What is in your hand?

Fill in the blanks: If I just had ______________ I would _______________.  We all have something we could put into this sentence.

For me it was "If I just had a beach house I would write more." I had that very cinematic, romantic view of writing. The house I wanted was Diane Keaton's house in the movie "Something's Gotta Give." Her desk faced the beach! I had convinced myself what I needed was time, a place and solitude. After all, isn't that what writers do? We sequester ourselves in some secluded setting and summon the muses?

In the absence of winning the HGTV dream house I limited my writing to lazy days and retreats. And then one day my passion and determination for writing forced me to look for alternatives. 

I don't have a ____________ but I DO have a ________________.

I don't have a beach house but I DO have a basement. A friend living in our basement recently moved out so I began thinking:

• I don't have time to paint the basement but I DO have a friend who loves to paint.
• I don't have the patience to organize the mess in the basement but I DO have a friend who is a organizational genius.
• I don't have money to redecorate but I DO have things I can pull from other rooms. 

And so the transformation began. Now to be clear there's no ocean view but I'm surrounded by the things that inspire me- things that make it feel like a beach house.

Why hadn't I thought of this sooner? I think Satan gets in my head and whispers my  "don't haves" too much. It's what he tempted Eve to focus on and that cost her paradise. 

God, however, encourages us to look at what we DO have which is sufficient to accomplish everything He asks of us. Moses in Exodus 4 was a perfect picture of this. God had an important mission for Moses; speaking on behalf of God himself. When Moses began focusing on what he didn't have, how he was not equipped, the Lord asked, "What is in your hand?" "A staff," he responded- a simple piece of wood Moses had probably whittled in exile. The same staff that herded sheep was now going to herd people to the Promised Land. When raised toward heaven it was going to part the seas and win a war. When striking a rock, it brought forth water in a dessert. 

What we have in our hands offered up to God is a mighty combination so I've tried to strengthen a 'DO HAVE' mentality. I ask , "What is in my hand?

Is there anything God has asked of you that you feel ill-equipped to handle? God is asking, "What is in your hand?" If you give it to Him, He'll do miraculous things!

If you will put your don't have in the comments or email me, I will join you in praying God reveals what you DO have!