I've noticed a very interesting phenomenon: The times when I feel led by God to step outside of my comfort zone turn out to be the times when I feel God's care more tangibly than usual. I think it has to do with yielding. All too often, I think of yielding to God's will as a form of punishment, defeat, or denial. Probably I'm not alone in that. It seems almost inevitable for the human mind to struggle with the idea of letting go.
But there is another definition of yield, as in yielding an abundant harvest. I have learned that only God's guidance can yield safety, goodness, love, protection, satisfaction, and progress. And who wouldn't want to take part in that kind of yield—even if it meant yielding his or her idea of how things should go?
Ten years ago, my husband and I began foster-parenting newborn babies. That may not sound too momentous, except for the fact that in our more than 20 years of marriage, we had always prided ourselves in remaining "free," which to us meant childless. To say that we felt we'd stepped outside our comfort zone is putting it mildly.
