Lot's Wife

"But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." Gen 19:26

I was on my way home from visiting STL and my heart was feeling heavy. I was dreading coming back to Cincinnati. I was ready to sleep in my own bed and I definitely wanted to be done with the 5 hour drive, but I was sad to yet again leave behind loved ones who are struggling to let go just as much as I am and I didn't want to face work the next day. I sent Josh the following text message; "What am I doing with my life? I mean I tell everybody that I'm doing exactly what God wants me to do, but then why am I not happy?"

Like Lot's wife, I followed my husband. I know God has a plan and is laying it out before our feet - I mean c'mon... the fact that my principal prayed me into the position that I myself was praying for?? Hello - God-given!!

Like Lot's wife, I've been finding myself looking back, longing for the things left behind. CSR is nothing like PMA. Cincy is nothing like STL. FFC is nothing like Pathway. Compare, compare, compare. Josh answered me back saying "...You look back at all the accomplishments and relationships and want them right away. God is wanting us to rely on Him to make the difference through us..."

As soon as I read that text message, God brought to mind this verse. Strange that I would know this verse so well that it was hidden in my heart for this moment, but here it was. "But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." God called Lot and his family up out of Sodom because of the evil that was happening there. He had a bigger and better plan for them, if they would just pack up and leave and not look back. Why shouldn't they look back? This was their home. They were surely leaving behind loved ones. They definitely couldn't take everything with them.

When I first read this verse many years ago, I just took Lot's wife's action as a curiosity of what was happening to the city. However, yesterday it took a whole new meaning for me. Now, I'm not saying there is evil left behind in STL. (I mean, the city does have it's share of problems - but what city doesn't?!) Lot's wife wasn't supposed to long for the things she was told to leave behind because what God had in store for them was even greater than the sin and debauchery that lived in Sodom.

That is my take-away. I'm not supposed to long for the things left behind - miss them, sure, to a certain extent. To miss them only so that it doesn't interfere with the plans God has laid out for me here in Cincy. If I'm too focused on what's left behind, I can't see what God has presented before me. I can't see the opportunities that He has placed in my path. I don't want my life to idolize what I've left behind so that I become a pillar of salt in my community.

I pray that whatever it is in your life that is causing you to look back like Lot's wife, you may realize that God has a better thing right in front of you to focus on. Pray for me that I may extend my focus there as well.

In Christ's Love,
~C-Tay :)