I've heard my husband often say, "being precedes doing." I've been trying to patiently apply this principle to my life since the first time I heard him teach it. It seems I've been becoming for a very long time, but becoming who God wants is an on-going process. I understand I can't force my way into fulfilling God's purpose my way and in my time. Though it seems like it would be nice to bypass all of the struggle stuff, to succeed in never experiencing difficulty would be overstepping God's process of making me into the vessel He desires to use. I am tempted at times to want to push my way towards a more comfortable route, but being submitted to His Lordship means it's not me who decides how, when, or where his plan takes me. I have to simply stay pliable to the work of His hands. Becoming is not about man's measure of my works. If I perform as a response to man's expectations, the works I do eventually become filthy rags. Becoming is about God's measure of the outflow of His work in me. Whatever I do should be directly related to His making of me. If He's always in charge of me, I'll always be engaged in doing the right things—the things He desires for me to do. He and I know where He's brought me from. He knows where I am right now; He knows where He's taking me; and He knows what purpose He plans for me. It's all good! Though I may not always see everything clearly, and though it sometimes takes time for me to adjust, I've learned to trust Him with my life. I've learned from experience that He completes what He starts. I asked Him a few questions the other day. He told me to be true to who I've become in Him. He told me to trust Him. And He said He'd continue to clarify His use for my life. I'm thankful He sees something useful in me-—that He sees enough to invest His work into me. It seems the best way for me to thank Him is to live according to what I'm becoming—nothing more and nothing less.