may 13, 2021
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Morning friends,
It is a gorgeous day! I love the sunshine and warmth.
Yesterday I was reading in a puddle of sunshine like a cat, and it was glorious.
On a day where it's potentially easy for worry and anxiety to dominate, I know it's important for me to spend time listening to what Jesus has to say. I am aware of my need to be in the quiet place with God and let his truth reign above any other thought pattern or fear.
I have no desire to make this particular thing in my life seem like the biggest deal, because really it's not. There are so many people who have lived a similar story or have endured heavier and longer seasons of loss. But it's not about comparison, and in fact, I think sometimes it is actually when we are experiencing a season of smooth-sailing that it can be the most difficult to see our need for the quiet spaces with Jesus.
Sometime in the past year I read some thoughts on Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness and then his temptation that followed. I think it may have been John Mark Comer who was writing about how it was because of the time spent in the quiet place/the wilderness with God that Jesus was able to resist the temptations that Satan brought before him.
I had always thought this was Jesus at his weakest, after not eating for 40 days, being alone, tired and worn down and then having to face this intense challenge.
And it is true that in some ways he was in a state of lacking; but I love the truth that he was also in a state of strength because of his deep, full, reliance on God's sustaining. He has been in the presence of his Father, drawing on the life that comes from God's love, truth and goodness, and that was why he was able to endure and thrive in the midst of what seemed like an impossible challenge.
There is much there for us, for me. We also have access to God's presence and can experience his strength and sustaining when we spend time in the quiet place with him.
Probably that won't look like 40 days in the wilderness :) More often I find beautiful quiet-place moments interspersed with real life - when I'm listening to music while I was the dishes, as I breathe in the fresh air while walking the dog, or when I find myself fully present to a moment of joy & delight with my crazy famjam. For sure, there are also times of stillness, listening, praying, worshipping, that give life and let me soak for longer periods in the presence and love of Jesus. Some kind of mixture of all of these are the quiet place that equips my heart and gives life to my soul.
I'm sure that today and tomorrow will hold many of these different types of prayer and presence. My awareness of my need is big and I know that God won't disappoint. I have everything I need to walk forward with confidence and joy.
And friends, I never want you to think that I somehow have this all figured out, because whoa, I assure you that I'm super regular, and so much of the time I'm writing these reflections and truths to remind my own heart and let them settle in again. I was always a write-it-out kind of studier in university and still find that when I put pen to paper (or so to speak :p) that it holds the truths in my mind in a more reliable way.
As I think about these things and pray my way through the pieces of this morning, this is the song ringing in my heart - beautiful, old, familiar and fresh, it is true of my heart today and I'm so grateful. I know that this peace in the middle of hard days is a result of Jesus' grace and many wonderful friends praying xo
My life flows on in endless song;
Above earth's lamentation,
I hear the sweet, though far-off hymn
That hails a new creation
Through all the tumult and the strife,
I hear that music ringing
It finds an echo in my soul
How can I keep from singing?
What though my joys and comforts die?
I know my Saviour liveth
What though the darkness gather round?
Songs in the night he giveth
No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that refuge clinging
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth
How can I keep from singing?
I lift my eyes, the cloud grows thin
I see the blue above it
And day by day this pathway smooths,
Since first I learned to love it,
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart
A fountain ever springing
For all things are mine since I am his
How can I keep from singing?
No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that refuge clinging
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth
How can I keep from singing?
Our crew is heading to my parents this afternoon. They are all doing well and I'm thankful that they'll be able to have some distance from the first few days of my recovery. We're to be at the hospital tomorrow for 6am; Nathan won't be able to stay at all but they said that I'll be home later that same day, so that's great, and not what we had been expecting. I'm sure that it will be awful in lots of ways, but I also really know that it'll be okay too.
Thank you for your prayers, messages, love and encouragement.
I know God will continue to carry us through the next days and weeks, and pray that you also know the beauty & renewal of the quiet places with him, whatever that may look like for you xo
