A New Vision

Friday night was not what I expected.  When I returned from Utah in early December, I was optimistic and full of hope.  I had energy and wanted to share some of that energy with my friends and family.  I called Bible Study Mama to secure my favorite venue (her house) for the first Friday of 2020.  I wanted to have a vision board party.  I entitled this extravaganza 2020 Vision.

Bible Study Mama quickly gave the okay.  I sent out text messages to members of my tribe and invited them to participate.  Some responses were immediate, and the rest were crickets.  I wasn’t deterred.  I pressed Bible Study Brother on the issue.  I got eye rolls and shoulder shrugs.

Then the day of the event arrived.  Actually, Thursday arrived, and I was regretting my enthusiasm in December.  I was NOT in the mood for a vision board party.  My current vision was about turtling in my home on Friday, but like a good soldier, I marched on.

I’m so glad I marched on.  Bible Study Brother was not the only member of the Bible Study family that was on the fence.  Even though we were meeting at her house, Bible Study Mama wasn’t inclined to participate.  Of course, I talked crazy to her, and she said she would give it a try.

There was a spirit of excitement in the house.  Magazines, glue, scissors, markers, washi tape, and blank boards that were waiting for us to put our mark on them.  It was a slow start as people began to cut out pictures and words that they felt applied to the life that they desired.

Words and pictures were leaping off the page at me.  I cut until I had a huge pile.  I looked from my pile to my board and decided that I needed to try to lay out what I had so far.  When I placed everything on the board, I started to edit because I realized that I had left huge gaps.  Some of the pieces just didn’t fit.  Even though I thought I wanted them, there wasn’t the right amount of room.

Another amazing thing began to happen.  People shouted from table to table about the specific things that they were looking for.  There was a spirit of cooperativeness as we helped each other complete our visions.

It doesn’t take a super saved person to see how special this party was to me.  I’m guilty of piling all the things that I want on the altar.  I say “Lord, I want this, that, and the other thing.”  This exercise helped me see that I don’t really need all those things that I petition Him for.  He showed me that He makes room for the things that are the most important.

This party also showed me just how much I NEED community.  Even though we were all working on our own boards, people were able to look out for others.  There were several times that someone was able to hand over what someone else had been looking for.  It was beautiful.

The party wasn’t super spiritual.  I was not walking around with oil and praying over every board.  We did bless the food and ask God’s blessing over the night, but it wasn’t an exercise in evaluating our closeness to God.  It was an opportunity to get clear focus.  A chance to align ourselves.  The night was a clear reminder to me that I’m nothing without God’s guidance.  I can make all the plans in the world, but they will be frivolous without His hand on them.

It also reminded me that I could see someone else’s vision board and still not be able to interpret what their vision meant.  Our journeys are personal to us.  Listening to others describe their boards was priceless.  We are all on this journey.  Make time to build community.  Gather your friends and family and have a vision board party. #wepreach