May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.
St. Thérèse de Lisieux
I think we all have a place where we can grasp tightly to the hand of God. Creation always beckons us to His heart. For some the mountains may display His majesty but for me it is the ocean.
Breathing in the salty air and feeling the sand between my toes is one of my most craved for moments. It is cathartic to a life that so easily carries burdens it was never meant to hold on to. So, I wait restless and long to stand at the water’s rough edges and feel its cleansing wash over me.
I am never disappointed.
As vast as the ocean lies in the horizon, I am reminded so are His promises for me. The very same promises I too easily lose sight of in my daily moments.
He hasn’t changed at the ocean’s edge.
I have.
For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.
Jeremiah 31:25
Always grateful for:
Family
Vacations at the beach
Sunshine and rain
Laughter
Fresh South Carolina shrimp
Coffee and a sunrise
Rest
Joining in:
I don’t want to find myself here – again – but that is just where I am. I am sitting with my regret wanting to give up. I keep trying not to do this and yet, I do it – over and over again. It taunts and tears at me until I feel like I have nothing left to fight with and I crumble under its weight.
She, too, lived a broken life. A life crushed by the weight of bad choices and weak faith. On this night, she came with little more than a scarred reputation and an alabaster jar. She knew the ridicule she would encounter when she entered the room. It was hers to live every day with these people.
Yet, she came.
She came now because she wanted to know the depth and breadth of a love far greater than their whispers could ever reach. She came with a boldness that was birthed from pain. She came with a faith alive and willing to pour out. She came broken and ready to love with abandon the One who gave her the only thing worth having – redemption.
Mine has been a faith that settled for far too less – one that whimpered more of my lack than His strength. I have come carrying far more than I should because I haven’t believed that He can and will. This is the life that has been mine, not the life that should be His.
Broken and crumbled, I beg at His feet for the faith to believe beyond what I do. For a faith that trusts beyond the “what if” and has strength surpassing the “I can’t”.
It is what He has wanted all along – a broken realization that I cannot and that I have not. But a hope that He will.
Her tears were the cleansing of grace overflowing. Her alabaster jar briefly held the treasure of a faith now grasped and its fragrance of mercy now permeated the air.
Redemption came and in peace she went.
Failure seeks to break me.
He wants transform the me that is broken.
Redemption still comes – just as I am.
Joining in:
It pours down on my soul, this Spirit drenched Word. I can barely breathe under its weight but yet I don’t struggle. I give in. I give up.
It is what He wanted all along. Why I battle so, I do not know. Like Paul, I fight even when I don’t want to and know I shouldn’t. Yet, He continues to long for my surrender. He waits far longer than He should and far longer than this broken soul deserves.
I am grateful.
Thankful that the One who spoke this world into existence still speaks today and I stand amazed at the million ways He chooses to bring Truth into my life.
This weekend He spoke peace upon my anxious heart, mercy upon my broken soul and grace into my outstretched arms. Like dew gathering on a flower’s leaf, His Words cling to my heart.
I drink in and am refreshed.
Remembering with thanks…
peace found on a sunny afternoon
Truth spoken by one He has gifted to teach. One who wants us all to be Living Proof.
friends who walk a similar path
quiet moments and thoughts gathered
assurance that it is time to say goodbye
Joining in with:
Rejoicing in the promise of the day to come and resting in the truth that until then…I am known by Him!
Joining today with:
