Tuesday, March 10, 2015

When we've got nuthin'.........

We had just finished a long trail on our bikes.  The hardiest of the group were biking up a mountain just then, but I stayed behind to sit under a tree.


Sometimes I laugh at myself because if I weren't a follower of Jesus I'd probably be sort of New Age or of the tree hugger camp.  Creation really resonates with me, but I know that when I let Creation whisper to my soul that I'm really communing with Him.

I looked at the lacy leaves of THIS year but leaned back against the trunk and felt wind vibrations in something that had weathered many years of storms.  The past, the present.  It spoke to me of consistency.  This tree was a bringer of shade, a source of beauty, a place for birds to nest for years and years.  Constant.

How much more constant is our King.

The guesthouse was a former nunnery, so I bet that I was not the first Seeker to sit under this tree.  Not the first to commune with the Maker under its branches.  Not the first to lean against its trunk and find peace.

Consistency.
His care, constant.
His love, constant.
His faithfulness, constant.

"And he said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
Ex. 33:14


Even before we reached home, turmoil.  The pain of someone that I dearly love's world folding into mine.  I took comfort in the reminder that He is constant and that nothing had changed, but how did I get that from my brain back into my heart as well?  

His constancy is a steady, sturdy cord through the ages there for us to grasp.  It is the brawny bond that catches us when we fail, that holds us and comforts us when all else fails.  It is the gentle silken strand that wraps is in an embrace and brings peace when there should be none.......................................................................

I wrote the above weeks ago but my keyboard's been silent since.  Putting sentences together has been hard, but the message above has carried me through.  Mid-life health issues exhausted but HE is constant.  There are periods of time where the trials seem greater than the joys, but HE never changes.

On Sunday our pastor had everyone consider the multitudes like Jesus did and write down what we have to offer.  What God-given talents, abilities, resources, etc, were we willing to be generous with on behalf of others?

A great exercise to help us think outside the box and think about giving, but right now I feel like all I have to give is Jesus and His love.  That's it.  But that's actually not a bad place to be because His "power works best in weakness" and 'when I am weak, He is strong." (2 Cor. 12: 9-11)

And HE is constant.

The times where we were able to most grasp His love------His love is STILL the same, unchanged.
When the peace that passes understanding eludes us------the unending Source is still there.
When we think we're being utterly faithless------HE is still constant, every second of every day.
When we feel like what we do determines who we are------HIS value of us never fluctuates.

As for today, I still got nuthin'.  Not much to say, not much to give and I'm terribly inconsistent.

But that's OK in this season because I abide 'in Him' and HE is constant.  And if you are in that place with me right now, that place of hiatus, remember that you are still totally, absolutely and 100% completely loved, too.

"Abide in my love." (John 15:9)

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