To Let Go

No, I'm not going to go into a chorus of "Let it go" even if I sorta do have that temptation. I'm sorry, but not being a momma of lots of little girls, I still kinda like that song.

Now, before you throw your morning coffee at me, I will go ahead and get into my topic. :)

It is when we hold onto things that we can never enjoy them. It is only when we release them to God and hold loosely to them, that we can find peace and find pleasure in even the smallest things in life--that smile from a co-worker, a hug from a friend, the butterfly on the sidewalk, or the giggle of a child in the hallway.

It is when we find more enjoyment in the big things in life too--our families, our jobs, and our passions. Because it is only when we trust God with those things that we can live in the present, not worrying about the past or being anxious about the future.

And the present is all we'll ever have.

So, I pray that, with me, you'll all release whatever is binding your heart and restricting you to the Lord. He can more than handle this moment.

He can handle all that you throw at him. Even the very hardest things.

And I promise, you'll come out smiling.

Not because things are better. No. But because He is good. And you can trust Him.

So let it go.

Love is

 

I was watching a show the other day where one of the characters was asking what love is. Without knowing the answer, she was going into hives thinking about her wedding day. In the show, someone eventually reads to her Shakespeare's sonnet:

SONNET 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
   If this be error and upon me proved,
   I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

This seems to help her as she realizes that she must show up for her wedding day, hives and all, and hope that her husband-to-be loves her like Shakespeare says. But did you notice? He still doesn't say what love is. He just says what it is not.

Don't get me wrong, I love Shakespeare. And the spirit of the poem is as beautiful as the words. But I wonder why the show didn't quote the Bible? Because there is a definition of love. It's been written there for all to see for 2,000 years now.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

So there we see. We now know what love is.

And it's nothing like we thought it was is it? The Bible also says that "God is love."

"Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him..." 1 John 4:7-9

Do you know what I take away from this? Love is not anything like this world says that it is. When someone says, "I don't love you anymore," it simply means nothing. What they are really saying is "I don't feel wild and strong emotions about you anymore."

Love is sacrificial. It has nothing to do with selfish emotion. God himself is love and shows that love by sacrificing himself for us.

We love only when we take our eyes off of ourselves. And as Shakespeare said, if what he said about love isn't true...then no man ever loved.

So, I beg to say, do you love? Have you ever loved? In the true definition?

I think it is worth us all pondering. Including myself.

Hope Always

It has come to my attention recently that hope saves us.

Now, I'm not saying that salvation is through anything or anyone but Jesus Christ. But I've discovered that He is hope. There is little, nay zero, hope without Him. Without His death on the cross, we are without hope for salvation from our sins. Without the resurrection from the dead, there is no hope for life after death. Without His spirit and peace in our hearts, there is no hope for anything beyond the temporary. And how is that hope at all?

You see, hope saves us from ourselves. And this flesh. And painful world.

I've had an area of my life that I have been struggling with lately. And though I hate to admit it, I think that I, in a way, lost my hope. And I suffered for it. Until one night when I was praying and asking God to show me how to liberate myself from my struggle...and He showed me...hope.

The Bible says, "Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us..." Romans 5:3-5

I've always loved this verse and even wrote a poem about it (posted below), but I have never quite taken in the end of the list of sequenced attributes that suffering eventually produces--hope. You would think perseverance or character would be the end game. But nope--it's hope. Those things are wonderful attributes to have but it is hope that is what God is bringing about in our hearts through those things.

And that hope does not disappoint.

Ever.

Period.

Why? Because God loves us.

And so, when we are struggling with something that seems like it will never end, remember, God is hope. His hope saves us from our fears and from our suffering. It is the hope of our salvation that we cling to--that brings us joy even in this terrible world.

With God, all things are possible. And nothing is ever over, too late, or past redemption.

With Jesus, there is always hope.

~~~

"An Echo of Myself"

 

Occurring step by step, in sequences

A path both narrow and wide, yet constant

Through a glass darkly, a cloud surfaces

Inevitably, each voice grows distant

 

At first, the subtlety of the echo

Almost laughingly leaves the voice intact

Resonating unique, it rests as though

It's identity found what it once lacked

 

Silence, for a moment; a sword pierces

Once integral to me, now forgotten

The Word; as truth vanishes, one faces

A solitude from whence is begotten

 

Suffering--Perseverance--Character

Hope echoed from fragrant alabaster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Darkness to Light

I think that often times, we get pulled into this mentality that our life is less than what it should be. We talk about being in the wilderness. We say that there is a brighter day coming.

And it's true.

But what if...just what if that bright day didn't happen until we see Jesus face to face? What if the prosperity messages that feel so good are not to be our reality? Now, I'm not trying to be a downer here, but the simple truth is, we are not all meant to be famous, rich, or even a success. At least, in our word's version of those achievements.

God's version of famous might be different: it may be that your name is written on His hands.

God's version of rich might be different: it may be that you have all the glory of Heaven to inherit.

God's version of success might be different: it may be that you fulfill His purpose for your life.

And so, when we fall and when we sit in darkness, we do rise again. But only with the Lord as our light. Everything else has to fade away into that darkness. And the only vision we have is the candle of Jesus Christ shining, illuminated by His own glory.

We rise--like in Baptism--to a new life. One that no longer focuses on ourselves at all but only on Jesus and His Kingdom. The Bible says, "Seek first ye the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

And yes, I believe that to be true. I'm not saying that God will not fulfill the desires of our hearts or "add all these things." All I'm saying is, that it might look a lot different than we think. Perhaps the desire of our heart should be nothing but God. Perhaps "all these things" are His provision to fuel us along His pathway for us.

And I do think He often leaves blessings along the way. He is not a harsh God. He is a good God that wants to give His children good things.

But His good things. Not necessarily ours.

And maybe until we're ready to accept that--without complaining--we might never know what it is to truly be in the light. Maybe the whole time, we're just lost in the darkness of our own desires and our own meager tangible world.

Perhaps the light that God wants us to live in is much grander than that. And we have to fall and experience the loss of hopes and dreams--even if only for a time--to find what is even better.

Him and Him alone. And find that He, indeed, is more than enough. And His light enables us to truly see in this dark world that we live in.