Glory Renewed

Because of Easter…

“For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched by the feelings of our infirmities, but was tempted in all ways as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly before the throne of grace to find mercy and grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:15-16

I’ve been smitten by these verses lately. It has been my “Easter” scripture even though it is not one that usually comes to mind when I think about the event that made a way for me to have eternal life.  Without the resurrection, these verses mean nothing. If Jesus had not lived like us and not sinned, we would have no way to come boldly. There would be no mercy and grace. There would be no help. We would be separated from God and on our own forever in a dark and beyond miserable place.

Jesus is our High Priest. In Old Testament times, the high priest, once each year, fearfully entered the Holy of Holies to make intercession for the sins of his people. Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. This fellowship He has with His Father is constant. We are constantly seen and known and have access to forgiveness because He is always with God and always with us and for us. He is on our side.

Jesus knows how we feel. I mean it. No matter what situation we face, what pain we experience, what failures we live with, He knows. Being a female, I used to think, “Yeah, right, how could he really know?” This just revealed to me how much more my faith needed to grow. God is smart enough to place in His Son the ability to empathize with every struggle mankind faces. My puny mind does not grasp it, but that doesn’t change what He is able to do.

Jesus was tempted. To understand this is to realize that Jesus was fully man and fully God. For Jesus to be tempted or be “appealed to” means He did indeed have the option to disobey His Father. It is important to know that before the Fall, there were human beings who had not sinned. Human beings do not have to sin, but they do. Jesus could have called ten thousand angels to rescue Him from that cross, but He did not. He obeyed His Father, and those that trust in that obedience are redeemed!

He arose boldly, and we can come boldly to Him. There was a mixture of fear and great joy when those who were there at the tomb felt the earth shake and saw that the stone was rolled away. Even more when they saw the tomb empty and the grave clothes folded to signify His coming return.

“In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher. And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” Matthew 28:1-6

It can be scary when I know I’ve blown it, again, and need to confess and ask forgiveness. I am fearful that maybe this time God will say, “Okay, this is enough. You’re fired! I’ve got so many other followers who are tons more faithful than you. I really don’t want to hear how sorry you are.” But, thankfully, I know He does not treat me like that. He truly doesn’t remember the last sin I’ve repented of. It’s been removed as far as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103) So, after the fearful part, comes the rejoicing as I experience a clean heart and renewed spirit.

We have all the grace we are willing to open our hands and hearts for.

We can have all the mercy and grace we need. There are no limits to the supply of mercy God has for us, because His Son was willing to put no limit to the suffering He endured to purchase it. Mercy means we do not have to be punished for our sins. Another word for mercy in the Bible is loving-kindness. Love is kind. Period. God is love and He is kind and has pity on us like we have a soft heart for our own kids and loved ones. He took the wrath of God for our disobedience so we wouldn’t have to.

We have all the grace we are willing to open our hands and hearts for. Grace is a whole other story. Grace is above and beyond mercy, pouring into our lives the beauty of art in everything we see and do. The beauty of receiving all the unlimited gifts of God with gratitude. Grace doesn’t come without gratitude. If the gifts are there and you have an unthankful heart, you are just trampling them under your feet. The gifts need held up to God with a lifted face and heartfelt thanks. The birds’ songs, the flowers, the tree blossoms, along with the pain that teaches you trust. All of it, a gift, so that all of it can be used to grow your faith, give you joy in all things, and especially in your time of need, which, for me, is just ALL the time.

Have a joyous Easter friends. Remember the cost to create in you a clean heart and rejoice because “It is finished.” Our faith in Christ will take us from here to there.

(Photos by Melanie Lamb of Little Lambs Photography)

I dismissed my alignment page, again, annoyed that it keeps coming up ever since I changed the ink cartridge. I hate to waste the ink. I know its okay, so why does it keep reminding me? Shortcuts are not always “short.” So until I print the silly thing, it is going to cause me to change screens to dismiss the prompt. “Just do it,” has a new meaning.

Shortcuts can have consequences. Especially on a spiritual journey with God. Basically, there are none. Rushing requires restitution. Speeding can cost you more than a speeding ticket, sorry to confess I’ve experienced a few of these. Shortcutting my time with God always has cost me more than I wanted to pay.

Align your day. Think of your daily time with God as an alignment time. And the pages of His Word, the alignment pages of your day. I need time with Him at the very start of my day. Maybe you are not a morning person, maybe your best quiet time is in the evening, or before bed you find a time to sit with God and His Word and align yourself to His plan, His will for your days. Maybe it’s in the afternoon when the little ones are napping. Somewhere, in the 24 hours that is our day, we need an alignment time. It’s an example from Jesus. Luke 5:16 says, “He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.” He aligned His days with His Father’s plan. 

Align your mind. Take your thoughts captive by Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.” Make your plans but remember God is the One in control. Choose to think differently about things that are beyond your control.

Align your soul. There’s a peace when things go so differently than you planned, when you give the Lord your day. Interruptions become opportunities. When you feel like standing with a stomp and yelling “What are you doing?” This was not part of the plan. Your well-fed soul will remind you of Romans 8:28, “For we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Align your heart. Ann Voscamp writes such true words, “You only love as much as you are willing to be inconvenienced.” As followers of Christ we are to “put on love,” wear it, everyday, everywhere. Align yourself with that truth, and you will handle inconveniences differently. Remember, especially during this time of year, but really all year, how willing Jesus was to be inconvenienced for us. He gave His life.

Colossians 3:14

“But above all things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”

Above all things, means above all things. Above our plans and motives, our schedules and personal goals. People and relationships are always more important than our to-do lists.

Align yourself with scripture. Memorizing verses that provide the truth, when your heart wants to doubt, is so very important. I’ve neglected this in the past so whenever something happened that interrupted or inconvenienced me, I would get so discouraged, I would just give up. All that time the gift of His Word was available to me if I had only taken the time to really know it. How relevant, how powerful is His Word?

Hebrews 4:12

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

This is how I get aligned. I’d like to say that once I’ve done it, everything flows just so beautifully. But I can’t truthfully make that statement. There are many realignments throughout the day because there is an enemy out there. And he tries to get me to believe his lies by putting in my path accusations that he will never be able to substantiate because of the grace of God. However, because of the alignment and realignment, I can answer him with God’s powerful Word.

There are no shortcuts to spiritual maturity. No work-around for time spent with God and His Word. So let’s get lined up, and realign as necessary, even if we have to slow down a bit. It will be worth it all in the long run.

The weirdest thing has been in my thoughts lately. Dust. Dust can be made of many things. Those little particles that float through the air when the sun shines through your window. The film the Swiffer picks up when I, not often enough, run it over the surfaces of window sills and furniture. The clouds that raise up behind my car on a country road and settle on the dashboard.

For something that seems pretty insignificant, it is where we came from and where we will return. Reflecting on “Ash Wednesday.” A day observed by many churches for centuries. The Wednesday that starts the forty days before Easter or Resurrection Sunday. The forty days to remember Jesus, in a more dedicated, concentrated way, remembering His life, His sacrifice. Ash Wednesday brings in the season of Lent. Here we go again, isn’t lint, l – i – n – t also what can be found in dust? Weird, huh?

The churches I grew up in thought wearing ash on your forehead was just for the our Catholic friends. The practice of Lent was for the fish-on-Friday folks. Those that had no choice but to order the “Lenten” specials at restaurants. Like giving up red meat one day a week made you more holy. I didn’t practice it but I thought it was kind of cool that there were believers that would suffer a little bit for their faith.

For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust” Psalm 103:14

Genesis 2:7 says “…the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground…” and goes on in 3:14 to say to the serpent “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.” This verse makes me think of how Satan prowls around seeking who he can kill, steal from and destroy. After we fell by obeying that serpent in the Garden of Eden, God goes on in Genesis 3:19, “…for dust you are, and to dust shall you return.” From then on, this physical body starts to die the minute it is born. There is a limit to our days here.  The only way we will not end up “dust” is if the Lord Jesus returns for His church, the Christians who have accepted Him as Savior, before they physically die. This is the promise of our Lord in 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-17. 

The great Patriarch Abraham said to God in Genesis 18:27, “…”Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:” Job says to God in 42:6, “Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” By definition to abhor is to regard something with extreme repugnance or aversion, to detest it utterly, loathe it.

I know I am fearfully and wonderfully made, but I also know I am selfish and forgetful. The only good in me is the redeemed part where Jesus has made me new. Yet I still carry the old and will until that glorious day. The day my body is finally and completely redeemed. When He returns for me or when I go back to dust. “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of the body.”  Romans 8: 22-23

“As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.” Psalm 103: 15-16

So remembering the dust and the ashes is a good thing. Remembering, before we return to them. Remembering for forty days that we are lint, during Lent can cause us to grow in the Spirit. To see and recognize the heart work that needs to be done. Would we ever repent, truly turn from our sins, if we were not reminded that they are to be abhorred as Job wrote. I’ve heard it said by several well-meaning Bible teachers: “sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay.” 

In these weeks before Easter, let’s ask God to show us where we are and where He wants us to be. Could this be the Easter we rise with Him into a newness of faith? Dusted off and shining with His Glory.

Did you know that talking to yourself can improve your thinking and perception? Psychologists have conducted experiments where willing adult humans were instructed to talk to themselves while looking for things and kids were instructed to say aloud steps to doing a specific task . The results were way to the favor of those who talked themselves through it.  The brain gets activated along additional pathways when the talk  accompanies the walk.

Interesting.

King David did this. In the Bible we read, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.” Psalm 42:11

There is more than one way to talk to yourself. There’s the out loud, verbal way,  which can be scary if someone overhears you , and there’s the writing way. I love to write , so a pen and some blank lines are my favorite confidants.

There’s this little “prayer journal” that Mel gave me for Christmas the year “War Room” came out. I filled it and then she gave me another one and I’m filling it. One of the topics in this little book with blank lines is an invitation to journal on “Embracing Solitude.” The definition in my little phone dictionary for embrace is “to take or clasp in the arms, press to the bosom; hug.” I love that. Journaling is my place of enjoyment where  God and I can talk to my soul and together we work some things out.

Following along with the “If” Gathering last month, I came upon a speaker that my heart loves. Jill Briscoe is 82 years old. I have a DVD of a talk she gave in the 90’s. I’ve played it over and over because it is so good and believers like her are so few and hard to find. At this gathering of thousands of women present and millions online, she recited a poem she wrote entitled “The Deep Place.”

I ran to the Deep Place where nobody goes, and found Him waiting there. “Where have you been?” He asked me.

“I’ve been in the shallow place where everyone lives,” I replied. I knew He knew. He just wanted me to admit I’d been too busy being busy.

“I’m running out…” I began.

“Of course,” He said. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

He sat down on the steps of my soul and smiled at me. Angels sang; a shaft of light chased away the shadows and brightened my daily day. I smiled back.

“I’m such a fool…”

“Shhh,” He said, putting His finger on my lips. He touched my hurried heart. Startled, it took a deep breath and skidded to a near stop. My spirit nestled into nearness in the Deep Place where nobody goes.

My soul spoke, then: He answered with words beyond music. Where on Earth had I been?

Jill talks and writes about having conversations “on the steps of my soul where nobody goes.” A deep place only God can reach. A place where the conversation with ourselves is joined with the lover of our soul and our countenance is changed by His amazing love. Our embrace of solitude is met with His embrace of unconditional love and the peace and joy found is “beyond music.”

How long has it been, friend? How hurried and busy have you been lately? Don’t you just long for a conversation with your soul? Go to that “Deep Place,” because He is waiting for you there. If you don’t want to write it out, that’s fine. If you don’t know how or what to pray, just read His Word to Him. Read the verse I started this post with. Say it in your mind silently or say it out loud to yourself, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.”

PS: I highly recommend viewing her talk on YouTube, just search Jill Briscoe, If Gathering, 2017.

So excited to have a “guest” post on gloryrenewed. I approached my very creative daughter-in-love a good while back to consider being a guest blogger on this site. I’ve read her endearing posts with her amazing photos on Instagram and Facebook and knew she had a gift with words and pictures. I know her sold-out heart for Jesus and welcome her offering to this space. Enjoy this true experience from Emily Bonnette Hendershot.

  Holy Ground

 I had this certain pair of shoes on my mind. A certain look. A certain feel. A certain protection they would provide. Able to withstand the depths of rain and snow, yet light and rigid for the spring and summer camping trips ahead. A certain amount of research given to know these shoes were the ones. A certain sense of adventure they would bring. A certain joy they would be. A certain ease knowing my feet would be happy. And even more a certain assurance that these shoes would make my feet feel better on ground that hadn’t been so steady lately.

 After too much thinking that these were certain to be the ones, my husband said I had to go get them. Wow, he is awesome. So we went. Babes packed up and out the door. Into the store. 

 And it all failed. The shoes. They weren’t at all what I thought they would be. My certains crushed. My ground feeling even more unsteady. 

 And then I looked up. On display right in front of me were a pair of boots. Ones sure to meet all my certains check listed in my mind. And more. Way more. Until my husband said after sometime of my “trying them out” that I probably wouldn’t wear them and that they wouldn’t serve the certain purpose I had been looking for in the first place.

 So we left. My heart crushed. My ground breaking so it felt. 

 The next few weeks after that were not so good I could say. Nothing big or bad, but just, unsteady. It seems silly, but in my prayers I prayed for those boots. That somehow in my uncertain seconds of the day, God had his hand on me, and he knew just what my heart and feet needed. 

I went back to the store. Straight to the display. An employee came right to me with a smile and said, “you seem to know what you’re looking for.” I said “yes, I’ve been praying about these boots and they are the ones I want.”

I tried them on again and conversation with the sales lady was easy and flowing. As if we had met before, our hearts knowing. We went to the cash register, and she rang up my total. As I gave her my cash a certain smile overtook her face and a light shined in her eyes just before she spoke.

She said, “you know, we pray for the shoes we sell before each shift. That the soles of the shoes we sell will go out and share the gospel”.

Wow, God. Wow. Steady my heart for you. Steady my feet for you.

A for certain “these will” I answered.

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bring good tidings, that publishes peace: that brings good tidings of good, that publishes salvation; that says unto Zion, Thy God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7

Thank you, to the sweet lady, a daughter of Christ, at the shoe store for publishing salvation. For bringing good tidings and sharing that God reigns in your life.

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bring good tidings, that publishes peace: that brings good tidings of good, that publishes salvation; that says unto Zion, Thy God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7

And that’s our certain purpose. To publish Christ. To share that He reigns. To share that He is our look. Our feel. He is our protection. Our happy. Our joy. Our purpose. Our blessed assurance.

My researching to find the perfect pair of shoes to satisfy a desire other than Christ in my heart didn’t publish any sort of notion that He reigns in my life. It didn’t value His redemption. His liberty. His good news. The price He paid. It didn’t share that He is my certain in the uncertain steps of life. Rather it published my uncertainty, my worries, my fears, and even frustrations.

 And Christ came forth through the heart and feet of one His daughters to meet me in a Holy place.

“And that’s our certain purpose. To publish Christ. To share that He reigns.”

I know for sure that those in the book of Isaiah publishing the good news of Salvation didn’t have Keen Koven Gortex or Timberland Keele Ridge Mid Hikers. What I do know is that they had beautiful feet.

Feet that stood on Holy ground.

My mother in love recently told me that all ground we walk on is Holy. Wow, that is a certain. We walk on Holy Ground at all times. We stand on the same Holy Ground that Isaiah stood on. No matter what shoes we have or the places we are. All ground between our feet is Holy. And our God is still reigning.

Jill Briscoe shared this, too, “Go where you’re sent, stay where you’re put, and give what you’ve got.”

It’s easy to publish uncertainty instead of Christ. To wonder if what you say, where you go, what you do, if it will be right. But we have a God that is with us always. On His Holy Ground.

My prayer for myself, for my family, my friends, church, and world is to take that Promise with us everywhere and in every moment. That the place beneath my feet is beautiful and Holy. What a gift. What a fire that sets to publish peace. To bring good tidings of good. To publish salvation. To share that God reigns.

 –Emily is a Graphics Design graduate of Otterbein College, wife to Mark, Momma to Lilly and Garrison. She is the founder and owner of EBH Creative and makes all kinds of beautiful art from her heart. Check out ebhcreative.com for more.

Thank you Emily, I love you and am so grateful God brought our lives together!

The “New Thing” to remember.

Starting into February, things that were so new and exciting as we charged into the New Year, may be starting to get pretty old about now. Those commitments to eat better, exercise more, watch your expenses, pray and read your Bibles daily, or maybe just make it to church or work on time in 2017. Whatever the resolve, the day after day can wear us down a bit. It’s hard to feel new in the dead of winter when all that sounds good is a cup of hot chocolate and a warm blanket.

“It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:22-23

I really needed a pep talk from my Heavenly Father this morning and this is what He reminded me of. In Lamentations, a book of laments, believe it or not. The Greek title of this book is “Tears/Wailings.” Written by the prophet Jeremiah. He had just witnessed the downfall of God’s people. He was way down there. We can’t even imagine the awful. But lamenting to God is not wrong. God wants us to go to Him with everything so we can experience His grace in everything. This is huge and deep and the lessons we can learn from this book go far beyond what this girl can even fathom.

I prayed that God would give me a resolve that keeps going after the “newness” wears off. That I would remember how the new felt when the lazy and the procrastination traits in me show their ugly heads. I prayed for Him to cause me to keep pressing like its still new. Maybe that’s why God decided a day lasts just 24 hours and we get a new one. He knew we would need a new one and His compassion is there, “new every morning.”

It’s a new day, a new week, in a new month ladies! Pull yourself up, stand in His presence and begin again. Lament, repent and repurpose yourself before Him. I guarantee His compassion is unfailing and His grace unending.

Learning from babies…

I have been so blessed lately. Those little quilts I worked on last Fall are making their way to the little babies I was stitching them for. In these last three months, four new little ones have been born into my family circle! Those little ones have a lot to teach us if we are willing to learn.

The birth process is hard. It can be painful and takes a long time. There are all kinds of questions and not a lot of answers. How long will this take? How and when will it all take place? Will there be any problems that I may or may not be able to overcome?

A new favorite quote of mine is by Thomas Merton, “You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith, and hope.”

There are no life experiences that validate the need to put those words into action more than being with a woman as she labors for her yet unborn, being with a sinner realizing they need to be born-again and at the bedside of the dying. I’ve witnessed all three and what I found to be true is there can be a helpless feeling of no control whatsoever. A place where trust in God is downright crucial. The emergency room of the soul.

Thomas Merton, “You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith, and hope.”

It can be easy to live in the ordinary days without a crucial need for God and I’ve done it. I’ve repented of it because, really, isn’t it in the ordinary days that we fill ourselves with what we need to survive extraordinary days that ask more of us than we think we have to give? To be vessels that can hold the grace of God, poised and ready to pass it on to others He has placed in our paths. We can be the proof that God is good and good to us and good at being God. (A bit of wisdom from Lysa Terkeurst’s book “Uninvited.”)

I’ve held babies, felt the warm softness of their brand new bodies in my arms. Listened to some of the first breaths they have taken of earth’s atmosphere. Their complete vulnerability creates in those surrounding them a strong, protective love. Indescribable, yet completely known and felt. They teach me anew to trust love. Reminding me of how my heavenly Father, came to us in just the same vulnerability. What kind of love is that? A love that caused God to leave the glory of heaven to be one of us? To start out as we start out, yet in the humblest of birthing rooms.

I’ve kneeled beside precious ones who surrendered to Christ for their rebirth. Listened to their prayers for Jesus to save their souls and give them eternal life. Those babes in Christ who finally make the most important decision of their lives. The blessing of this, there are no words for. The privilege of witnessing the mercy and grace of God. Sometimes it is the simple prayer of child, in faith accepting early in their life journey, the gift of salvation. Sometimes it is when a very hardened, older soul, gets softened and breaks open and receives what they have been searching for in all the wrong places. Same blessing.

I’ve sat at the bedside of souls ready to meet their Maker. I’ve watched their agonal respirations and prayed that God would shorten the time because it is so difficult to witness, and much more difficult for them to endure. This passage over to Glory. It only seems right that they not be alone. Not have a witness. Then the quiet when they are “gone.” To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, (2 Corinthians 5:8), and isn’t that the very best place of all?

Babies teach us that God loves us and wants the love and life to go on. Watching them reminds me of Psalm 8:2, “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger.” The enemy makes me want to give up hope; that death is the end and there is just no reason to choose to be hopeful. But one look into the face of a new baby and hopelessness is silenced. Babies are the proof that God is good.

The opportunities for me to experience those three life events can be few and far between. With a lot of ordinary days in-between. God knows and schedules my days. I need to always be willing to use those days to prepare my heart, noticing in the small, yet holy ways He teaches me about His true love. In this “meantime,” I am going to spend a lot of  my time with babies. Learning from them, loving on them and using what they teach me in my own one life here.

New Lenses…

Once a month I get to put in new lenses. This journey has been a long one. When I was turning 40, I started noticing a squint. It took more effort to read the small print, and, being a nurse, the small print was rather important. This led to a visit to the optometrist, a medical specialist that I had not needed my entire life. This led to multiple pairs of prescription reading glasses being purchased and lost, because I never needed them before and could never remember where I used them last. (Many of those times they were on the top of my head.)

A kind eye doctor told me I could try contact lenses, and that was, quite frankly, one of the happiest moments of my growing-older life! I took him up on that, and now, around 20 years later, I still love them. I do however have to use the over-the-counter reading glasses for the small stuff, but with a pair in every room of the house and one to three pairs in my purse, I’m good.

As the month wears on, my eyes get tired. They notice the buildup of proteins and other “eye junk” that accumulates over the month’s wear, and it is time for a new, clean pair. Wow! They feel so good in my eyes, and I can see so much clearer with less eye effort. I wish I could put in a new pair every single day. But that’s not practical, let alone affordable.

This gets me thinking about my Spirit vision. What kind of junk builds up when I do not ask the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of my soul and see what I need to get rid of, the junk that I allow to rub off on me from the world. The times when I look at those magazines at the checkout and believe that I need to try that new latest, greatest product that may just be a waste of good, hard-earned money. Or how about that relationship advice? Should I just tell my husband to shape up or ship out? Eyes that are so distracted and fogged up by the world that I can actually overlook another hurting soul that could really use some encouragement. 

I need some time with Him. We do not see or should not see like the world does. “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) The Apostle Paul is telling us that what we physically see is not what carries the most importance. Without processing what we see through the lens of faith, we get the wrong picture.

To clear the lenses of our soul, we need Holy Spirit help. The God part that comes in to us, resides in us as Christians. We need to daily say to Him, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)

This kind of self-reflection doesn’t come naturally. Only super-naturally. Just because Jesus lives in us through His Holy Spirit, doesn’t mean we always listen to Him. Just like we don’t very often pay attention to the organs of our bodies when they would like to tell us, “hey, don’t eat that, it’s not good for me” we can go deaf to the Spirit if we do not take the time to clear our thoughts and open the door to Him.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and sup with him and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20) He will meet us there in our “prayer closets,” and the cleaning and the clearing can begin. Our sight becomes His sight, which is better than 20/20.

In January…

We got married. Too young, too inexperienced, having no idea what we were getting ourselves into. But – in love. We didn’t have all the stuff that most folks thought we needed yet, but we had the one thing that was essential to give it a shot. And so far, so good.

Fast forward to 2017, another “ordinary” anniversary. Another “Guess what I remembered this morning?” “What dear?” “Happy Anniversary!” “Oh yes, that’s right.” “How long?” “Forty-two years, I think.” (Smiles and a hug.)

“How does this happen?” I wonder to myself. I remember in the beginning how we promised to treat each other, “He would be my king and I would be his queen.” He may not remember that promise, but it doesn’t matter because he has lived it. Every day I hear “Is there anything you need me to do for you?” And every day I try to say no, because if I need him to do anything, it is as good as done. And I know he has so much he feels he has to do every day. I can wait.

Living in love is so much different than just loving someone. It is a place that’s safe enough to weather storms and droughts. Floods and fires. But it’s not a place where two can do it alone. There is no truth stronger than the One that has held us together in this in love than Christ. His example of sacrificial love for us, His bride, The Church, is the only example to follow because when we look to other marriages that inspire us to hold it together, we can be sorely disappointed at times.

The humanness of us can only sacrifice so much for so long before “we’re done.” The continual sacrifice, the daily serving one another, gets tiring and we forget what in love really means. Reminding ourselves of the days when we wanted to spend every waking moment with this person, so close that we could actually get ourselves into their heads and hearts and feelings and dreams of forever.

I confess I cannot do this on my own. I admit that I have to confess this to my heavenly Father more often than I want to, and in the confessing, in the acknowledging my weakness to participate in a strong marriage, He steps in and becomes the strength I lack. And the in love comes back in my heart, and there is no other explanation than Christ.

In January, we got married. In what is usually the bleakest, coldest, darkness month of the year, love bloomed. As I reflect on that this morning, rain drops are pounding on the roof, my king leaves his castle with his lunch pail in hand but never without a kiss and “You have a good day.” I think I’m melting all over again.