The anticipation of germination

I’m so excited! I just rented a venue for an event that I’ve been dreaming about for years. It is a momentous, and I hope life-changing, day.

In fact, the whole day has been unusual. I had trouble sleeping last night, but instead of fretting, I played relaxing music, lit scented candles, prayed and listened to Scriptures. I finally fell into a peaceful sleep, but unusually, I kept waking up through the night. When the sun rose, I did too. As a night owl who’d just worked a 14-hour day with late-night meetings, I’d really hoped to sleep later. But instead of flitting away those “found” hours, which I covet so much to accomplish more things, all I accomplished at dawn was writing in my gratitude journal from my prayer chair.

That start to my day was divine. I reflected on 25 things I was grateful for but hadn’t journalled yet, and finished with a prayer that God would use me to bless someone today. That felt great. I’ve noticed that lately I’ve been praying for God to help me with mundane things, whereas it’s much more exciting (and appropriate) to pray that I can help God accomplish God’s goals.

What a relaxing start to my morning that prayer time was! It helped me log into work unusually calm. I know it was the prayer, not the circumstances, since we’re at the crunch time of a 5-month late project, understaffed and overworked. I remained calm even as I looked at the red-coded statuses on our project update, and told my manager I predicted a 2-week delay in my conflicting deliverables.

But the important reason that this was a momentous day is that an idea I’ve been gestating for years is coming to fruition – in just 5 weeks. And it happened by accident. Let me tell you how.

Yesterday I brought my bike to the shop because the tuneup I got last month failed to fix the shifting problem. Today I picked it up. It’s unusual for me to get off work early enough to make it to the bike shop two days in a row, and today I managed to pick up, test drive, and return the bike to the shop before it closed. My calmness carried me through that setback too; instead of being angry that I have to come a third day in a row when my life is already too hectic, I was grateful that it wouldn’t require two more trips to drop off and pick up.

So I was in a good mood on the unexpected walk home. It allowed me to visit the local bakery where the server is so friendly she gave me a hug last time – that took care of dinner. It allowed me to visit the new gelateria I just noticed today, and discover a wonderfully refreshing grapefruit sorbet. When the intermittent raindrops turned to a downpour while the sun was streaming, it was so pretty I didn’t rue getting wet, just that I didn’t have a camera to capture the beauty! Then I went into the venue that turned the gestation into germination.

I notice this place every time I go to the grocery store. I dropped in once, and I’ve always meant to visit again. But not for this. Today is the first time I envisioned this place as being the site of the seminal event.

I hate talking about things and never doing them. I dreamed out loud about this event extensively on new year’s eve, and made a checklist. I spoke about it again this summer, and someone volunteered to help with the planning. The venue was the big missing piece. Today, it fell beautifully into place. There are so many wonderful details about it that I haven’t shared with you – how the owner and I had a heartwarming talk; how she’s personally impacted by the mission I’m trying to accomplish; how new friends bring new pieces to the puzzle; and how the energy this step is creating in me is a huge confirmation that this is what I’m meant to do. The reason it might be life-changing is that I hope it’s the first of many such events.

I prayed this morning that God would make me a blessing today, and I believe this is part of the answer. God allowed me to bless two strangers on the street as well, pray for my friend who went to the hospital instead of our lunch date today, and hire another friend for her new consulting business. Isn’t it fun to pray audacious prayers & get them answered? The gestation has just turned into germination, and I can’t wait to see its fruition!

About Charis

Tech guru, multimedia enthusiast, and world traveler promoting storytelling for peace
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