraction. But here it is anyway, we heave a sigh marveling at the miracle of it all. The realization of what is truly important overwhelms us. We could have been resting, trusting, anticipating with joy this idea, instead we were distracted by many things. We grieve over the loss. But there is good news...

Many are the plans of a man's heart but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.
No knowledge can set itself up against the purpose of the Lord.
Commit your plans to the Lord and they will succeed.
Submit yourself to the Lord, resist the devil and he will flee from you.
No weapon formed against you can prosper.
His plans are to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.

These are all promises from the scriptures. If God has set out to bring something forth it will happen. Much of the time these distractions are not from the Lord but a tool of the enemy to get our energies going where they don't belong so that when the times comes you can't do what you're called to do. We are too tired, too overwhelmed, we have set our mind and heart on auto-pilot and hope that no one will notice we're not tuned in.

We must be wise, listening to the Lord, waiting for Him to accomplish His good purpose in and through us. He will give us all we need to bring His ideas to birth. Sometimes the birth of an idea has to wait a very long time. The Lord is patient with us, waiting for us. His ideas are precious to Him and He will accomplish it. The arm of flesh can get in the way, it can make things difficult when we try to bring something to birth at the wrong time. We must submit ourselves to the Lord first of all. In repentance and rest are our salvation. In due time He will do it. Now that is good news!!