The Light of the Lord

The hours and the minutes blurred past. A typical afternoon spent rushing, doing, racing against the clock and checking off the boxes…and then this.

How it stopped me.

Caught me off guard and held me there in honey-colored sunlight.

The unexpected shadows that give dimension to life and define our strength...or our weakness.

It’s grace that moves the shadows onward.

They only settle for a time casting their many shades of light like long fingers stretching, searching.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

There's truth in those glorious shadows. A hallelujah to sing strong and loud. Praise Jesus - the light has overtaken the dark! Rejoice in the light of the Lord!

The shadows are no match for the light that fills the soul

and the heart

and the home.

But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. (Acts 2:24)

"...weeping may stay for the night,
    but rejoicing comes in the morning." (Psalm 30:5)

The dark shadows are temporary, my friend. 

May you always seek to live in the light of Jesus!

Debbie

"The Courage to Fly" begins tomorrow!

I’m so excited to share some thoughts with you in my blog series, “The Courage to Fly,” which begins tomorrow.

SO excited, in fact, that I’d like to give a little preface post to give you an idea of just where all this talk of pursuing dreams originated.

Perhaps it explains why I relate everything to the garden…because that’s where He speaks to me. That’s where He led me during those dark and cloudy months. The months my preoccupied self took precedence over the weeds, the lack of water and nourishment and the desperate whimper of shriveling foliage just beyond the garden gate. Like prisoners with no escape, I look back now and envision my struggling, weak plants dragging crude metal watering cans back and forth across the gate slats to get my attention, but I’d become too content in my own misery to pay them any mind.

I was in a darkened, angry state of heart running through my days methodically on auto-pilot, ignoring phone calls, decisions, denying myself all forms of peace and happiness. Like the garden, I, too stood withering, fading, losing all traces of color and life. I’d lost my enthusiasm and felt like a failure to my husband, children and family members.

I, like the garden, stood barren, stripped of foliage and limp while the rain poured in my heart.

One day (which I mention later in series), the Lord came through loud and clear – an almost audible voice, and gave me my dream back…gave me back to me! In those simple words, He made me realize that you and I, whether single or married, youthful or “well seasoned,” from false eye lashes to false teeth, we each possess a passion uniquely ours.

Your dreams matter because God put them there. He created you; vibrant, beautiful, intelligent you to live out a particular purpose, and he equipped you with everything necessary to do so. Isn’t that an awesome thing to consider? No matter what stage of life you find yourself, you are still an integral part of God’s perfect plan.

Now, I don’t have a wall full of counseling degrees to back me up, and I can’t tell you why good people have to endure unthinkable loss and heartache, but I do know this: if you had the good pleasure of waking up this morning to a beautiful new day, there’s a reason for it.

There’s a reason you survived the accident, the broken marriage, the unhealthy relationship.

There’s a reason you came through the surgery.

There’s a reason the chemo worked and you’ve been declared cancer free.

There’s a reason for your past, and plenty of reason to look ahead to your future.

There’s a reason the Lord has taken away and forgiven your sins.

There’s a reason why you’re reading this right now.

Yes, you may be scarred and discouraged from the battle, but if you’re still here, there’s still work to be done, and God wants to accomplish it in you one step at a time!

Join me tomorrow as we kick off “The Courage to Fly”!

When a Heart Surrenders

photo © 2006 hobvias sudoneighm | more info (via: Wylio)

I hear the words, see the tears and feel that pull…again, and they stir unsettling shards through my spirit. Another heart in pain. Another defeated, “giving-her-all” kind of woman who’s dragging her self esteem around these days like broken shoelaces through mud puddles.

She trembles words of sadness, a hurting soul waving the white flag of surrender, tearing at my emotions. I listen through tears as my heart wants to reach through to hers to embrace and comfort, to remind her that it’s our God who gives rest to the weary, strengthens the weak. Only the armor of God can pierce through layers of rejection, denial, self doubt and depression.

My words meet hers in mid flight.

My hope battles her reality.

My God over her questioning of Him.

Something gives way from within when desperation wipes away a woman’s spark. That certain something special gifted to each one of us seems a fragile butterfly at times, especially when life finds us on our knees sifting through the rubble in search of purpose and reason.

But they’re there – His purpose and His reason, though sometimes hidden behind demands and the things that break us down. Seems all too often it’s the sweetest, gentlest of spirits expected to endure the ugly wringing out of the soul. Perhaps, it’s because they’re the biggest threat; capable of bringing the most glory to the darkest day – a vessel through which the light of the Lord shines the brightest.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

(Matthew 5:14-16) NIV