We are starting up the weekly blog
postings after having taken a break over the summer. As we get back into our
fall routines, I trust this blog will be an encouragement, a blessing and even
a challenging nudge to draw closer to our Heavenly Father.
"Do not fear,
for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will
strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right
hand." Isaiah 41:10 HCSB
Jo-Ann P
The following blog post is part two from Arlene's June 26th post.
In my last post, I
wrote about our dark hours, and how God meets us there. http://bit.ly/YA2pFt The dark hours have
gifts to give, if we are receptive and open. I have certainly learned much about God’s grace, patience, and
compassionate kindness in my darkest times.
But then, there are
moments of incredible lightness, too.
From time to time,
without any warning… we are graced with moments that make us almost ache from
their unbearable sweetness. When, just for a second, we are not looking forward
or backward but actually breathing in the gift of this present moment…
Out of nowhere
comes oxygen. A spacious breath of freshness and life. The tiniest whiff of
spring after a long, frigid winter.
For a moment, I
feel seen. Visible. Found.
Moments when
without a doubt we know that we belong. I am embraced. I am pursued.
Moments when we are
fully present in our healing. The past is not my curse. I am not a victim. I am
a new creation. And I know this with every fiber of my being.
Moments when there
are no comparisons, no competition, no expectations. I am exactly who and where
and what I am supposed to be. I am defined by who I am as a child of Creator
God, and nothing and no one else.
There were moments
after my son was born that felt electric with this lightness. I breathed “thank
you, thank you, thank you, thank you” with every healthy wail, every touch of
warm baby skin, every squeeze of tiny fingers. I stood in my kitchen, bathing
my wrinkled newborn in the sink with tears rolling down my face and my heart
exploding.
The Giver of every
good gift grants these surprising instants that shock us into being fully
present in this rich, sweet life right this very second.
In both the bitter
darkness and the exquisite lightness, God meets us.
Both our darkest
hours and lightest moments are saturated with promise. The comforting promise
that this dark hour is not the end of the story, that there are better things
ahead…
And this sweet
delicious moment, this is a promise, too. This flickering instant is a whisper…
This is what we have to look forward to. There are even better things ahead.
Arlene M
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