Life is rocky.
Sometimes just smooth beach pebbles to make small ripples in a placid lake.
Sometimes its gravelly…. A bit rough but not slippery and not muddy.
Sometimes boulder-like, it makes you detour and journeying is time consuming ----takes effort.
Sometimes as much as a mountain range.
But life built on rock is sturdier than that on sand.
Oh make me strong.
Like a rock.
Just as I am
Not that I always know clearly what that is…
Sometimes I think I am my abilities and they are great.
I find out that not only are they not- I am not-
my abilities.
Sometimes I think I am my failures and they are awful.
I find out that not only are they not- I am not
my failures.
When God wanted to say who He was, He said I am that I am.
I will say, Iam a child of the I am.
And I come.
felicia April 18, 2013
http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh357.sht
Not Yet Buried
A blank’t of snow
The earth still sleeps
And condensation tears on window’s pane
Ice blue
Mute grey- the sky
Why spring’s delay?
For whom is winter’s freeze still held?
A hibernating pause-
Tis ‘t grief?
That stays this tomb-like cool?
What root or bulb o’ flower
Still needs be forced
By frost?
Then do!
Get on with dying- death!
And burst this shell!
The new, the green must come.
John 12: 24 "Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground,
dead to the world,
it is never any more than a grain of wheat.
But if it is buried,
it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over.
Longing for the Dawn
One of His dearest had betrayed Him -even to death,
Another- so devoted- first with insight-
Denied that he had ever known Him. And then,
His Father turned His face away.
Still
He accepted it.
Sorrowing, bleeding, dying. And then,
Low in the grave He lay.
His dear ones
mourning, disheartened, ashamed-
some even sure that this was all a pipe-dream.
Low in the grave He lay.
For all the world, death had won.
Where was this victory, proclaimed with His death?
He had done it.
Suffered, endured the turned face of God- for all.
Experienced abandonment
so none of us would have to.
And still…. His dear ones fled.
He waited- dead.
The finished work- was silent.
Love Jo all your days, if you choose, but don't let it spoil you, for it's wicked to throw away so many good gifts because you can't have the one you want.
~ Louisa May Alcott.
I’ve been thinking about longing. Advent- ‘Come thou long expected Jesus:…. Longing for things – or ones past, longing for dreams to come, longing for healing and loved ones, longing for hope.
I did a search for quotes and was surprised to read the one above from Little Women. In that simple sentence is a lesson.
When there is nothing to be done to realize our deep longings, there is still something to be done with what we have been given.
Thanks Ms Alcott.
I needed that.
And now, Advent is upon us
the advent of the birth of a Saviour who can redeem His people from their sin,
Who can restore them to a people of holiness-
where the law of love is written on their hearts
And makes them live- the hands and feet and passion of God.
A light is coming.
Where ever there is wilderness- a voice still cries out,
“Prepare ye the way of the Lord”.
The phrase “The person who filled it died, should read, The person who filled it would die.
A long time ago, there was a very important position that was empty. The person who filled it died. And God said, “How long will you mourn?” I have chosen someone new; go to this certain place and family and publicly, solemnly select the one I show you for the role”.
The one God was talking to did that- deliberately, with prayer, looked where God was looking and surveyed the possible choices.
There were many that looked good, strong, capable… but God said, “No, don’t judge by outward appearance, that’s the way people do it, but I judge by the heart.”
It’s not an easy thing to look past appearance, previous record or lack thereof, and past all the best projections of others and weigh the heart.
The one chosen in the story above was one called, “a man after God’s own heart”. Even after he was chosen, there would have been plenty of people who disagreed with that assessment. How about the many wives David had, or Uriah, the guy placed in danger so David could also keep HIS wife, how about those psalms in which David wants utter destruction on his enemies?
God judges the heart. He knows our intent, he knows our limitations, the things that blind us physically, or mentally and alter our behaviour, sometimes shockingly.
He is about the business of calling us after His own heart and He chooses us- despite the raw material. Intent matters. In law, it is a mitigating factor. When God chooses people, it’s the deciding factor.
I found this article this morning while thinking about things I’m waiting on, professionally, personally, and for others.
I’ve been thinking about the learning I do from experiences. My nature, and by some of my training, I am biased to the idea that only reflection and articulation ensures we gain the most from our experiences.
But can that be true?
A toddler who burns her hand on a hot stove does not likely sit down and think out, “hmm, when I put my hand on that place it hurts, therefore I won’t do it again”. The next time her hand passes over a hot spot, she most likely will just pull it back- without thinking at all.
There IS a wisdom that is gained just from living…. Even if you don’t know what you’ve learned, or that you’ve learned.
Maybe this is an intrinsic gift to suffering and challenging experiences. Maybe this gift is the basic benefit and all our thought processes that deepen our understanding are bonuses. ( Grammar czars- should that be boni like more than one focus would be foci ??)
Anyways…..My gut’s telling me that even when we don’t think we’ve caught a clue from life, our soul, our mind and our body have.
