There is no turning back

Are you ever afraid you might slip into your old ways? Or do you wonder if you really have changed all that much? What would it look like to feel hope that change can really happen? These are all legitimate questions. I know that I don't want to go back and deep down I know that I cannot go back. I think once you have tasted the power of God's Spirit it will not allow you to settle. I believe God speaks most clearly to us through our heart. It just knows...which is kind of strange when you really stop to think about it. Just step back and think about the last time you or someone else said, "God spoke to me". Well, did He speak to you audibly? Or did He really or are you making it up? The truth is that you know He did. You know this because of heart. I am reminded of this quote about heart and change...

"Once you start to awaken, no one can ever claim you again for the old patterns. Now you realize how precious your time here is. You are no longer willing to squander your essence on undertaking that which does not nurture your true self; your patience grows thin with tired talk and dead language. You see through the rosters of expectation which promise you safety and the confirmation of your outer identity. Now you are impatient for growth, willing to put yourself in the way of change. You want your work to become an expression of your gift. You want your relationship to voyage beyond the pallid frontiers to where the danger of transformation dwells. You want your God to be wild and call you to where your destiny awaits".

--- John O'Donohue From...The Questions Hold the Lantern