Category Archives: Knowing God

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)

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Straightened!

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By Judy Villanueva

Luke 13:1-16

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

“What are you afraid of?” I asked my husband. He turned and looked at me with the most curious expression, almost as though he didn’t understand the question. “Well…nothing really,” he responded. “Nothing? You are not afraid of anything?” I queried. I have struggled with fear for as long as I can remember and God was helping me understand that I was living under the constraint of it as though it was normal! It felt like God was taking me by the hand and walking me into the light of understanding my condition. Not all at once, but gently, as I could handle the reality of my crippled state. And, as it became clearer and clearer that I was living “bent over” and unable to straighten, a desire arose in my heart…for freedom!

Sadly, we get used to being “bent over” and walk about the planet unaware that staring at the ground is not what we were made for!

Whether it is fear that pushes us downward or something else, God sees our condition and cares. He absolutely and always remembers that we were created for freedom. Jesus saw the crippled woman in synagogue and, as naturally as taking the next breath, He simply spoke the will of God over her, “Woman, you are set free.” She then felt the hands of God touch her and immediately straightened up to praise Him!

Dare we look with Jesus at where and how we are bent? It is easier to pretend that we are fine or, hide our “bent” parts so that no one will see our brokenness. We are embarrassed and ashamed but God is not! He keeps seeing who He made us to be and cherishes every bit of us…always!  What is curious to me about this healing encounter is that there is no mention of the crippled woman asking for healing.

It blesses me to read that after eighteen years of being stooped over she got up from wherever she was and walked crooked to synagogue!

There she knew she would be near to God and hear his Word.  What she could not have known is that on that day she would show up bent and leave straightened, loved and set free.

“Jesus, that you saw this woman reminds me afresh of who you are! A Healer, an Advocate, and a Straighten-upper:) Thank you that you never get lost in what you are doing and forget how much we need you! Come and touch me and anyone reading this in need of healing today. Amen.”

What about you?

Have you gotten use to being “bent over”? Do the things that bind you feel normal?

How do you feel about being helped to see, with Jesus, where you are “bent over”?

Can you trust Jesus to take you by the hand to freedom?

God is the One who lifts up, straightens and breaths freedom! Please don’t settle for a life “bent over”. He came that we might have life to the full! (John 10:10)

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God in Our Midst

DSC00479.JPGBy Judy Villanueva

Zephaniah 3:17                                                                                                                                                   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.

Psalm 73:26                                                                                                                                                            My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Sitting on the deck overlooking a vista that stretches out for miles, I found myself a witness to declarations of emerald green, sage and hints of autumn yellow.  In those spacious moments, with only the wind and a sweet black lab to keep me company, I felt the reality of God surround me.  It’s always there, I know, but I tend to get lost in the here and now of my life and, too often, lose hold of the Divine Presence that offers me its consolations of love every minute of every day.  With beauty His backdrop, the Eternal, Immortal, Invisible God intruded on my temporal reality and offered me a gift of peace. Himself!

Have you ever noticed that life is always an integration of the temporal and eternal?  Our present, physical circumstances and the Kingdom of God in our midst! In other words, we live in two realities all the time.  One that we can see and touch, and the other, Invisible —

Loved, watched over, purposed and protected, always the Beautiful Reality next to us, even when we cannot see or feel it.

Stressors and joys, wins and losses, births and deaths happen in the context of God’s sovereignty.  That’s HUGE because the Reality that God holds all of life all the time wants to ignite faith, refresh hope and become a place of peace in our midst.

When trials come, it is easy to live disintegrated and narrowed to experiencing life in the temporal.  Worry likes to pound its fist and insist we define reality strictly by what we can see and know.

But any perspective void of the God in our midst will confine the soul and cut off hope.

I want the Truth of God, wise and powerful, kind and good, “over, above, in and through,” to infuse my days with drips of eternity!  I want the Divine to break in and declare that God is always with me and that my life isn’t just about my life.  It is about a victorious warrior who is building a Kingdom right in the middle of my “here and nows.”  He is the God in our midst who rejoices over us and breaks into our temporal realities with declarations of emerald green, shouts of joy, and a gift of peace.  Himself!

“Thank you, Father, that you are the God in our midst!  Awaken me to this reality, and help me enter into your good company today.  For your exultations of joy and quiet love, that you rejoice and shout joy over me, thank you!  Amen.”

How about you?

How do you pull the reality of God into your day-to-day life?

Do you need to remember that God is with you?

Are you “intrudible”? Or, does “busy” keep you from noticing God in your midst?

When was the last time you felt the reality of God surround you?

Knowing God and spending time in His Word renews our minds, refreshes our faith and helps us experience His Heart.

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Drink!

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By Judy Villanueva

There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

“…Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” (John 4:4-14) 

Another mile passed on a recent road trip and I could feel the relief that springtime always offers as I stared out the window.  Mesmerized by luscious green fields with purple mountain backdrops, I suddenly noticed a scene that made me smile and seemed to invite me to a holy pause.  At first, all I saw was a large grass field with gushing water stations spaced across its width.  Before I could make much sense of it, my eyes fell upon one cow that stood in front of a gusher drinking and drinking!  It made me laugh the way she stood so easily over the fountain and let the water fill and saturate her. Do you ever have those moments when a song, a scene from a movie, or a cow in a  field become the voice of God?  This was one of those moments, and even as I heard myself giggle, I felt the Lord say to me, “Drink!”

“Give me a drink.”  It was the way Jesus invited the Samaritan woman to friendship and the way he stirred up her thirst for living water.  She is immediately aware that something has broken through the barriers between Jew and Samaritan and becomes curious.  It is then that Jesus reveals himself  and there that He offers her a drink from an eternal spring!

It makes me curious about all the ways that Jesus comes to me with enticements to drink each day and,

aware that the thirst that parches my soul often  lingers because I simply and stubbornly do not walk over to the gusher and drink.

When I read scripture, there are times when the words seem to offer me a drink of living water, particularly on days like this when I sit still.  I am thirsty for God but so often don’t even know it and, hence, live “dried up” instead of filled and overflowing.

Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control… the plump, juicy fruit of a saturated life!

How I want to live hydrated, but I must agree to pause at the well with Jesus and learn how to drink deeply.  It is then that I get a glimpse of the One who asks me for a drink and there, that  I feel my true thirst!   The Word of God wants to pour itself into our hearts and minds —but we need to walk over and drink!

“Thank you, Jesus, for seeing me at the wells that I draw from each day and offering me friendship. Keep showing me who You are and help me find my way to your springs of living water! Amen.”

What about you?

Can you feel your thirst for God?

Do you have a way of pausing at the well with Jesus and drinking deeply?

What does that look like for you?

Worship

FaceTime

DSC_1285By Judy Villanueva

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

“Crinkle, crinkle yittle star, how I wonder what you are…” I sang gently alongside my little grand-daughter as I rocked her to sleep. Her head rested on my shoulder and before long, I could feel her go limp in my arms.  I placed her in the crib, prayed a quiet prayer and stood a minute watching her surrender to sleep. In those sweet moments, God tapped me on the shoulder and I felt drawn into awareness that, much like this,

He watches over me wherever I happen to be in my life. He sees me as I come and as I go.  He sings alongside my songs and delights in knowing and loving me.

He may feel distant at times, but I only need look up to find His face!  He is always there, His eyes awaiting mine.

Seeking the face of God as we walk through our day invites us to notice where He is speaking, correcting, or guiding.  It may seem vague, but it really is as simple as returning to awareness that God is here.  Simple or not, I find I need practical help and so I set an alarm on my phone that rings every hour to remind me to “look up”.  It is easy to live a day immersed in activity, mentally disconnected from God, but anytime I agree to slow down I can feel soul-space open up and the potential for face-time!  I try to build into my week a rhythm of walks, prayer, spiritual reading, listening to worship music, and meditating on the Word, all as efforts to look at Jesus.  We live fully known by God at every moment, but if we want to see His face in the mirror, His life formed in us, we must engage with Him!

I am always intrigued by the moments in Scripture that mention an eye-to-eye encounter with Jesus. Like Jairus, who upon receiving word of his daughter’s death, looks up to find Jesus’ eyes on him with a command, “Do not be afraid. Just believe.” I can imagine Jairus thinking, “What shall I believe? My daughter has just died!”

Whatever it was that Jairus saw as he stood facing Jesus grabbed him from the midst of his despair, set him on his feet, and led him to a resurrection!

“Talitha Koum! Little girl, wake up!” And, she did! Is this what happens when we face Jesus?  Do we notice Him looking at us over the crowd and into our broken hearts?  Are we helped to hear His voice that shouts hope to our despair?  Are we emboldened to follow Him to places where our lives are restored and where we feel His gentle tap that reminds us He is watching over us?

“Lord, I want to see Your face. I want to remember You and live in Your presence more today than yesterday. Help me to engage with you, to slow down enough to hear you calling to me over, what is sometimes, a crowded life. Thank You for the tap on my shoulder and the reassurance that you watch over me. Amen.”

What about you?

What would be like to live a day looking at Jesus? How might it affect your thoughts? Your choices?

Have you experienced the face of God? The sense of Him seeing and knowing you?

Does the pace of your life allow for slowing down? Can you see Jesus over what crowds around you each day?

What habits help you connect to God?

God loves you and knows you. He watches over you always. Slow down and look up!

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Climbing Trees

UP! aspens

By Judy Villanueva

Luke 19:1-6

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

I love Zacchaeus’ spunk and determination! Even though his profession was dubious and his choices up to this point, questionable, when he hears that Jesus is coming he runs ahead and climbs a tree. Zacchaeus wants to see Jesus and he doesn’t let his stature or a tall crowd get in his way!  Watching him run, climb and sit eagerly perched in a tree tugs at something in my heart this morning…

The tax collector’s curiosity about Jesus, a kind that chases him up a tree, confronts me. Zacchaeus’ determination to go after what would probably be only a glimpse of Jesus invites me to “wake up” with fresh eyes for the coming of Christ in my day. Think about it!

Jesus arrives in our day, every day!  He comes our way and asks if He can stay with us.

How often do I miss Jesus because I’m not even expecting Him and how can I possibly welcome Him with gladness if I don’t even notice His presence in my day?

As I read this passage, my attention shifts to Jesus and I am struck at what happens next! Up in the sycamore tree with Zaccheus, I see Jesus in the distance and my heart begins to race! I, too, have heard stories and find myself longing to hear his voice and see his face. How I want His life to touch mine! To my delight and utter amazement, when He reaches the branch where Zacchaeus and I sit, He looks up!

He knows we are eager for His notice and His notice affirms us in the deepest place of our soul.

I feel taught by Zacchaeus today. He shows me what it looks like to run past curiosity to a tree climbing pursuit of Jesus! Today, I want to remember that Jesus is coming!  I want to be present to life with eager expectation and feel His touch through sweet embraces, the kindness of His Word, and the gentle movements of grace that bless me each day.  I want to welcome Jesus with gladness however He comes to me today!

“Lord Jesus, thank You for looking for me up in trees or wherever I happen to be. Forgive my apathy in not watching for your daily arrivals. Fill me with fresh fervor to climb trees, hang out on branches, and welcome you with gladness. Amen.”

What about you?

Are you tuned in to the commotion that is signaling the coming of Christ in your life today?

Are you curious about Jesus? Who is He?

Is there anything keeping you from seeing Jesus?

Are you watching and waiting for God’s arrival in your day? Are you ready to welcome Him with gladness?

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Delights!

apen friendsBy Judy Villanueva

Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, 
your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; 
you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; 
in your light we see light. (Psalm 36:5-9:)

One bite, and oh my, the goodness hits my taste buds and I feel the joy!!! It was one of those, “Take me now, Lord, because I want to end on this heavenly, scrumptious note!” I have never tasted Sticky Toffee Pudding, but while in Scotland, decided to try one of their favorites and was NOT disappointed! Can you identify? Can you think of something that brings you joy from head to toe…dark chocolate maybe, or windy days, pumpkin pie, autumn leaves, coffee, clouds, bike riding, running, or sitting by the fire? Life is full of delights and if we are attentive to them, we’ll discover the love of God embedded in each one!

The reality is that life is a blend of joys and sorrows, pleasure and pain, seasons of fullness and seasons of loss. They all live together and I suppose that is a good thing. If life were all wonderful, we would likely lose our felt need for God and find our soul longings satisfied in temporal things. And, if life were all sorrowful, we might be swallowed up and unable to think, dream or envision life beyond the pain.

I often wonder if God doesn’t drip delights throughout this world and our experiences within it, because He knows they will remind us that there is a good God at work behind the scenes…a God we can trust.

If I am attentive as I breathe in the beauty of the sunrise, or slow down enough to savor the playfulness of a child, or laugh-to-tears with a friend, I will feel God’s goodness and it will speak love to my soul.

I believe that hidden inside of life’s delights is the love of God, His good will toward us, His delight in delighting us!

I also believe that as we relish and soak up the blessedness of these kinds of moments, we become a little more anchored in love, strengthened for harder days, and helped to believe better in a wise and good God.

“Father God, I am so grateful that You are good! It strengthens me to remember that along with being mighty and wise and Holy, You are also good:) Open my eyes to your goodness today as I sip that first cup of coffee, greet my loved ones, and live this day. Thank You for tasty bites, the love of dear friends, baby hugs and every good thing that will bless me today! Amen.”

What about you?

Do you experience the delights in life as gifts of God’s goodness?

Are you attentive to God’s goodness around you? Can you name a few delights from yesterday?

Do you find that you are more inclined to notice the “good” or the “troublesome” in life?

Practice being attentive to God’s goodness. It becomes a habit that will bless your soul!

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It Is What It Is

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By Judy Villanueva

“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:31-32)

“An embrace of reality always supports the life of both spirit and soul. Both thrive in the soil of acceptance of that which truly is and shrivel when we wander from a commitment to such truthful living.” (Benner, Soulful Spirituality)

The smell of fudgy goodness filled the kitchen as dad stirred mom’s birthday surprise and I scrutinized the candy thermometer.   I was in town for a visit and while mom ran a few errands I got to hang out with my dad.  I noticed that his hearing seemed to have worsened and, at 88, the onset of dementia continues to interfere with his memory.  These changes feel sad at times, but as we talked and taste-tested chocolate, I also recognized my dad’s sense of humor and the joy he feels being together in the present moment.  While I miss being able to talk like we use to, it helped to focus on what is still good and be grateful. I am thankful that my father still knows me, and glad that, despite his memory loss, he remains loving, kind, and content.

My family has a saying that we’ve borrowed and say often. “It is what it is.”  When we say this to one another, we are actually inviting ourselves to know and accept reality.

To know “what it IS” helps us get to the harder step of making peace with whatever “it is NOT.”

This peace-making  is necessary if we are to bring our real lives to God and receive His grace and strength to move forward.

In other words, when we stop resisting reality we can start becoming  constructive agents, free to cultivate love and gratitude in the “what is” of the present moment.

Sometimes this means accepting that the people we love have the right to choose their own way even when it breaks our hearts, or making peace with changes in life that we didn’t sign up for (or want).  Living “real” also means coming to terms with our disappointments and surrendering in faith to the life that is ours.

How do we let go of what we wish were true in favor of leaning into  the Truth that came to set us free?

Oh how we need the reality of Jesus to bear down on our lives with hope and the conviction that He is with us and His presence always offers us peace.

God redeems our past and holds our future but, it is in the present moment that He wants to be our Defining Reality.  The “It is what it is” of life can be hard on the heart sometimes but invites us to turn to God who always was and always will be the “WHAT IS” that matters most —  the Great I AM— and, the dad who loves us!

“Father, it is hard to know and accept reality sometimes, especially when good things change or when I can’t understand the why of things.   Give me courage to accept what is and trust that you are always faithful.  Become my defining reality.  Amen.”

What about you?

Is God part of your daily and defining reality?  What might that look like?

Are you freed by His love to know what is true of your life, past and present?

How are you doing in accepting the realities of your life?  It can be hard  but pretending can only offer a temporary peace.

God is who He is always and wants to be your defining reality.

Worship

Hovering

DSC_0506By Judy Villanueva

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (Genesis 1:2)

He shielded him and cared for him;
he guarded him as the apple of his eye,
Like an eagle that stirs up its nest
and hovers over its young,
that spreads its wings to catch them
and carries them aloft. (Deuteronomy 32:10-11)

A live video feed was recently posted online with a bird’s eye view, so to speak, of an eagle hovering over her egg.  She shifted back and forth in the nest, never taking her eyes off the oval incubator that held her little eaglet.  From time to time she poked the egg with her beak as if to entice her offspring to break the shell that confined her.  “Knock, knock, knock” she pecked, “A life of flight awaits you! Break through!”  Birth, or in this case, shell-shedding happens in its own time but until then, anyone who tuned in, observed this majestic creature shielding the new life hidden within her egg and keeping a careful watch.

Life often forms in hiddenness.

It can appear and feel as though nothing is happening, but God is always hovering over our depths and dreaming into us!

No one escapes injury in the course of growing up!  Even the best parents are human and even the most resilient child lives in a fallen world.  Places of confinement develop right alongside places of freedom.  Are you aware of when and where you are “shelled-in”?  It is often revealed in those times when we feel trapped and subject to worry, anger, fear or sadness.  These strong emotions can surround us and become a kind of confinement that hinders our freedom to love, experience joy, or soar as God intended.  What do we do with these tight places and how do we break through to flight?

“Ruach Elohim” is the Hebrew phrase in these verses that refers to the Wind Breath of God! Just as He did when he hovered over the surface of the deep and called forth light and a world brimming with life, God watches over our lives with care and sees our unformed potential.

He knows what’s in the egg!

What has touched me this week as I have watched a mother eagle hover over her babe is the reality of God’s careful attention over my life. That the God of the universe hovers over me is not only astounding, it fills me with shell-shedding hope!  It makes me grateful and gives me courage to breakthrough and fly in freedom — on the wind breath of God!

“Ruach Elohim, breathe on me!  Create new life and give me wings to fly!  Thank you that you see my places of confinement and know just how to set me free.  Help me notice your voice that  invites me to new life.  Amen.”

What about you? 

Where are your places of confinement?  Where do you lack freedom to love, forgive, or trust?

Do you know that God watches over your life with care?  That He dreams into you?

What do you need from God today?  Where do you need a breakthrough?

The Wind Breath of God called forth light from darkness and a world brimming with life!  This is the One who watches over you!

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