Acceptance
In a slow reading of Luke 2, the words “She was thoroughly shaken” catch my attention. It might be because I feel compassion for a young girl who hasn’t experienced much in the way of sorrow and suffering. I wonder what that was like for her? But perhaps it’s because I relate to the word. Whatever the reason, I find myself wondering how she could move from being “shaken” to acceptance in so short a time.
Longing
About 10 years ago I really started struggling with the month of December, and Christmas in particular. Christmas songs didn’t spread joy in my heart, they created an ache. The sheer nostalgia of the words, the slight melancholy feel of the music over against the sometimes overly bright and cheery exclamations of wonder left me dour in my countenance and sour in my heart. Bitterness of soul was my next stop.
Waiting
Recently I joined a new prayer group. I committed for several reasons, the most passionate being I want to move beyond what I know into “more.” Prayer had begun to feel like tracks worn and hollowed from use. Something fresh was in order.
The Best is Yet to Come
Having given thanks and breaking bread together, Jesus sent His disciples out to live kingdom lives and do kingdom work. Right away, it seemed they lost everything…only to find, that losing was the way winning came.
Friends Like You
Perhaps there are few avenues more poignant to experience grace than in our friendships. How we enjoy the camaraderie of a shared journey. How we long for the solace of knitted hearts. When we have them, close and available, the rest and safety they bring are like no other. When we are without friends, a solitary untethered movement is more what we experience. We wonder: Who knows us? Who sees? Who will befriend us even now, in our lack? We long for those who will ask and inquire meaningfully about how we are being. We long for friendship.
Truth Is…
Sitting in a hotel room, or a mission house, or the front seat of a car…it doesn’t matter the location…conversations lately have been more like heart cries from folks who’ve lost so much and know the losses aren’t finished. Questions they don’t have answers to, burdens that sit heavy on the heart, unexpected change that rocks the world…hearts torn to pieces. Those are the offerings we bring.
