Rolling river G0d
Little stones are smooth
Only once the water passes through
so, I am a stone
Rough and grainy still
Trying to reconcile this river's chill
But when I close my eyes
And feel You rushing by
I know that time brings change
And change takes time
And when the sunset comes
My pray-er would be this one
That You might pick me up
And notice that I am
Just a little smoother in Your hand
Sometimes raging wild
Sometimes swollen high
Never have I known this river dry
The deepest part of You
Is where I want to stay
And feel the sharpest edges wash away
-(River G0d by Nichole Nordeman)
I've been given a gift recently-----some time for CONTEMPLATION. I've been living in a very 'Martha' situation for the last few years, but I'm a 'Mary' at heart. (In fact, Mary's my middle name!) I'm realizing that to be who I've been created to be and to operate better in the things that are actually my strongest gifts, I'm going to have to do better about finding time to truly sit at His feet.
You'd think I'd know living in a place that consistently takes me past my own strength that the only way to survive is by drawing from His well. It never runs dry. Unlike mine! But now I'm finding myself really thirsty..........
I keep expecting to notice one day that I'm filled up but I'm finding that the more that I 'drink' the more thirsty I am. I haven't been writing much here in recent weeks, but my personal journal is packed full of stuff that might spill over to this page eventually.
We live in the era of the quick fix. Things happen so fast and we expect immediate results. But things that are worthwhile take time. It's a slow 'river' that washes away those edges and makes us smooth!
"This journey (contemplation) may take us away from the 'wholeness' we seem to have at the moment. It may drag to the surface of consciousness many things which shatter our illusions of wholeness. This journey may radically challenge our lifestyle and identity. Wilderness territory lies between Egypt and the Promised Land.
At the heart of contemplation is the loving submission of our will, in naked fai.th, to the loving G0d revealed in Chr1st. That is costly. And in the process of building our 'wholeness' His way, not ours, the G0d to whom we lovingly surrender, will send us to love the suffering world one way or another as 'holy' members of his 'holy' people.
Chr1st1an contemplation is primarily about holiness in this world, not wholeness. Nevertheless, in the fullness of time, wholeness will be one of it's fruits, whether in this life or the Age to come........But the authenticity of our wholeness is always tested by whether we go on to minister to others to seek their wholeness."
(by Peter Stuart, the Refresh Journal)
Yup, contemplation is worthwhile!
