Hello Friends, I thought I would share a few thoughts as we are still sheltering in place, learning to adjust to our “new normal.” I have been pondering how crisis pushes some people deeper into their faith and causes others to dig in deeper in their unbelief. Could it be that crisis magnifies our true beliefs and clarifies our priorities, exposing what was there all along?
But even if we want to trust God, we may have had moments of questioning our current situation. I think we all seek to understand where God is and what he is doing in these circumstances. Maybe we have said something like, “God, GET US OUT of this!!” But maybe, we should ask, “God, what do you want me TO GET OUT of this?” What do you want me to learn and how can I more closely align my priorities with yours during this time of being sidelined? What can I take with me from this time, so that when things return to normal, I don’t simply return to the default of busyness and noise.
There are many needs during this time, but ultimately, I wonder if our needs are really so much different than they were 2 months ago. Is God’s ability to meet our need any different than it was before the pandemic? Has he changed, or been caught off guard by what is happening in the world? No, he is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). We are promised his love, his peace, his strength, his presence, his provision, his mercy.
This is a time for us to lean in to his promises…The Lord is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18). The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace (Psalm 29:11). Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27). I believe the thing needed most during this time, is what we need all the time – his presence, his peace. We can ask for the situation causing us pain to be taken away, but the real miracle is that he is with us and promises to be with us always.
Hebrews 11:6 says God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. He says in seeking, we will find. As we ask, it will be given. If we knock, the Door will be opened. He is ready and waiting, with the gift of his presence, and it is everything we need.
As I was walking this morning, I took notice of a nest built in the branches of a small tree in a neighbor’s yard. The branches were bare, and I thought at the time, it was a pretty fitting analogy for where we are right now. The nest was still there, offering protection, but it was in the middle of the dead dry branches. In the same way, we have our nests, our homes, that are filled with love and life, but our surroundings right now may seem bleak, bare, and “dead.” I had to remind myself though, soon the buds will begin to show themselves on that little tree, and new life will come. The nest will once again be surrounded growth, beauty, and purpose, as the tree comes to life again. The same will undoubtedly happen in our lives; we will again be enveloped by the life, and the hustle and bustle that is the normal backdrop of our daily existence.
So, what can we learn while we are secluded in our “nests” and the world seems dark, and oh-so “not normal”? I hope we can learn that it is ok and beneficial to sometimes “be still.” Anyone who has raised a child knows how difficult it can be to get them to lie down for a nap, even though that is exactly what they need. Maybe the world is getting a chance for a collective nap – or a “time out.” Psalm 23 says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” Our Heavenly Father knows we need rest – not just physical rest but resting in Him, in his peace. I have pondered for some time that it seems we have lost our ability to be still before the Lord, to be quiet and wait with expectation for what he might have to say to us. We live with too much distraction, too much noise, too many screens.
I was reading this morning in Genesis about Joseph. Many of you know the story, that Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, but ended up coming to prominence in Potiphar’s household and was eventually put in charge of the whole country of Egypt. He was ultimately able to help his brothers in a time of famine, because of his position. Joseph, however, had to endure a lot before he was given this level of influence – besides being sold into slavery, he at one point was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife of trying to seduce her, which landed him in prison for a time. But the Bible says, “The Lord was with Joseph in the prison, and showed him his faithful love.” Joseph was not immune from trouble, but God kept Joseph, and worked all those things together for good, to ultimately allow Joseph to save his family. We can’t see the end game, but God can. He may be using events, as hard as they seem right now, to bring about a greater purpose in your life and mine.
I want to encourage each of us to use this time to think, to dig deeper, to pray, to seek God, to study the Scriptures, and to ask God what he might say to us during this time when we are forced to take a break from our normal routines and activities.
So breathe deep, be still, and know that He is God, that he sees you, he knows you, and your times are in his hands.
Be strong and courageous, all you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:24
Have you ever noticed, when the power goes out, the absolute silence that immediately invades your world? Without electricity, the absence of the constant “hum” that is in the background from electronics, is immediately noticeable. It is amazing how the lack of noise can sometimes be as “loud” as too much noise; the quiet can become disquieting. We are not used to being still, being quiet, being without the noise that is always with us. In our part of the country, these power outages usually come after a storm. Without electricity, without the “hum,” we can feel isolated, powerless, and anxious.
In these days when we are being forced into isolation, we may feel similar things. Fear may overtake us in the quiet and in the unknown. But we want to encourage you instead to take this time of stillness to focus on God and his promises. Let the backdrop of those promises be a “holy hum” that is continually in the background of your mind and life. Remaining IN HIM and his word is the key to peace in any situation, including this one. Psalm 91 is full of promises that apply to what we are now walking through. Pray it daily; put the names of your family members in it as you pray. Let the “holy hum”- the knowledge that He is with you and will never forsake you – be the constant that you hear.
Psalm 91:1-6
Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty
This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
He is my God, and I trust him.
For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
Most of the time when I undertake to write these blogs, it
is from a place of having something to share when things are going well, when I
feel “together,” when I feel God prompting me and teaching me things I want to
pass on in some way. However, there are
times when life gets messy, when things are hard, when things don’t make
sense. It is during these times when I
press deeper into God, that I understand even more of His character and cling to
His promises in ways yet undiscovered.
One of the things about God that I have marveled at for many
years, is that we can search and search, and never come to the end of all He
is, of all that there is to be discovered about Him and his glorious
nature. We can read certain passages,
and His word seems to jump out at us, whereas we may have read the same passage
many times before without this particular kind of insight. I was reading in Romans 8 this morning, and a
verse spoke to me at my core.
Romans 8:6 tells us “the mind governed by the flesh
is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace
(emphasis mine). I began to ponder just how much of our own misery comes
because we fail to operate, live, and think, by and through the Spirit. When our focus is continually on our own
desires, and how to have them met, there is little room for things of the
Spirit – the thoughts and actions that will lead to life and peace. There is such power in our thoughts, and the
things with which we feed and fuel our minds.
Proverbs 23:7 tells us, “As a man thinks, so is he.” Whatever we give space to in our minds, in
our thoughts, soon becomes our world and our reality. I take Jesus at his word when he says in John
10 that “the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy.” The Enemy of our souls wants to steal
our identity in God, our very
purpose. But Jesus said that He comes to
give us life – life to the full. Real
life. Real purpose. Real peace.
Don’t let the enemy break in and steal what is rightfully yours. We can have peace and life– by His Spirit.
This post may be a bit more “controversial” than my previous ones, but I do not intend it to be so. Many of you may wonder why I attempt to write these posts, or where the ideas come from. First of all, I do enjoy reading – a lot. Secondly, I listen to messages from teachers/preachers I enjoy – in the morning with breakfast and coffee, on the treadmill, etc. But, mostly, I have some time to think as I am driving in between visits to homes and daycares as a pediatric occupational therapist. Whenever I am ruminating on something I think would be worthy of writing down and “fleshing out,” I tell Siri to “Take a note,” and she becomes my assistant, taking dictation of all those things I don’t have time to write down at the moment.
One of the things I have been thinking about lately is a
phrase I keep hearing – “Your Truth” – usually used in the context of “Speak
your truth.” We hear phrases like, “That’s
her truth,” or, “He’s speaking his truth,” and these phrases and concepts seem
to be seeping into the core beliefs of our culture. If the
premise behind these kinds of statements is to legitimize people’s feelings or
personal stories, I can agree that each person has his or her own story, and interprets
that story in his or her own way.
However, many times a person will perceive something in a certain way that
does not square with reality. A more
accurate phrase to use might be “my perception – his perception – her perception.”
One of the
people I love to listen to is Ravi Zacharias, undoubtedly the most revered and
eloquent Christian apologist of our time.
As you might expect, he focuses on “truth,” and what truth is, quite extensively. One thing I hear him say often (paraphrasing),
is that truth by its very nature is exclusionary. If one thing is true, then other things
cannot also be true at the same time. If
2 + 2 =4, then 2 +2 cannot = 5. While
that example is overly simplistic, it helps to prove the point. While some things are subjective, and may lend
themselves to various interpretations, others most certainly are not. You see, we can be sincere in our beliefs
about something, but sincerely wrong.
Our thoughts and feelings about a matter may change from week to
week. Does that mean “truth” has
changed? Does “truth” bow to our whims,
or disappear with the shifting sands? Certainly
not.
One thing I remember my Dad telling me when I was a little girl and endured teasing of any sort, was that “just because someone says something, it doesn’t make it true.” I think about that even today. People can say what they want, but is there truth in it? Does it square with reality? The first test of truth is that it must be congruous with reality. If we are desiring to operate from a Christian mindset, most importantly, though, it must stand up to the ultimate test of aligning with the truth and authority found in God’s word. “Thy Word IS truth.” (John 17:17) If his Word is true, then other things that contradict it cannot also be true at the same time.
It seems that in today’s vernacular, “living your truth” means searching for your own happiness – what you want, what you think you need. This kind of mindset even creeps into the church, that it is all about us and our own happiness. You may be familiar with the statement from the wife of a prominent “tv” pastor, who during a service stated,
“I just want to encourage everyone of us to
realize when we obey God we’re not doing it for God. I mean, that’s one way to
look at it. Were doing it for ourselves. Because God takes pleasure when we’re
happy. That’s the thing that gives him the greatest joy this morning. I want
you to know this morning just do good for your own self. Do good cuz God wants
you to be happy.. When you come to church when you worship him you’re not doing
it for God really. You’re doing it for yourself because that’s what makes God happy.
Amen?”2
This kind of thing just makes us want to throw up our hands and say, “What?!?” It is wrongheaded on so many levels. The Truth of the Gospel message is actually just the opposite – sacrifice, taking up our cross daily, dying to self and our own desires, and serving those around us. If we make idols of our own happiness and convenience and bow at them daily, rather than seeking God’s truth, God’s plan, God’s purpose for our lives, our churches, and our world, then we have missed the mark.
So, I guess the whole point of this post is to help us think about and consider Truth; what it is, and what it is not. Let us not be casual about Truth, dumb it down, or change its meaning entirely. For those who follow Christ, we should be looking to his Word daily for Truth; it will not change, or lead us into confusion.
Teach me your way, O Lord, that I might walk in your
truth. Psalm 86:11
I was
thinking this morning about times in my life God did something so specific that
it was as impactful as if he had spoken out loud. For me those times have been more powerful than
just God “whispering,” or giving me a “wink and a nod.” One instance I recall involved an ordinary
object that I must have seen many times before, but had not noticed in
detail.
It was 2007, and my maternal Grandmother had just passed away at the age of 98. She was the meek yet powerful matriarch of the family, having raised 6 children almost singlehandedly. Sadly, my Grandfather was ill for much of his adult life, so hers was a life that was filled with challenges not faced by many women of that day. However, her faith was the backbone of her life and family, and while she wasn’t a “preachy” person, there was no doubt that her source of strength came from the Lord, and the truth she found in the pages of her well worn bible. Her strong faith and gentle way of living had a profound effect on me, and no doubt her influence can be seen in how I live my life today. Her passing was a process, and during that time she seemed to be “in between” this world and the next, but that is a story for another day.
Our family lived in Alabama at the time, but of course came home as soon as we heard the news that she had in fact made the transition to her heavenly home. As big Southern families do, we had a time of visitation and a proper funeral to celebrate a life well lived. Throughout these events, and in being with family, I felt such a peace I knew was from our Heavenly Father, and I really sensed people praying for us. Some of us gathered at the house the following day, and I walked to the room where she had died, and stood there in the doorway, choking back the emotion of the last few days. The space was empty of the hospital bed which had been there for some time, but her dresser and chest of drawers remained. Again, I was filled with such a sense of His presence, and I remember praying, sort of under my breath, “Lord, thank you for giving this family strength, and thank you so much for giving us Your peace.” As my eyes took in the room, they rested on a delicate looking perpetual calendar that I remembered giving to her some years earlier. The date had not been changed in some time, and thinking it should be turned to reflect the date she died, and wanting to touch this object which obviously had been loved by her, I crossed the room to move the wooden blocks.
Even though
I had been the one to purchase this calendar for her many years before, I did
not remember anything about it, certainly not that it had scripture, or any
other design, etched on it. As my
fingers reached to turn the block, my eyes fell on the scripture at the bottom
of the calendar that read:
“The Lord
gives strength to his people. The Lord
blesses his people with peace.” Psalm 29:11.
I took in a
deep, sharp breath – it was as if God was speaking directly to me, and saying,
“Yes – I am here with you; have no doubt.”
It was incredible to me, and almost took my breath away, that the words I had just prayed were imprinted
on this object with which I was now interacting. Another unique thing about the
calendar was that it had the design of small delicate looking flowers, almost
identical to the design that the family had chosen to have placed on the
corners of my Grandmother’s casket, because of her love of flowers, and ability
to make almost anything she touched grow into something useful and
beautiful. It was yet another sign that
seemed to indicate God confirming His presence with something small and
specific.
I hope I
will never forget that moment, that day, and others like it. Yes, He is with us. He promised He would be. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus says that He is with
us, to the end of the age. If
someone is with you, it is even better than if they just know
you. If someone comes to be with
you during a time of need, it’s far better than if they only wish you well from
a distance with a text message. To be with
someone –is to come alongside and be there in their troubles and in their
triumphs. Have you ever gone into a restaurant later
than the rest of your party? It may look
like you are alone, as the hostess looks at you as asks, “1 for dinner?” What a relief to spot your party and say, “I’m
with them.” – I’m not alone, and I belong.
He is Emmanuel…God with us. We belong to Him. Whatever your circumstance, whatever you are
walking through, He is with you, always, always, always. Try putting your name in that verse and know
Jesus is saying it about you, even today.
“I am WITH___________, to the end of the age.”
I was in my 30s when I first began to notice that God would work with me along certain “themes” in my life. The first time I perceived this intense, focused teaching, the theme was “Create in Me the Heart of a Worshipper.” Mark had been called (I say Mark, but both are really called when a church calls), to be a worship pastor and we were off to serve our first church full time. Even though I had sung in church practically all my life, the Lord taught me things during that time, about being open and free in worship, about leading others, that were new to me. The next theme was “Be Generous” – not just with money and possessions, but with myself. I felt He was calling me to be open and generous with my time, as well as with material things, and to learn how to pour into people with love and sincerity. Following those years, the new theme was, “Be a Servant.” This was the natural progression from the “Be Generous” years. During this time, I felt the Lord calling me to take a step back, and do things, and serve in ways that were not “up front” ways, as I had always done. I had many opportunities to exercise this “Be a Servant” mentality during that particular time. After one season/theme is over, it is not that I don’t focus on it anymore, but that I am to incorporate that “lesson/theme” into my life from that point on. So when we moved into “Be Generous,” it was not that I stopped asking him to “Create In Me the Heart of a Worshipper,” but that was not the primary focus of the learning at that point. I’m sure many of you have experienced these same seasons of “themes,” as I have, or maybe you haven’t really thought about it, but with a little reflection you might see how God was working on a particular thing in your life.
Lately, I’ve felt the theme is “Be
Thankful.” He is teaching me that gratitude
is key to contentment and happiness. If
I am continually grateful for all I have, it is hard to focus on what I don’t
have. If I continually express
gratefulness for my family, it’s hard to get “snippy” with them when they do
something that irritates me! If I am
grateful for my church, I’ll be less likely to complain about something not
exactly to my liking. If I have an
attitude of gratefulness in my business, it helps me to recognize that my
abilities come from God, and he has given me a chance to do work that helps
people, and helps to provide for our family.
If I am thankful for my dishes, it makes unloading the dishwasher more
tolerable, and on and on the examples could go, from the mundane to those of
greater importance.
Often when our family is in a restaurant, and it is noisy and not conducive to saying a formal blessing, someone will ask, “Are we grateful?” Everyone at the table then gives their assent, that yes, we are thankful and blessed. It is a way of pausing, of reflecting even for just a moment, on the Giver of the food, and our gratefulness for it. I have started asking myself that question in other areas of my life too – Am I thankful? More and more the answer is “yes,” and when it is not “yes,” then I am reminded I still have some work to do.
In our lives, in our families, in our activities, in all that we do…
A couple of posts back, I focused on each of us knowing
ourselves fully and completely, as we understand who we are in Christ, who God
says we are and were from the beginning.
We are loved, we are known, we are found.
Today I want to focus on who HE is, particularly as it
relates to the phrase “I Am,” which he uses to describe Himself in many places
throughout the Old Testament. As I began
to do some research and study on this phrase, and Jesus’s “I Am” statements in
the New Testament, I realized it is such a big topic and one that I cannot do
real justice to in this short blog. However,
I hope these thoughts will move us in the right direction, and certainly this
topic can be explored more fully if anyone desires to do more study on it, to
more fully appreciate the richness of it.
Most of you will be familiar with the story. Moses has an encounter with God in the desert
in which God revealed to Moses what He was calling him to do, to free God’s
people from slavery. Moses sees a bush
that is burning, but not being consumed by the fire. As Moses approaches it, God tells him to take
his shoes off, because he is on holy ground.
What a thing to experience! When
a bush talks to you, I guess you want to clarify what is happening. Moses asks, “Who are you?” God answers with “I Am Who I Am.” Simply put, “I Am” in the Hebrew speaks to
the eternal, unchanging, and ever-present nature of God. I was
(past), I am (present) and I will be (future).”
We might think about it this way: He was at the beginning (Creator), He
is now (Sustainer), He will be there in the future (Savior). Some sources say a more direct translation would
be “I will be what I will be.”
He does not change, but as we change and understand Him
more, He will be different things to us as we have different needs on our individual
journeys. I believe he is saying to us
today, “I AM…what you need, for this stage of your life, for this trial, for
this place of joy, whoever and wherever you are – I AM.”
When God told Moses what He wanted Moses to do, Moses
immediately came up with the reasons he was not suited for the job. In a message I heard by Steven Furtick, as he
talked about this aspect of the Moses story, he used this phrase – “Moses said,
‘I’m not; God said, ‘I Am’.” We don’t have everything we need within ourselves.
He takes what we are not, and replaces
it with “I AM.” Whatever your issue,
whatever your need, I AM. If you feel
like you are not enough, I AM. When you
are weary, I AM. When your heart is
broken, I AM. When you are thankful, I AM. When you are filled with joy, I AM. When you are tempted, I AM. When you feel like giving up, I AM.
The raggedy doll in the topmost part of the closet caught my eye as I was getting ready for the day ahead. My eyes rested upon it for several moments, as I remembered the hands that had stitched and stuffed the cloth so many years ago. I was about 4 or 5 years old when “MaMa,” my maternal grandmother, bought the cloth at Hancock Fabrics to make the special doll just for me. The pattern was already there, and like a pillow, it just had to be stuffed and then stitched around the edges. It was not particularly pretty, but even as a little girl I somehow knew it was more special than a store-bought one. Little red hearts were on the doll’s cheeks, and she had a head full of curly blond hair. A red dress with a yellow apron was also depicted on the cloth. I named her April, and she became one of those special objects that a child associates with love and security. Objects of childhood normally get discarded somewhere along the way, but I’ve always kept April, unable to bring myself to part with her, even during times of “decluttering” and getting rid of unused items.
As I stood there in the closet on this particular morning, I also thought about the many quilts my grandmother had stitched for her family throughout the years, some of which were also high on the shelf above. It was something she could do, a practical gift, and until the time her eyes grew dim and her hands could no longer thread the needle, she was working on a quilt of some kind. Having been a young adult during the heart of the Depression, she was one to save and stretch a dollar. She would always say, “Someday we may need some of these quilts.” So, it was her way of taking care of her family, even in her advanced years. Most of the time, she would just get scrap material from the fabric store because it was far less expensive. It was a hodgepodge of color and pattern, but somehow with the symmetry and accuracy in her quilting patterns, it always produced a beautiful result. She made all kinds of quilts, but my favorite by far was the “yo-yo” quilt. It was made up of hundreds of individual pieces of circular cloth, sewn around the border and then gathered in the middle so that it looked like a little wheel. The making of the individual pieces could pass a whole afternoon’s time, and I would often sit with her, trying my hand at the making of the yo-yos, feeling satisfied when one of mine was deemed good enough to be put in one of the many paper bags filled with them. Once there were enough individual pieces, she would sew them together at the edges, and then tack them down on a sheet or other covering. It was a beautiful thing; each stitch done with a sense of giving, giving what she could. Sewing and sowing. I can still see her now, sitting in her chair, sewing her fabrics and sowing into me and the rest of the family the sense of the powerful bond that only family can share and know.
When she passed away at the age of 98, her Bible she loved so well was a testimony of her life in and of itself. It was one that I had given her when I was just 18 years old, and worked at a bookstore as I went to school. The pages were so worn that it was about twice the size that it had been originally. As I held the Bible in my hands later, I thought about the fact that she did not just read it, but she let it read her. A woman of quietness and meekness, yet incredible strength and fortitude, she endured many hardships throughout her life. But her love of that Book made her who she was and who she became, and ultimately prepared her for her eternal home. It prepared her to sow into all of our lives; to sow into us what was most important.
Thank you, MaMa, for the many gifts you gave me, for your sewing and sowing. Your quilts still keep me warm on a cold winter’s night.
The one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward. Proverbs 11:18
Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 2 Corinthians 9:6
For this post I have to go back to
the very beginning – my beginning. From
my earliest memories I knew that I was adopted.
I give my parents a lot of credit for the way they handled this aspect
of our adoption story, because I believe it is a difficult one for many
parents. They simply always said the
words to me that I was adopted, I was special, I was chosen, I was loved. So, these are truths I heard, and came to know
in my heart and mind from the start. I
don’t remember first coming to the realization that I was not biologically
connected to my family and being unsettled by that fact, but rather I always
had the sense, even as a small child, that God was watching out for me, and
things were as they should be. My
parents were fiercely devoted to me, and I to them, and our large extended
family helped to create a firm foundation of security and belonging as I
grew.
While I was growing up and into my early twenties, the knowledge I had was enough for me, and I honestly didn’t give more than occasional fleeting thoughts to the family I was connected to “somewhere out there.” Then, as my own children came along, and I looked into their faces and saw my own, I began to have a more intense curiosity about the family I came from, and the similarities we might share. I felt good about who I was, but I began to realize I only knew about myself in part. After years of being on adoption registries to hopefully make connection with someone from my family of origin, on August 28, 2018, I was contacted by an agency who told me someone who believed she was my sister had also contacted the agency. I immediately called her, and to make a long story short, she was in fact my sister on my Father’s side. It was like a whole new world opened up to me; I learned about the 3 brothers and 4 sisters on my Father’s side, and the 1 sister on my Mother’s side. They are all wonderful people, and by November of that year, I had been able to meet both birth parents and all my siblings. We have since started the process of forming relationships and making memories together. I look into their faces and see a reflection of my own, and when I look in the mirror now, I see a reflection of them too.
When I write a book one day, I will go into all this in much more detail, but was thinking about it in the context of understanding who we are in Christ. Just as I could not fully know who I was until I knew whose I was, whose imprint was on me, each one of us cannot see who we really are until we know who we are in Him. All those years, it was as though I saw through a clouded glass, but now I am able to see face to face. It is much the same when we realize who we are in Christ, who He says we are – we are loved, we are known, we are found. Each life precious, each life with meaning, each life a unique creation. It’s not that people who are standing outside of God’s grace don’t experience love, for families and other relationships are a reflection of that love, but we must clear the glass, so we can see and appreciate the picture as was intended to be.
CS Lewis states it this way:
“The more we let God take us over,
the more truly ourselves we become – because He made us. He invented us. He invented all the different people that you
and I were intended to be…It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to
His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.”
The story of God’s love and redemption for all of us was being written over 1600 years, as he conveyed though the prophets what was to come. Then came the ultimate reflection of God’s love in the form of a baby; He became small and vulnerable for us, and ultimately became sin, became a sacrifice, that we might know how wide, how deep, how great His love is for us. There is nothing he won’t do, no length He will not go to, no pit too deep, no place too far from His outstretched hand. He pulls us out of the miry clay and sets our feet on a Rock. He knows you fully, and loves you completely.
Rest in that, look in the mirror, and
see yourself for who you really are.
Oh God, You are great, yet You became small
Your ways are unsearchable, yet You
may be found
You are unfathomable, yet You may be known
You are everywhere, yet You are not
far from each one of us
Oh God, that You would rend the
darkness with your light
Life By The Way 