Yes or No

I refer to my calligraphy business a lot when I’m writing. I guess it’s just one of the things that the Lord uses to teach me lessons.

But this time around, my story starts out sounding like a downer. (Spoiler: there’s a happy ending!)

Two weeks ago, I shutdown my Etsy shop. I had been stewing on it for a little while, and I just woke up one Sunday morning thinking, “Today might be the day…” Sure enough, the message at church was about dreams. Some fulfilled. Some only temporary. And some that are best left in dreamworld. It was a convicting sermon. One where you leave the pew empowered and ready to apply it to your life and then you realize, “Oh wait… Maybe I’m the latter of those options. Maybe I’m supposed to turn away from a dream because that’s what would glorify the Lord most.”

Ouch.

So I mentioned it to my husband over lunch, went home, and deleted my shop. Bye bye! It happened so fast and it felt so right.

But then the questions started. Phone calls. Literal phone calls asking if everything was okay. I mean this was my dream, my passion, my hobby. Something must have gone horribly to just walk away. Maybe I should reopen shop immediately, right??

No. My response was that I walked away because things were good, but they weren’t great. It was fulfilling, but I saw other things that I couldn’t invest in because of this commitment that had potential to be more fulfilling. And most importantly, I felt the pull of God at my heart to make time in my life for Him, for other passions, and for new dreams. It was time to say NO.

I’m not a “no” person.

Saying “yes” comes easy to me. Saying “no” is much harder. But one thing that I was reminded of was that my “Yes” should be my “yes”, and my “no” should be my “no”. (Matthew 5:37)

Now my example of a closed door being my “no” is somewhat simplified. To be honest, because of that “no”, I’ve had the time and freedom to pick up things that really matter to me. I’ve been able to give a more confident “yes” because I don’t feel so weighed down by a half-hearted commitment.

And you know what? This lesson has 100% applied to my spiritual life as well.

In my walk with Christ, my “no” being my “no” means that my repentance of my shortcomings and sins is a 180 degree turn. I’m not just kinda sorta gonna try not to be prideful. I’m going to refute it, ask for counsel to keep me accountable in it, and make it my mission to live a life of humility. “No” means “no”, right?

And “yes” means “yes”. That means that when I tell a sister I’m praying for her, my words are not hollow and empty. I’m carving out time and committing actions to my words. Because that’s what “yes” means.

Who knew that saying “no” to my Etsy account would remind me that I needed to cherish and use my vocabulary so much better?

A challenge for you: This week, say “no” to one thing that is separating you from the Lord. And then turn around and say “yes”… to Bible study, to prayer, to whatever in your life needs some set apart time.

Oh! And I almost forget the happy ending to my Etsy tale! I closed down my shop of knick-knacks and what-nots, and within 5 days, I booked 4 weddings to do calligraphy for. One little “no” opened up room in my heart (and schedule) for me to say “yes” to the things in my business that mattered to me most!

God is good, y’all. Yes, yes, yes.