Commitment Issues

I’ve been having a love affair with my guitar and I was really hoping to make sweet music together, but I seem to be having commitment issues. Haha..no, really…I do love it and always enjoy my time learning to play it, but I just can’t seem to commit to it! I desperately want to play and build a future with it…so what’s my problem? Maybe it’s my not-so-pitch-perfect voice that keeps me from playing. Or maybe that’s just a dumb excuse. Maybe I’m like the person who says they want to get in shape and go to the gym, but never goes. They really do want to, but wanting it and actually doing it are two very different things. It takes commitment and discipline and hard work. All of which are extremely challenging, but definitely not impossible. Excuses pile up, right? I’m too tired; it’s too cold; it’s too hot; my back hurts, (blah blah blah). I know, I know, I do it all the time.. I’m so out of shape and I keep telling myself I’m gonna make changes, but it’s soooo hard. Well, I guess that’s why I can’t run anymore or play the guitar. Maybe I don’t really have commitment issues at all…maybe, I’m just not willing to put in the hard work (gulp). That’s a hard pill to swallow, but truth often is.

I write lots of poetry and every now and then, I attempt to give it rhythm and form. I’ve even gone so far as to bribe a close friend to get me into a recording studio to record one of my songs. It was an awesome experience, mostly because the technology covered up the off-pitch parts of my voice and made it sound better than it really is, (kind of like air-brushing the voice). I wish I could share that song with all of you, but it was written years ago, for a man I once dated, (who had commitment issues, too), and I don’t think my husband would appreciate me posting a song I wrote for someone other than him. I did, however write another song specifically for my husband that he loves. My daughters do too, but I wasn’t able to get into that magical recording studio to make my voice sound good, so I can’t share that one, either. Sorry, that’s the best excuse I have.

Excuses are so easy to give, aren’t they? But they’re often harder to receive and hard to argue. We’re all guilty of dishing them out and most of us would agree that we hate them. So, why do we do it? I’m starting to discover how annoying excuses are. Especially my own. When I think of all the excuses I’ve given for my shortcomings and things I’ve wanted to accomplish, I get so frustrated at myself. Why can’t I stop making excuses and just do it? NIKE got it, so why, oh why can’t I? What do we want so badly, that gets replaced by excuses? Do we really want it, then? If so, get up and go after it! Pull up those bootstraps and move! Just COMMIT… UGHHH, there’s that awful word again.

I’m in the process of recognizing that I AM getting older and if I don’t start doing something about my commitment issues, I’ll never achieve anything of real value. Whether it’s my health, the guitar, my relationships with people or my relationship with God, it begins with commitment and ends with perseverance. Simple, right? NOPE! Nothing valuable is ever achieved without hard work and often a lot pain, but nearly always worth every bit of it, in the end.

We do have control over some things in our life, but there are many things we simply don’t have any control over. If I am really honest with myself, I will know the difference between the two and shouldn’t make excuses for what I can be doing myself. But, what if I don’t have any control? Then what? Well, I wrote a song for that too and I’m going to share it with you, (but only the words, because I’m still working on the rhythm). This song is about getting through the storms, that we can’t control. Sometimes, God allows us to go through them, but we don’t have to be a victim of their disaster. The storm can be used to cleanse us, test our faith, build our character and give us new life. This song was conceived in the eye of a pretty tough storm, which I’m still currently going through. I even used the storm as my excuse to stop writing, but God is showing me that I need to keep writing. God is seeing me through this hard time and the only reason I’m still standing is because I’m keeping my eyes on Jesus and not the storm. He is teaching me to rejoice in it, because it will refine me, just as gold is refined by fire; that my hope is in Him, even when I can’t see through the darkness.

MY HOPE IS IN THEE

Swept away by another storm, the current’s too strong to stand

So, Lord, in you I place my trust, tho I don’t understand

Your reasons why, still here am I

My life is in your hands

 

(CHORUS)

My eyes are on Jesus, I surrender to Thee,

and consider my troubles, pure joy for me.

Purify me through pain, while I rejoice in the rain 

and when I can’t see…my hope is in Thee

 

(VS.2)

When I’m tossed by the waves of doubt and I can’t see the shore

I hold on to the hope I have and the promises in your word 

Through the eye of the storm, keep my eyes on you, Lord

and remind me that I’m yours

 

(CHORUS)

My eyes are on Jesus, I surrender to Thee,

and consider my troubles, pure joy for me.

Purify me through pain, while I rejoice in the rain 

and when I can’t see…my hope is in Thee

 

(BRIDGE)

You whisper my name, so gentle and clear, 

saying “don’t be afraid, my child, I am here”

I’ll see you through, just take my hand

Let ME be the rock on which you will stand”

 

(CHORUS)

My eyes are on Jesus, I surrender to Thee,

and consider my troubles, pure joy for me.

Purify me through pain, while I rejoice in the rain 

and when I can’t see…my hope is in Thee

 

If you’re going through a storm, ask God to show you whether or not it’s because you refused to do the hard work OR if it’s an opportunity to be tested, strengthened or purified. If it’s the former, be willing to commit to the task. If it’s the latter, be committed to going through the fire, with your eyes on Jesus, so you can come through it refined as pure gold. Call upon Him and He will answer you. Trust His promise to never leave you or forsake you. And when you can’t see through the darkness, let your Hope always be in HIM! He NEVER has commitment issues!

 

James 1:2-8

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

 

Deut. 31:6

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

 

**If anyone wants to help me put this song to music, let me know…I could use the help! Send me a note. Thanks!

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