"The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until the full day."

-Proverbs 3:18

There are so many things I want to do for Christ in my life. I want to be a woman of light and influence. I want to fight for the kingdom of light - the coming kingdom - to exist more and more on this earth the way it exists in heaven. I want to hear God when he speaks the way Moses heard God, "face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." (Exod. 33:11), to live in His presence in uninterrupted fellowship so that I hear His voice and respond with immediate obedience. I want to become one of those women who spends so much time in prayer that her words carry the weight of spiritual authority. I want my faith to not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. (1 Cor. 2:4-5) I want to be generous to others, and gracious, as God has been to me. I want to fear God and live with integrity, above reproach. I want to use my spiritual gifts and natural talents to serve others in a way that shares the heart of Christ for them. And in doing all this, I want to never lose the zeal of my first love.

And that's just off the top of my head. But basically, I want to be a power player. So it's frustrating sometimes to see how far I am from actually being one.

But the good thing is, God seems to be in much less of a hurry than I'm in. Which is why the above verse from Proverbs is so comforting to me. Think about it. At first, the light at dawn is barely a glimmer, but as the sun rises and time goes by, the light becomes brighter and brighter until it illuminates everything in sight. What a beautiful analogy for our walking in righteousness. We don't have to immediately be blindingly upright and holy. It's a process. Just as light gradually fills the sky at dawn, so the righteousness of the Lord transforms us, and with every step we take towards Christ, we shine just a little bit brighter.

(So keep at it. Even the small steps count!)