This blog chronicles, in part, my journey through the dark night. In the midst of loss and pain, I struggled to know God, to even want to know him. But, in his grace, the Hound of Heaven followed me through the winding paths of my dark night with "unhurrying chase, and unperterbed pace." He pursued me and brought me out of the dark night. His " Beauty and Love Chase[ed] after me, all the days of my Life!" (Psalm 23)
I'm thankful for the dark night. I'm thankful for the loss, rejection and pain because they brought me face-to-face with the God who Pursues.
So, I am beginning afresh with a new blog and new focus, but am leaving up this small window into my journey because it has been helpful to others, and I pray that it will continue to be.
May we all grow in grace as we seek the one who pursues us through the dark night and brings us to the Light.
Light of Letters
The Word became flesh and dwelled among us . . . and the unfolding of His Words is Light.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Thursday, February 26, 2015
The Glory of Messy Days
I stared at oatmeal sludge oozing off the table onto carpet
and asked myself: “So, just what does it look like, in this moment, to live out Jesus
In me?” I knew yelling, “what
were you thinking?!” at the frozen faces in front of me wasn’t the answer (I’d
tried that before!), so I barked, “Don’t touch it! Go get your schoolwork while
I clean it up!”
But one mess just led to another.
Big brother teased screechy little sister while I tried to
teach middle brother that “aw does
not say ew.” Then little brother
picked his boogers and bled crimson droplets across the carpet while little
sister front-flipped over the couch onto her back and didn’t stop wailing for
half an hour. When I finally sat down during “rest time,” a loud crash, tinkling
glass, and little brother screaming, “It was an accident! It was an accident!” shattered
my momentary peace.
So now, at the end of this messy day, I return to my question:
“what does it mean to live out Jesus In Me?” How does the truth of “I am
with you always” change me from the
inside out?
I used to think Jesus
In Me meant he’d inspire super-spiritual strategies like, “When Angry, Count
to Ten.” But counting to ten before disciplining the kid drawing on the wall
with a Sharpie just plugged the flow of nasty words and failed to reach the
source—my sinful heart.
I’ve learned over the years that my heart, bent on
self-sufficiency, is often blind to the true power of Jesus In Me.
But Jesus—rich in
grace—transforms me from the inside
out by helping me see.
Jesus opens the eyes
of my heart to see Him, and seeing Him changes how I see everything.
Jesus in Me is the
greatest gift, and seeing his beauty isn’t a choice I make, it’s a gift He
gives.
So, on messy days when I’m blind to Jesus in Me, blind to his beauty, my prayer is this: “Jesus, help
me see you! “
Because seeing the beauty of Jesus transforms even the
messiest days into Glory.
“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek;
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life
to
gaze on the beauty of the Lord,
and
to seek him in his temple. ”
(Psalm 27:4).
The Glory of Messy Days
I stared at oatmeal sludge oozing off the table onto carpet
and asked myself: “So, just what does it look like, in this moment, to live out Jesus
In me?” I knew yelling, “what
were you thinking?!” at the frozen faces in front of me wasn’t the answer (I’d
tried that before!), so I barked, “Don’t touch it! Go get your schoolwork while
I clean it up!”
But one mess just led to another.
Big brother teased screechy little sister while I tried to
teach middle brother that “aw does
not say ew.” Then little brother
picked his boogers and bled crimson droplets across the carpet while little
sister front-flipped over the couch onto her back and didn’t stop wailing for
half an hour. When I finally sat down during “rest time,” a loud crash, tinkling
glass, and little brother screaming, “It was an accident! It was an accident!” shattered
my momentary peace.
So now, at the end of this messy day, I return to my question:
“what does it mean to live out Jesus In Me?” How does the truth of “I am
with you always” change me from the
inside out?
I used to think Jesus
In Me meant he’d inspire super-spiritual strategies like, “When Angry, Count
to Ten.” But counting to ten before disciplining the kid drawing on the wall
with a Sharpie just plugged the flow of nasty words and failed to reach the
source—my sinful heart.
I’ve learned over the years that my heart, bent on
self-sufficiency, is often blind to the true power of Jesus In Me.
But Jesus—rich in
grace—transforms me from the inside
out by helping me see.
Jesus opens the eyes
of my heart to see Him, and seeing Him changes how I see everything.
Jesus in Me is the
greatest gift, and seeing his beauty isn’t a choice I make, it’s a gift He
gives.
So, on messy days when I’m blind to Jesus in Me, blind to his beauty, my prayer is this: “Jesus, help
me see you! “
Because seeing the beauty of Jesus transforms even the
messiest days into Glory.
“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek;
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life
to
gaze on the beauty of the Lord,
and
to seek him in his temple. ”
(Psalm 27:4).
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