Good morning…
“There is a difference between being driven and being drawn,” she said at the end of yesterday’s phone conversation. Intrigued by the crossroads of these two words, I jotted her concluding statement in my journal, returning to her wisdom when I woke around 2:00 am. Around 3:30 am, I climbed back into bed, sensing God’s message for us today was not yet fully formed. When I woke again at 5:30 am, I resumed my exploration, listening wholeheartedly with my pen.
Waking the second time, I made two columns on my journal page, BEING DRAWN on the left, BEING DRIVEN on the right. Under each phase, I let words tumble out freely.
“BEING DRAWN – Gut level experience. Knowing in my bones. Sensing an invisible force. Hard to rationally explain. Magnetic pull toward something larger. Deep, quiet invitation. Trusting without seeing. Submit, surrender, surf on power not my own. Anchored securely by some internal knowing.”
“BEING DRIVEN – Forceful. Controlling. My agenda. My desire. My goal. My effort. Exhausting. Hard work. Relentless pursuit. Do not let up. Striving for tangible, measurable results. Take charge. Make it happen. Set course and follow well-defined path to success. Passion fueled by external achievement.”
Earlier in the night, my journal had captured another portion of my discernment process.
“Being drawn is cooperating with a magnetic pull forward into something larger, more expansive, way beyond. Being ‘driven’ feels more me, mine, big ‘I.’ Drawn senses, submits, surrenders. ‘Driven’ forces, controls, exhausts. ‘Driven’ is me, me, me. Drawn is God, more God, more and more God. I am drawn to the blank page in the middle of the night. I do not feel ‘hard-driven’ to write, blog, craft a message each morning. Not ‘driven’ but drawn, my pen quietly collaborate with the Creator of our universe.”
That was the spot where my 2:00 am notes had ended. I sensed it in my bones, God’s message was not done. So I climbed back into bed, like slipping a half baked cake back into the oven to wait patiently.
I woke the second time to a personal story filling my mind, a story from 2003 which changed the trajectory of my life. Playing with that memory like Playdough, I remember my young self stuck at a crossroads, ‘driven’ to do one thing, drawn to do another. Back then, I chose drawn. I am grateful God mustered in me the strength to chose drawn. The ripples drawn from that single life choice are now beautifully expanding out into eternity.
Listen as Wisdom calls out!
Hear as understanding raises her voice!
On the hilltop along the road, she takes her stand at the crossroads (Proverbs 8:1-2, NLT).
…Sue…
