Storms will come, count on it.
Times may come when you feel God is asleep,
not taking care of you, protecting you.
“Don’t you care?” you will pray.
Of course God cares, but just isn’t worried. Not at all.
You see, you are perishing, my dear, bit by bit.
God won’t take that from you,
won’t come between you and the storm,
but will go through it with you.
Even as the waves of your fear
wrap their white knuckles around your boat
there he is, curled in the stern,
unworried, vulnerable, babylike, willing.
Do you think he’ll let it sink if he’s in it?
When Jesus, drenched with your life,
cries, “Peace, be still,”
who do you think he’s talking to?
The calm of a storm-free life
might indeed be, as the writer says,
a dead one.
And if this really is the last chapter of your life,
won’t you have had
exactly what both of you want the most—
to be together through it all?
The spiritual life is a life that is guided by God’s Spirit, the same Spirit that guided the life of Jesus. So, how can we be in touch with the Spirit, hear the voice of the Spirit, and allow ourselves to be guided by the Spirit?
Can we create some space for God where we can hear, feel, and experience the Spirit of God, and where it becomes possible for us to respond? Is there space in our lives where the Spirit of God has a chance of getting our attention?
We fill our inner space with worry about things that might happen and guilt about things that have already happened. And beneath our worry and our guilt there is a deep fear of empty spaces.
When we create an empty space, we make room for something to happen to us that we cannot predict, something that might be really new.
I am still
I wait
I pray
I clean
I am alone
– for the most part
Solitary
– even in a crowd
I wish for it
– interruptions come
some enjoyable
some annoying
I am present, yet not
I know the answer will come
I know movement is coming
but for now
It is the silence
That I embrace
and endure
with patience
and courage
at other times I have even been cheerful during this time
but not this time
This time,
I am in mourning
Grief surrounds my heart
heavy sadness
– for choices made
– being made even now
I long for intimacy
I long to be the choice
I wish I could help
but I can’t
Only God can do what needs to be done
– and He can only do it if the choice is made by you
– to ask, seek, knock – even the slightest opening He can transform
the choice is personal and must be freely made
and so we wait –
me and God
Jesus puts his arm around my shoulders
and pulls me close
I feel the Spirit holding my heart and bringing me comfort
I close my eyes and hear his promise,
‘I will never leave you or forsake you’
and my sadness is blurred
with the surge of peace and joy
The silence is good
we know each other here
in the waiting
we have been here many times before
I have learned to wait
– Even enjoy this path
the answer will come soon enough
this is the place of intimacy and trust
where we know each other most
Life will move forward
and I will spring into action
and do what is being set for me to do in my waiting
I do not question the way
– I am a willing vessel
Mine was a shattered life
which has known your healing touch
you, so lovingly, put my pieces together again
and mended me with love
My God knows the way
– mine is a heart of thankfulness
I am the grateful follower
waiting to love you and share with whomever I can
Not for any other reason except love
You have allowed me to glimpse
My belovedness
My value
The value of each soul you have created
The depths of your love is unending
I desire only to please you
My creator, my savior, my lover, my friend
I long to share this love
with the ones you allow me to
And so I wait
I stay in the silence
until my answer comes
and God speaks
I am listening, Lord
As You have before,
Speak when you are ready
Free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. – C.S. Lewis
Today is a ‘Freedom Anniversary’ for me! It is a big deal! My life has been a progression of stepping towards freedom.
The battles have been long, dangerous and hard to win in order to free myself. Both physically and spiritually. I am not completely there yet – it is a life-long exploration and journey to free myself. The chains and bars in my prisons, because I find they are legion, are very strong. My Alcatraz type barren -rock islands were such a long way from shore, with many snipers, predators and sharp rocks in the water and on all sides of the shores. My guards were very alert and ready to shoot me, or keep me locked down and in solitary for my whole life. They were gleeful when I fell and happy over my pain and destruction.
And yet, the love, the words, and truth, of God were so much more powerful than any of these things, that no prison in this world could not hold me and, for 22 years now, I keep walking out of my prisons into the brilliant light and sunshine of the free!!!!
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou
A free bird leaps on the back
Of the wind and floats downstream
Till the current ends and dips his wing
In the orange suns rays
And dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage|
Can seldom see through his bars of rage
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things unknown but longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
And the trade winds soft through
The sighing trees
And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright
Lawn and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings with
A fearful trill of things unknown
But longed for still and his
Tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom.
The past couple of months I have been doing a lot of thinking, reading, learning and coming to new understanding about prayer. For the next few days I will be posting some of the things I am learning.
For many years I tried to ‘pray’ in fancy ways and words. ‘Dear Lord, Thank you for your bountiful blessing…etc, etc…blah..blah…blah. I never felt like God had answered the phone. I was just leaving a voicemail. It was a little frustrating. Then my life exploded into millions of tiny fragments. For many years as I sought grace and healing my prayers were guttural. There were no words for me. There was no music for me. It was a path of such pain that the suffering was silent. There was no way to express it. Over and over my soul would cry to God, ‘help me…help me…help me…give me your strength for this moment…help me…help me…to love you and give you thanks right here in the middle of my circumstances.’ I would read Psalm chapter 37 and Matthew chapter 5-7 and cling to them.
And God has done what He promised. He gave me strength for each moment, grace for the journey, hope for my future, miracles in extravagant abundance and peace and healing as I accepted and absorbed this amazing gift of life I have been given, joy overflowing and I have been blessed me in so many ways I know I will never run out of ideas to share about the grace that has come my way.
That doesn’t mean I, or everything in my life is perfect, or will ever be, while I am on this earth. That’s not even the point. A few months ago I went for a walk. My spirit was troubled and I needed to talk to God. Nature is my best place to communicate with my creator. I never fail to connect with God in the beauty of this world that has been so lavishly decorated! As I sat on a bench and started to talk to God something interesting happened…I really wanted to complain about what was happening to me – ha, yet as I began, the amazing glory of God, the maker of heaven and earth began to come into my focus, and I realized that I had nothing but thanks and praise to give and my heart and the words changed. I realized that God already knew my problem and is taking care of it..already…and I gave thanks in a whole new understanding. I sat on the bench and wrote the following song lyrics:
I’ve come to talk to you again
Oh won’t you hear another story
My whole world is at its end
When suddenly I see your glory
Cause I don’t need to ever fear
I’ve seen your miracles and wonders
So I will rest. You’ll dry my tears
Then I’ll fall asleep while my heart ponders
Your love, Your love
Is more than I could ever hope
Your love, Your love
I want the world to know
Cause everybody ought to know
I’ve come to listen once again
Oh let me hear you in this silence
Your grace will fill me to the brim
Shine your light right in the violence
Your light, Your light
Pours though my soul into the night
Your light, Your light
Help me and guard my heart
Cause everybody needs Your light
All I can do is give you thanks
All I can do is praise your name
All I can do is sing you a love song
Every day and all night long
He breathed the word, and all the stars were born Ps.33:6 NLT
When I stand before the ocean, drive through the mountains, or see pictures taken in space of the great galaxies, the vast beauty above and beyond what we could imagine possible. It always puts my problems, and my place in this world, into perspective.
God is so much bigger than we can ever comprehend. I am humbled and amazed as I stretch my mind open and allow myself to broken open by God’s greatness. As I embrace the mysteries I will never understand in this lifetime. It fills me with wonder to recognize that in all of this vast beautiful universe, I am so small, yet I am here, at this very time and place on purpose – there are no accidental people. I am loved unconditionally – right now. This majestic energy who breathes stars and creates worlds cares so much that I will never be alone.
I think today of the ‘Wise Men’ following that mysterious star so long ago – they followed until they found Jesus. They didn’t have near as much information as we do today, yet they were so in tune and open to what was happening.
There is a quote we see during this time of year, Wise Men Still Seek Him. We have been promised in Matthew 7:7, Seek and you shall find!
Following the star is just as relevant and just as exciting as it was over 2000 years ago.
life: acoustic & amplified 