Category Archives: Knowing God

Hark!

IMG_3249By Judy Villanueva

Hark! The herald angels sing: “Glory to the newborn King!”  Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinner reconciled!

I sang this familiar song at church on Sunday and for whatever reason, heard the word “Hark” as though it was being sung directly to my heart.  “Listen!  Give heed.  Pay attention!”  I often feel handicapped when it comes to hearing God speak to me but, little by little, I’m learning that simply paying attention is helpful in tuning into His voice.  In that moment, I felt called to become aware and attentive.  I’d love to tell you that in the next minutes I understood the “why” of it but, I didn’t.  What I did know with sweet clarity was that, as I gave God my attention,  I felt my heart wake up to His presence! 

Noise and “busy” act like spiritual ear plugs that muffle God’s call to sit up and listen.  And, if we cannot follow our noticing to callings, we will miss all sorts of divine invitations to give and receive love.  We are so often pushed along throughout the day and pressured to keep moving, rather than encouraged to take a minute when something or someone cries out “Hark!” 

So, how do we learn to “wake up” to God ?

I think it can start by simply noticing what we notice.  (Because there’s always a reason we notice!)  I love what CS Lewis once said about “pulling the string.”  Notice what you notice and become curious. Then pull and pay attention (give it some time) to see what’s on the other end of the string!

You might be at work or the market, bathing a child or cooking a meal, when something or someone suddenly stands out to you. Be curious!   I was in church when I literally heard ‘Hark” during worship and noticed.  I pulled the string and asked my whole self to sit up straight and listen.  It became a moment of “receiving” that blessed me way beyond the tune of a favorite carol.  It became an encounter.

No, there were no fireworks or heralding angels, just a gentle moment of hearing “Hark” and waking up to the divine declaration that Christ has come.

He’s come!  Right here.  Right now.  In my life and in yours.  We’ve not been abandoned.  We don’t have to save ourselves.  Hark!  Jesus is here.  He loves us completely, knows each one of our stories, and ardently desires our notice and reception!

“For your constant notice of me, I give you thanks.  And, for knowing just how to help me along in my notice of you, thank you.  Help me to notice your presence in my life with all of its joys and sorrows.  Help me to live my days listening for You!  Amen.”

What about you?

Do you notice what you notice?

Where might God be calling “Hark” in your life?  

When you become aware of something that stands out, what do you do next?  Do you stop and wonder why?

Notice what you notice today and pull the string!  God loves us and loves when we wake up to His presence.  Merry Christmas!

Worship

Overshadowed

danaAutumnBy Judy Villanueva

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “Let it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:34-38)

It’s easy to take this story for granted because it is so familiar to us but, think of it!  An angel appeared to Mary with a message to deliver.  I’m pretty sure I would have been unconscious before Gabriel had the chance to say anything, but Mary listened with curiosity and asked a question for all of us, “How? How can this impossible thing happen, given that I am just me?” Practical realities and past disappointments like to gather in front of thresholds where divine announcements are made.  They block our view of God but, rest assured, He is there, carefully holding our hopes and inviting us to press through and join Him.

Gabriel accommodates Mary’s question and explains that, “The power of the Most High will overshadow you…” and then, reveals that Mary will give birth to the Son of God!

First an overshadowing and then a divine revelation!

Have you ever felt an awakening of soul upon reading and reflecting on the Word?  I did today as I read this familiar passage and it was like hearing these words spoken over my life and over the very things I’m straining to bring to God today — things that feel impossible. Sitting quietly, I allowed thoughts of the Most High to overshadow my doubt and fear…and before long, I found myself peeking through to Hope!

All that had blocked my view at this particular threshold evaporated in His presence and my first peek revealed that the answer to “How?”…is Him!

I suppose Mary could have said “No” to God’s plan, but she didn’t. I don’t know what she was in the middle of doing that day, but whatever it was, she set it aside and wondered with an angel!  She followed Gabriel’s words to an unbelievable threshold and peeked through to a God whose Word never fails!  I can’t imagine that Mary understood the magnitude of what was told her that day, but regardless, she let go of doubts about “how” and said “yes” to Him!

“Thank You, Father, for sending your Son and becoming our How! Help me to hold Gabriel’s words to Mary for myself today and let the power of the Most High overshadow me. With Your help, I can let go of doubt and trust You for the impossible. Amen.”

What about you?

Does doubt and fear block you from seeing God and trusting Him?

Is there something is your life that feels impossible?

Do you need to be overshadowed by the power of God and reminded that He can do the impossible?

Sit quietly with God and let Who He is surround you.

No word from God will ever fail! I pray God’s overshadowing power to break strongholds and loose life over you today. Amen.

Worship

 

A Word Breathed By God

vMOUNTBy Judy Villanueva

In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him… In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.”  (John 1:1-4)

“We have it in us to be Christ to one another… to work miracles of love and healing…to bless with him and forgive with him and heal with him…to grieve…and to rejoice…. And, who knows but that in the end, by God’s mercy, the two stories will converge for good…His story will come true in us at last. And in the meantime, this side of Paradise, it is our business…to bear witness to, and live out of, and live toward, and live by, the true word of his holy story as it seeks to stammer itself forth through the holy stories of us all.”  (Frederick Buechner)

I was lucky enough to witness the birth of my first grandchild.  It is difficult to describe the joy that swept through the room when that precious baby came into the light and drew her first breath.  The miracle of birth proclaimed itself and the beauty of new life reached out with gifts of hope for all.  She gasped and inhaled for the first time. I gasped and exhaled dumbstruck at the sight of her little hands and feet, her mouth wide open in protest and her eyes straining to see the new world around her. She is a little word breathed by God with a story to tell, of Life and Light.

Have you ever considered that you are a word breathed by God?  Who did God breathe you to be?  What story did God breathe you to tell?  These are the questions that have kept me company as I have kept company with John 1:1-4 this week.  The God, who moved over the surface of the waters and spoke “Let there be light,” also spoke me into existence.  And you, too!  “Let there be a you,” and there was!  God’s words create life and light. 

He speaks and it is, and IT IS with a purpose and a story to tell. 

How does it make you feel to consider that you are a word breathed by God with a purpose and a story to tell?

It makes me a little giddy!  It might also make me anxious if I slip into thinking that I must figure out the point and purpose of the word that is me!  Do you know what I mean?  “We have it in us to be Christ.”  That is the truth that keeps setting us free and lighting our way. 

Christ in us IS our hope and power to bless and forgive, heal and grieve and rejoice and love!   

He IS the story that comes true in us at last, one day at a time, as we seek to know Him and as we “bear witness to, and live out of, and live toward, and live by, the true word of his holy story as it seeks to stammer itself forth through the holy stories of us all.” 

“Prompt me, Lord, to pray as I inhale and exhale throughout the day.  To take time to breathe in Your refreshing presence that fills me up and to breathe out with surrender and faith and gratitude.  Amen.”

What About You?

Have you ever considered that you are a word breathed by God with a story to tell? 

Who did God breathe you to be?  (He knows even if we do not)

What story is your life telling?

Have you breathed in the Life and Light that Christ offers?  

 Worship

Are You The One?

DSC_1050By Judy Villanueva

Matthew 11:2-6

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

John’s was the voice that cried out in the wilderness “Prepare the way of the Lord!” He is in the guy who wore camel hair shirts and ate locusts with wild honey. We definitely get the impression that he was sold out for Jesus, and bold in his message to repent and be baptized! Yet, here in this passage, we find him in prison sending his disciples to Jesus to ask a curious question. “Are You the One, the Messiah or should they wait for another?” It seems to suggest that John was off balance and in need of reassurance. It makes me wonder if he wasn’t scratching his head trying to make sense of the life unfolding around him. Was being in prison part of the plan or did something go wrong? No doubt, his circumstances were not what he had expected!

John the Baptist might seem like a hard guy to relate to, but as I witness him straining toward Jesus in need of strength and direction, I feel an immediate connection! John’s question is my question and was my question this very morning.  I ask it often during times of disappointment or fear, and certainly, whenever I cannot make sense of how the pieces of my life fit together.  You know those times when life is not how we imagined, or when it seems like God is taking forever to answer our prayers?  I’m afraid we might find Jesus’ response to John less than comforting. He doesn’t say, “Hang in there, cousin! I’m on my way to break open the prison doors!” Instead, Jesus tells John that the blind see, the lame walk, the dead are raised and the good news is being preached to the poor. In other words, “Take heart. I am He! I am the One!”

Jesus’ words feel both reassuring and disconcerting because while they announce His reign as Messiah, they do so right alongside John’s plight in prison. This is always the case!

Jesus is Lord and Messiah, always AND right alongside the life that is ours…the life that we may love, as well as the life that may include the hardest trial we’ve ever faced.

It was John’s challenge, as it is ours, to hear Jesus announce His reign and to trust beyond his own understanding. I need to hear Jesus say, “I am the One!” when life has caused my heart to falter…and allow the reality of His reign to strengthen and remind me, that despite present conditions or anything I may not understand, His kingdom has arrived.  It’s already here! That’s what Jesus was telling John.  That’s the good news being preached to the poor and that’s the blessed Truth that sets us free today. Take heart. He is the One! Look no further!

“Lord, help me to hear you announce that You are healing, raising the dead and reigning over all!  Help me to lay down my need to know everything and instead, to bow in faith. Thank you that you are the One! Amen”

What about you?

When do you feel off balance and in need of reassurance?

What does the arrival of God’s kingdom mean to you?

Are you able to rest, knowing that Jesus reigns?

Above and beyond whatever circumstances you find yourself in, God is good and He reigns!

Worship

 

He Sees You

cross By Judy Villanueva

Luke 7:11-15

Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

Huddled close together we prayed.  A stranger to me, she came forward after Sunday service and shared her story of buried hopes and disappointed dreams.  She recounted one loss after another and described a sadness that broke my heart.  Hopelessness seemed to surround us and I could feel its crushing weight.  “No! No! No!” were the words I quietly prayed  in response and “Jesus, come save us.”  Sometimes life deals us blows that knock the wind right out of us and leave us vulnerable and tired.  Sometimes all we can do is trust that God sees us, that He cares deeply and can call us back to life!

The widow had already lost her husband and now her only son has died.  I imagine that hope and joy lie next to him lifeless, as well.  I wonder if she knew Who it was that noticed her that day—Whose heart went out to her and said, “Don’t cry.”  Do you ever feel that your life is happening way down here on earth…out of view?  Every time I read that Jesus sees one of His beloved, I am relieved, reassured, and so, so glad!  That He feels for the widow confronts my wounded notion that Jesus, being God, knows everything and has no reason to feel for us. On the contrary!

“God with us” means that He travels through our moments in “real time” and feels our life with us!

The widow watches Jesus touch her son’s coffin, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”  I’m guessing that before she can even make sense of what she has just heard, she sees her son sit up and feels him placed back in her arms!   Can you imagine?   Instead of her worst nightmare, an unbelievable joy sweeps her up and twirls her around!  He’s alive!  Her son lives!  Have you ever felt helplessly at the mercy of your circumstances?  Has disappointment ever stolen your hope?

This story reminds me of a kind God who sees me in the middle of my life and cares.

It helps me to remember His compassionate heart that says, “Don’t cry” when I am utterly devastated and compels me to watch for His power to defeat death in my life!  It helps me to NOT lean on my own understanding but to put my trust in God.  Watching Jesus give back this son to his mother places hope back in my arms and fills my heart with joy!

“Thank you, Jesus, that you notice my coming and going, my joys and sorrows…and feel my life with me!  Help me in my helplessness and please tell my lifeless hopes to “Get up!”  I pray for anyone reading this who may feel weary and hopeless…that they would feel Your love today and Your touch on their life.  Amen.”

What about you?

Have you ever felt helplessly at the mercy of your circumstances?

Has disappointment ever stolen your hope?

Do you have friends who will be with you in your sorrows?  Is there a prayer team waiting for you to come forward?

God sees your life and cares!  His heart goes out to you today!

Worship

Applause!

DSC_1440By Judy Villanueva

“The Lord your God is in your midst,
A victorious warrior.
He will exult over you with joy,
He will be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. (Zephaniah 3:17)

A fifty-something year old woman walked onto the stage, an unlikely victor in the talent competition my husband and I were watching.  She had a gap in her teeth and her dress was too short for a woman her age but with a twinkle in her eye and a smirky smile, she began her comic routine. Then, it happened. Upon finishing her schtick, the audience rose to their feet in an uproar of cheers! They loved her and as the sound of corporate approval filled the air the camera zoomed in on the woman. Overcome, she shuffled her feet and covered her face as tears filled her eyes. Enveloped in applause, she looked out at the audience stunned and deeply moved by the many voices that declared emphatically, “You are loved!  Well done!”  Aren’t these the words we all long to hear?

The need for assurances of our worth is a universal soul longing.  We look for it every day, aware and unaware, and hunt for proof that we matter.  I remember Tim Keller once saying that all of us

“…need someone we think the world of to think the world of us!”

So, we work hard, strive to look nice, endeavor to please, produce, and perform all in an effort to conquer the insidious fear that who we are is not enough.  Can you feel your need for applause?  Are you aware of the subtle drive to prove yourself worthy?  I am.  Especially when I’m not “doing” something important I can feel it creep up on me with indictments that I haven’t sufficiently earned my life.  I can also feel it when offered a compliment and, instead of simply enjoying the blessing of having done something well, I clutch the praise tightly, hoping to squeeze out a kind of worth that lasts.

But what would happen if we were to imagine that we are the ones on stage?  Imagine…

You walk out and stand there — being you. Your hair color, your height, weight, bone structure and temperament. You come with talents and gifts, rough edges and blind spots, good intentions and selfish ambitions, accomplishments and failures. The spot light reveals everything and all that you are (and aren’t) is apparent. Then, imagine…try to imagine… that after you’ve put all of you out there on the stage, you wait trembling for the silence to break…with a judgement of who you are.  And then it breaks!  An eruption of cheers fills the air and surrounds you. It’s ecstatic and happy and filled with joy — for you!  Feel it!

You are loved!  

Through tears you look up, curious to see the audience whose vigorous shouts of approval are healing and filling your soul.  Can You see Him?  It’s Your God!  Celebrating you, blessing who you are, and showering you with love.  He thinks the world of you!  And, there’s nothing more true than that!

“Thank you, Father, that in your eyes I find approval and a love that quiets my striving and invites me to rest.  It’s your applause that fills my soul.  Help me to stand before you everyday and listen for your cheers.  Amen.”

What about you?

Can you feel your need for applause?   Are you aware of the subtle drive to prove yourself worthy?

Have you ever thought about God rejoicing over you with shouts of joy?  What does it make you feel?

Where are you looking for approval?   In what ways are you trying to prove that you matter?

God thinks the world of you!  I pray you seek to know Him better.

Worship 

Lost and Found

MMcGregPiedra

By Judy Villanueva

Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. (John 5:5-8)

I looked at the sun hoping it would help me figure out where on earth I was! No luck! There were no mountains to mark north like back home and no cell phone to offer me a map. I turned around to find my three young children staring at me, their fearless leader, with such trusting faces. “It’s ok, mom! We’ll find our way back to the cabin.” Little did they know their mom was seriously direction challenged, and while we were no more than a quarter mile from our destination I could not discern the way. So close to home, but lost! When I read about the invalid man who put his hope for healing in a pool of water I feel curious and decide to look more closely. The first thing I notice is that the man isn’t looking to Jesus for healing, nor does he appear to have much, if any, awareness of who is engaging him. He is so close to home but lost!

So often I feel like I must “get it right” to be effective in prayer. I must say the right thing, at the right time, and in the right way. I must pray the will of God, in faith, believing! Can you relate? Prayer becomes a formula that, if all the variables are plugged in correctly, will equal the answer I seek.

What I love about the encounter at Bethesda is that it breaks all the “get it right” rules and defies formulas.

The invalid doesn’t ask Jesus for anything, and when asked if he wants to be well, doesn’t actually say “yes!” Instead, he complains and explains his helpless plight to God, the God who saw him lying there and drew near to do what the pool could not. “Get up!” Jesus says, and he does.

Can you feel the shift from getting it right and praying perfect prayers to the splendid truth that God IS intimately aware of us and always FAITHFUL.

Even when we are unaware, Jesus sees us lying in our places of need and asks, “Do you want to be well?” The question takes sharp aim at pools that cannot bring us life or healing — people pools, financial pools, performance pools, and other pools that stir up false hope, but cannot command us to get up! I don’t want to be close to home and lost. I want to walk! I love that the man by the pool didn’t get it and am so blessed to watch the love of Christ find him and heal him and set him on his feet because, truth is — I am direction challenged and need to be found by Jesus!

“Thank you, Jesus, for seeing me all the time. I am grateful and relieved that I don’t have to figure out the perfect prayer, or even, how to get home. Help me to put all my hopes in your faithful heart. Amen.”

What about you?

What are your places of need today?

Do you want to be well?

Where are you putting your hopes? In what pools are you trusting?

Do you feel lost?

Jesus sees you and cares about your life.

Worship

New!

FOVTetons

By Judy Villanueva

Psalm 33:3-5

Sing to Him a new song;  play skillfully, and shout for joy.  For the word of the Lord is right and true;  he is faithful in all he does.  The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.  By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

Stumbling out of bed, I find my feet on autopilot heading toward the coffee maker.  It is 5:00 am and what is normally a pitch black landscape is lit up by a full moon. The pines cast their long moon shadows, winter aspens lift their branches and the ground covered in snow catches the moonlight and lifts it back up again!  Cup in hand, I can’t help but stand at the window mesmerized, drawn into the beauty of this quiet morning worship.

It looks like all of creation is standing at attention as the moon sings over it with light!

All of a sudden, I become aware of a gift being offered me, a deposit from Heaven.  I wish I could press “pause” on this moment and soak it up for hours but instead, as best I can, I join the worship!  “In this new day, Lord, help me to catch Your light and lift it back up again. Help me to sing you a new song.”

I wake up every New Years morning with great hope and energy for new things!  The day seems marked with fresh opportunities, brand new chances to be new, think new, do new! NEW!  And, somewhere buried in all the notions of new is hope, waiting to be unearthed.  For most of us, each year is made up of the best and worst, the good and the bad, the life-giving and the life-depleting experiences. We’ve probably made many stellar choices and some, not so good. By years end, our hopes have likely been tossed about and may be lying on the floor bruised and unconscious.

And, there they might stay, if it wasn’t for our God who breathes out stars and makes new days with moonlight and songs!

Have your songs become old and drained of hope?  Look up from your life to God!  He is faithful in all He does, His word is true, and His love, unfailing!  He is the One who was and is and always will be — In Him all things are made new!  As I sit writing these words, the sun is lifting its light on the eastern horizon even as the moonlight lingers in the west, perfectly choreographed — as if they do it every day!  And, I stand in between, a happy witness to Light renewing hope and filling my heart with a new songs!

“Thank you for this morning, Lord, for the moonlight and quiet worship that help me find Your face. In this new day, Father, help me to catch Your light and lift it back up again. Amen.”

What about you?

What might your new song be this year?

Do you have some worn out hopes that you need God to resuscitate?

Do you know that God’s love is unfailing and His heart always faithful?

Worship

 

 

 

 

Rituals of Love

IMG_1192 2 By Judy Villanueva

Jesus spoke to the people again. He said, “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in darkness. They will have that light. They will have life.” (John 8:12)

“Daddy’s home! Tell him I’ve fallen asleep!” mom said with a wry smile, as she pushed back the recliner and closed her eyes. The four of us kids met dad at the door with excited giggles, pointing to mom and reporting that she was sound asleep. Then we all watched as this beautiful ritual unfolded, where dad would playfully say, “What? Mom is asleep? How can that be?” He would then walk over and give her a kiss amidst an eruption of laughter. We would watch as mom opened her eyes to find her prince at her side and, believe me, none of us missed the look that passed between them! It spoke to us of love and made a lasting deposit that filled our hearts with smiles! The love my parents shared was a whisper of True Love, steadfast, safe and sure…and, this silly little game drew us all into the happy celebration of it!

Rituals of love! They are the things we do to celebrate life, the ways we act out our gratitude and love.

It is how we mark moments and help ourselves remember the gifts we’ve been given.

Every year, Christians all over the world gather in anticipation of the Christ child. We shop, hang lights, bake cookies and play sparkly melodies that help us celebrate the birth of Hope.  And, standing conspicuously right alongside are our losses, dashed dreams and disappointments. They can make us want to turn away from the joy of the season and retreat to quiet places. Reality can sometimes be harsh and painful. How desperately we need God’s Love to touch our real lives, in both the brightest and most broken places!

Whether it is lighting one candle or stringing a thousand colored lights, there is ONE Truth worth whatever it takes to rouse, remember, and celebrate.

TRUE Love has come and His name is Jesus!

He is what we spend our lifetimes searching for, that thing we hope for as we tear open packages, the ONE we seek when we clamor to fill our lives with people, things, and meaningful causes. He is the hero we hoped would come!

Jesus IS the happy ending, the best story ever told — the Reality of TRUE love!

At 84 and 89, my parent’s love still offers its sweet blessings, even amidst life’s changes and challenges. When I see mom’s posted notes around the house that help dad orient to the day, or watch them as they sit side by side in recliners, or peek over when they exchange “sweet nothings,” I can still see that look pass between them.  It points so gently beyond their love to the Love that came and gave all it had to have us for Christmas!

“Jesus, you are the best story I’ve ever heard and your love seems too good to be true.  But, it’s true!  Thank you, Lord, for finding me, for coming to this world, for making a WAY for me to be Yours.  Amen.”

What about you?

Do you know the One who came to find you?

Do you recognize the ways you clamor to fill your heart with something you can’t quite name?

How do you mark moments and help yourself remember the gifts you’ve been given?

Celebrate!  Remember!  Light a candle!  Hang a thousand lights and ACT OUT your gratitude for the greatest gift ever given!

Merry Christmas!

Worship

 

 

 

 

Life to the Full

DSC_0929By Judy Villanueva

I have come that you might have life, life to the full.” (John 10:10)

Standing next to the stone border that marked safe footing, my little grand daughter and I peered into an abyss of clouds that shrouded the incredible masterpiece.  So close, we eagerly strained to see what the wind and water had carved over the millennia. Staring down into the greyish lavender veil, we could see a depth of red, burnt orange and deep blues breaking through. All of a sudden, I heard the precious girl next to me gasp as the Grand Canyon opened up before her!  She could not help but smile, stretch out her arms and jump up and down. It is one thing to read about a wonder and quite a different experience to stand in front of it and feel its power surround you. Watching her delight and utter amazement blessed me.  She didn’t try to understand it, she simply received the gift it offered and danced!

There is something about these kinds of experiences that splash us with glory and offer us a gulp of life to the full.

For many years I understood “fullness of life” to refer to a life lived “happily ever after”— no worries, no pain, and a picket white fence!  When suffering did arrive, I didn’t know how to make sense of it and, even more troubling, I didn’t know how to make sense of God. I think part of the problem was with my expectations of God, what He should do and how He should do it.  I tend to forget that He is always up to something far beyond anything I could ever imagine, like Grand Canyons and massive rock walls layered in color and, little girls who remind me how to dance before beauty!  When I stop trying to control God and simply stretch out my arms in faith, I find myself at peace and open to receive the gifts God offers me, in all their unexpected packaging!

When Jesus said he came that we might have life to the full, did he really mean He came that we might have God?   

Are Grand Canyon moments designed to take our breath away and help us stumble over the One who IS our fullness?

It would explain why we discover hidden in beautiful canyons, great music, tasty bites, and blessed friendships, a shalom* that fills us fuller than full!   We drove hours and hours to get to the edge of this indescribable wonder, and when it opened up before us, God spoke! To a little girl He said, “I am here, deep and wide and beautiful!  Let’s dance!” To me, her Nana, He said, “I AM fullness of life! Behold, bow, stretch out your arms and be filled!” And, as I stood in silent awe, I heard, or did I imagine Him whisper,  “And, daughter, you are not too old to dance!”

“Thank you, Father God, that you came to give me life to the full! Help me follow beauty to your throne room, delight to your face and trials to your arms. For the Grand Canyon and all the ways you announce who you are, I am so grateful!  Fill me up! Amen.”

What about you?

Have you tasted life to the full?

What moments have you experienced that usher you into that deep place of shalom?

Does wanting to control God interfere with receiving the gifts of life that each day offers you?

When was the last time you danced before beauty?  Stretch out your arms!

*“Shalom” – completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord.” (Strongs Concordance)

Worship