I Lost My Notes!
Me, frantically: “I’ve lost my notes!”
God, calmly: “So write some new ones or better yet, trust the notes that are on your heart!”
Have you ever lost something you valued? Have you ever lost your way while speaking and then had to reconstruct your subject matter from memory, or find your path another way? On two separate occasions in the last year, I had situations in which I lost my notes.
One Sunday morning, the computer would not print out my sermon notes. Right now I can’t recall all the details and truthfully, they don’t matter. The point is that I had prepared and had made notes and somehow did not have them at the appointed time. The message came through loud and clear: “Trust. Trust the preparation. Trust that the true notes are written on your heart and mind. Trust that the Spirit will speak through you. Let go and let me [God] speak.” And so I did. Many in the congregation that day said it was the best sermon they had heard from me. Clearly, it was not about the topic. It was about the trust.
Then in early December 2007, I lost my journal in which I had been jotting my ideas and reflections for my blog. I used that journal for several other things as well. On this particular occasion, I had used it while serving as emcee for the annual Christmas tree lighting in our little town. My order of events was noted in this small, unobtrusive journal. While the last performer was on stage, I set my journal down near the speakers and prepared for my final task of helping the crowd call on Santa to appear and sing “Jingle Bells.” I did not need my journal for this. Immediately after Santa arrived, our stage event was over and people began mingling, visiting, and commenting on the program. While I chatted with folks, someone apparently decided to pick up my cool-looking journal and take it. It was a small notebook not worth much monetarily. However, it was filled with blog and devotional ideas as well as notes from meetings. The intellectual property was invaluable to me.
I found it difficult to write blogs after that, at least for a while. My notes were gone. I had good ideas in that notebook, and I needed to flesh them out.
Suddenly, in my dismay, that inner wisdom of the Spirit spoke, challenging me again. “OK, so big deal. You lost some ideas and notes. You remember some of them. Write them down again! Trust your heart! Trust the spirit. You will remember what you need to remember. Those important notes are already written on your heart.” The admonition was challenging and comforting all at the same time.
It’s too easy to fall back on legitimate reasons as excuses for inaction. I lost my notes. Big deal. Make some new ones! I didn’t have a good reason for not blogging. I had given power to the person who took my notebook. I had let the loss of a notebook take me out for a while. A notebook, for heaven’s sake! Perhaps it’s worth considering what good might come to that individual if he or she chose to read my notes!
Whatever the reasons for inactivity in your life, do not let them become excuses that hold you back. Trust. Listen to your inner wisdom. Take action.
Lost your notes? Lost your way? We all get lost sometimes. Trust and get going again. You can find your path. Trust that God is still speaking and guiding. Trust the word written on your heart.