The Valley

You know, as we walk along on this pathway called Life, there are the stretches that we walk along that are straight and smooth.  Then there are the hills that take work and leave us puffing and when we get to the top... oh, the view, it stretches out and on as far as one can see and makes the upward trek worth it.  Then below is the valley.  We view the valley from afar and enjoy the scene from above.  But if we continue to walk, we need to walk down the mountain and into the valley.  But sometimes we are catapulted into it or it blindsides us and those are the ones that leave us reeling for a time.  And sometimes they seem to stretch on forever.  And some do... losing a partner or a child, losing eyesight, paralysis, you name your pain...

The Valley.
The Storm.
The Harsh Winds that blow.

Situations. Valleys. That are forever etched in our hearts and lives leave us gasping and trying to find shelter.  It covers the path and we may find ourselves groping along and wondering who in the world is with us or even cares.  Even, where is my Abba Father??

How do we live in the midst of it all? 

Jennifer Rothschild wrote these words... "Even when we have faith, it's easy to feel fear when the shadows of uncertainty get thick. But, even though fear and faith can share the same heartbeat, they don't share the same perspective. That's why we need the faith perspective when it comes to our valleys. Fear focuses on the shadows. Faith focuses on the Shepherd.

Sister, even the darkest valleys aren't so dark when God is with us. He is light and His Word is a light to our paths. So ask Him for faith, and stay in His Word. When you do, your perspective will begin to change, your faith will grow, and you will see light even when your valley is dark."
"When you can't change your valley, change your perspective."

The time was right and those words penetrated my weary and faltering heart.  I still wasn't sure what to do with those words, but the Lord used them to paint a picture. (I think in pictures and analogies...)

In the valley there are stones, rough patches, but there are also flowers, ferns; maybe a brook running through and even a butterfly.  Some days the sun shines and I feel the warmth penetrate my body and I feel warm.  Other days the winds blow and I search for shelter, a place of  refuge and I huddle.

I felt the whisper deep in my heart... it all depends on what you want to focus on.  In the valley there are both... the hard and the joys.

To live one must grieve.  And to focus on the joys is not a denial of the hard.  And when you grieve the hard stuff... whatever you are facing... it frees you to live.

Romans 8:26 ... but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

Psalm 126:5-6  Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.  He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Another picture I had was of stones...

I kept stumbling over the disappointments, the being misunderstood, the losses, and the pain and I saw them as stones (because that's what often trips us up) and some even felt like a boulder (because some are so big and heavy we feel crushed beneath the weight of pain and we can't see beyond it for the moment).  I kept stubbing my toes on them and not being able to see past others, and then...

I use stones in my flower beds as accents, so I felt the Lord 'whisper' move those stones to a place where they will be an accent and not a stumbling stone.  Someone even used the boulder as a landmark.

Romans 8:28  And all things work together for good to those who love God.

I wonder how it was put there.... I'm sure no man lifted it and set it there.  There was another force, another help to place it there.  I wonder if that can be the mountain that is moved by prayer and fasting???  Matthew 17:20-21 
All I know is that there are some pain and hard that healing really is only possible because of Jesus.

There is a way to live when one is so broken.  It is not to deny what is but it is to focus on what also is.
It is not to deny or stuff what hurts or is hard but the other side of the coin is the joys and beauty that is also present.  We get to choose what we focus on and to live the dance of the hard and the broken with the beauty and joys that are also present.

Ahh...  a strong breeze of hope swept over my soul and anchored it in the knowledge of God's love for me.  All the time.

Hope.
The Breath of Fresh Air.

Many times I felt as if God was in the room but not with me or near me.  God has given me the picture of a sheep huddled in a crevice or cave and He/Jesus is standing outside the doorway, protecting, seeing, while healing or quiet was happening inside... inside my heart.  Even though all I could see and feel was my pain and tears.  The aloneness and questions haunted my days. 

But like they say, hindsight is 20/20 or at least closer to that.  I am seeing God's presence framing the doorway as love.  His protection as a gift.  My heart swells with the confidence that He loves. Me.

One of Jesus' many promises....
Isaiah 43:1-3  ... Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters I will be with you, and through the waters, they will not overflow (overwhelm) you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you.  For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel your Saviour;

God be with, dear reader.  God IS with you whether you feel it or not.  I am saying it for you just in case your faith is weak.  And if it's strong, go forth and walk in that confidence.

Manna Grace... The Miracle for Today

As the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, God provided.
He provided food called manna and gave specific instructions on when to gather it and how much and what to do with it.

Every morning it would cover the ground as dew covers the grass on a dawning morning.
You were to gather enough for your family for that day only.  No more for the next day. (It rotted if you kept it over for another day.)  Except the day before the Sabbath, you were to gather for two days.  It would be enough and it would not rot.  If you did not gather more you would be disappointed that Sabbath morning for there would be no manna.  Hunger would haunt you that day.
And if you did not go out to gather, you had nothing to eat.  - Exodus 16 14-31

Manna means, What is it?

Aren't we left, at times, with that question... What is it?  How does this fit in the picture?  How will this be enough for what I need (or think I need)?

Grace is like manna, enough for today.
You cannot take some for tomorrow.

Manna tasted sweet, like honey wafers.

And, so is grace.  The after taste is sweet to the taste buds of the heart and a balm for the hurting soul.

MANNA.
Grace.  for this moment.
Grace.  to believe.
Strength.  to rest.
Strength.  to trust that He is enough.

I read this quote while in the middle of a struggle.  A struggle that resulted from another's decision and left me wrestling to trust the heart of my Father.  Part of me didn't want to because I did not like the circumstances and yet... I knew... that God's ways are good.  I wrestled with the urge to take care of myself.

As I read this quote, I realized there are 'miracles', good things out there... BUT I MUST GATHER.
I must take the step 'outside' to pick up the piece of manna that is mine for the day.

The piece of grace, to rest.  To choose that He is enough for me.  TODAY.
The piece of manna to believe that God has good in mind for me and not evil.
The piece of manna to pray back to God the words He has spoken... His Promises.

If I 'stay inside' and whine and pout, I will miss the 'MIRACLES' of today.  I will miss the manna that is available for me.  I will not have the grace and strength available to rise above circumstances on eagle's wing.

And so, with tears, I took a faltering step outside... to 'pick up' my piece of manna...

The beauty of the manna of grace, is that it doesn't evaporate like the manna did for the children of Israel.  God offers His grace the moment we TURN TO HIM, and repent, asking for His strength to enable us.

What are you wrestling with today??
What is it that has you wanting to take care of yourself??

I invite you to come...
To our Heavenly Father who offers us the manna of grace and strength.  The grace to believe and the strength to trust.

And... maybe, you even need to share your struggle/wrestlings with a friend or mentor.  For a burden shared, is a burden found lighter.

May you know His grace and Presence, deep in your heart today.
May you find that He is enough, while wrestling with the hard things.
Most of all, may you know that YOU ARE LOVED.  By YOUR Heavenly Father, and may that enable you to rest.

Love to each of you...

The Stream and Life

I love to hear the rushing and gurgling of water as it ripples over the rocks of a stream.
In the springtime the streams are swollen with water and life is starting to show forth out of the brown earth around.
In the summer, rains swell the stream with water, brimming and flowing, pulsing with current.

There are two streams, one I see is clear and sparkling, making music over the rocks and around the logs.

Another stream is muddy with water rushing onward, flowing over any obstacle that may be in its path, making music.

Music.  Both streams.

Isn't that sometimes life?  Our stream may be flowing - clear and musical.  Life may make sense and we sing.  It's easy to sing a song of praise and say God is good.

But sometimes, and it seems more times than not, our stream is muddy and life doesn't make sense.  Life's perplexities and questions remain unclear and muddled.  Our prayers seem to go unheeded.  Relationships are muddied and hard.  Jobs may not go as planned.

Can we still choose song?  Can we still choose praise?  Can we still say God is good?

I am reading a book by Jennifer Rothschild - God is Just Not Fair.  Wow.  She says some powerful truths and speaks from her personal journey of becoming blind as a teenager and grapples with the hard questions, bringing them before her Heavenly Father.
Go to jenniferrothschild.com or better yet, purchase a copy of her book, so you can digest and re-digest the truths she shares.
Her life's story is a musical.  Her life's story is hard.

What do we do when our stream is muddied??

We can either flow onward, choosing to stay alive or become a pool, dammed by the rocks and most likely become stagnant and hard.

Common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense; they stand in the relation of the natural and the spiritual.  Can you trust Jesus Christ where your common sense cannot trust Him?  - Oswald Chambers

Like waters in the muddy stream, we can still make music as we flow onward; unless we get stuck in corner and become stagnant waters.
Hard is not wasted when we learn to bring our hard to God, our Heavenly Father.

Song comes when we choose to trust the Hand and Heart of our Father.  It's not a song we force to sing or melody that we labour to produce; but it FLOWS... ever onward and only because we choose to go forward with our Father.  He produces the song through His grace and love and redemption of our hearts.

Habakkuk 3:17-18  "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, YET I will rejoice IN THE LORD, I will be joyful IN GOD MY SAVIOUR."

In the stream, the song is loudest and most musical when there are rocks or waterfalls...
It's peaceful and tranquil when there are no obstacles...

We need both in life...   moments where we can sit and hearts take a deep breath... calming, rejuvinating... restoring...
and the rocks and mud, they keep us humble, dependent; reminding us of our need of God as we move with Him.

And it seems, in those hard moments, when we choose to stay with God, trusting His heart is good towards us; our song is the truest.
It's melody purest when we believe His Greater Truth in the muddied waters of life.

Let God make your life His musical masterpiece; turning beauty and song out of the joy and sorrow of your story.

Transformation

Transformation.

March.

Spring.

Transformation takes time.

It's hard to wait,

But wait we must.

Transformation is glorious.

And worth the wait.

I must tell my heart this glorious truth

over and over, again and again.

Change is happening.

Warm will come.

The final transformation

will happen in the 

blink of an eye.

In a moment.

We shall all be changed.

I Corinthians 15:52-53

I can't wait for that final transformation... 

In the meantime, I will wait.  rest.  trust Him as He transforms my heart to be more and more like Him.  II Corinthians 3:17-18

As He again transforms dry, brown, and bareness to be green and flowing with colour once again.

Enjoy today.  For that is all we have.  

In this moment, trust His heart and inhale His love.

Fragrant like the blooming flowers we await to enjoy this spring season.

Love to you, today!

Grace, The Gift I Want, But Do I Give

I messed up...
I was too loud...
I spoke too much....
I wasn't kind enough....
I...
I...
You fill in the blank.

And I wonder will people still like me?
Will what I say matter in the light of maybe hurting another unknowingly??

The barrage invades our minds.  my mind.

Grace.  the breath that wisps over the air of our soul and wants to be inhaled.  But will I?  Will the other person offer me that breath?  Will I inhale it when it's offered?  Will I receive His grace and live in it's life-changing breath?
Maybe... It is a choice I need to make...

What is grace?

(back again after a L-O-N-G pause :))

What is grace?  One definition says (and I like it a lot) - to give beauty to.  Another is - thoughtfulness toward others; unmerited love and favour of God toward mankind.

It's what we want when we didn't come through right or came across in a way we did not intend, etc.

It's... will you still love me in the middle of brokenness??  Will you see beyond to what could or can be in spite of what you see right now?

It's what I want from another.  So the question is, Am I willing to be that for someone else?
To bring beauty to their life.  To give them the beauty of understanding, love, forgiveness, etc.  To not write them off in a moment of when they did not come through.

Lord,
   You do not walk away from me when I mess up.  You draw me to Yourself.  You stay PRESENT. (the best present you can give to someone) Longing for me to turn my gaze on You.  to repent.  To lean on You and learn more of You.
   There is forgiveness.  Your heart is so big.  You so badly want to relate with me that You even provide the means for that to happen.
    You sent Your Son for my redemption.  It was man who chose to turn away from what You said.  But it was You who gave, so we could live.
Grace.
Bringing BEAUTY to the ugly of wrong choices.
Grace.
That which we did not deserve and yet You so badly wanted us that You provided the way.

Lord,
   May I understand this a bit more in my heart.  Help me to grasp this in my own heart, so that I may live it for You as I relate to others around me.  We don't get it right and You showed us how to respond in the midst of all of that messy.  Grace.  Love.  Extended.  Breathed in, breathed out.  Inhaled and exhaled to be received by the one who needs it...

(maybe this is a timely posting of something I started weeks ago.... )
This is the Christmas message - Peace (to set at one again) on earth and good will towards men.  Luke 2:14

May you know the Spirit of Christmas, that you may live the Spirit of Christmas.  JESUS. is His name.  Immanuel - God with us.

In all of life.  In every situation.  Through the joys and sorrows.  In the midst of victory and failure.  He is there waiting to remind us who we are in Him - forgiven. loved.  So get up and breathe in the grace He is offering.  Raise your hand to His and let Him lift you higher than you've been before.
Breathe in, breathe out....
Absorb His greater Truth in your heart...
and let it change whatever wrong belief that you're saying to yourself...

That is God's gift to you - HIMSELF.

Then, go, and extend that gift of grace to those you come in contact with.

                                              MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!!!