II Samuel 22:2 ““The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer“
There are days when my strength deceives me
I can manufacture the ability to stand my ground
I can rely on myself or those around me wrapped in skin
I grow tired
There are days the wind blows hard
I fight against it
I climb
I stumble
I fall
You pick me up and hide me in the cleft of the rock
Safe in your fortress, I surrender
I find rest
My back aches, my feet are tired and I am weary
Carry me
Deep within the mirror, reflected back the image of who I once thought I was. Something beyond the obvious stares back at me through eyes windowing the soul of the seeker.
More than sharp features, high cheekbones and brown eyes, I am won; wholly purchased by the author of beauty who sees me lovely.
Beyond the broken glass there is a story. Love overcoming the dullest ache and the deepest uncertainty. Surrendered now to its power, I rest in the arms of one who sees more than an image on a glass screen; more than the portrayal of plastic offered by the populace; more than wrappings and trappings adorning the fearful. My lover sees me.
Creator who marked the heavens with unending glory, you who painted the sunset and placed each peak in its wonder to jut from the earth in majesty, reveal to us the wonder you see in each masterpiece you’ve created. Let us look beyond the mirror to the artist who sculpted us with careful, meticulous purpose. Let us see the only the reflection in your eyes as you rest in us and call your creation “good”.
“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand.” Psalms 139:13-18
Flyboy finds a shell and sends it soaring helpless into the surf. He knows he can cause it to skip and skim instead of sink. When it disappears deep, he finds another and begins again, each time adjusting his angle, the spin of his wrist, the speed and thrust.
Finally, he looks up to Dad for an example. As the shell, gracefully leaves his hands, Flyboy watches with wonder as it jumps three times before falling deep.
Flyboy believes he can be just like daddy. He sees shell skipping on water in his mind and knows he can do it. Frustration is short-lived and only causes him to look up for instruction.
I pray I look at life just like Flyboy…knowing I can do anything…knowing when I’m sinking, I can look up. I pray I never lose the wonder of what surrounds me. I pray I always remember that I can fly. 
Steady rhythms that pulse from page to soul like life that courses through the veins. Deep within I feel it rise. It shakes me to know I am one of them…one of the wandering ones who could so easily forget and lose my focus. Gehazi, who would become leprous for two pieces of silver (2 Kings 5).
Hang on another day and breathe deep. Allow the ink and papyrus to awaken to more. Call upon the author for meaning and understanding. Make me a seeker, who would not just observe your wonder but embrace it. Life of God, consume me until I am hidden in your hand, tattooed upon your forehead like your word tattooed on my heart. Bind it on tablets of stone that I carry around my neck, before my eyes, in my being. I love your voice as you speak through words penned long before me. I love that you penetrate bone and marrow with meaning that is fresh every day. Speak Lord, I’m listening.
Dimly, I see through the glass before me. Faith, the constant reminder that in the end good always prevails. Even the dim can lend beauty. There’s a hope to be had at the core, the distant presence of light illuminating just enough to show the depth of color and contour within. The knowledge remains that the panes and frame have been tried through time and proven lasting. There’s a fragility and holiness in them. Experience tempered with the light of the world and the weight of glory, it’s a masterpiece.
Round and round we go, don’t stop until we’re dizzy enough to fall. Laugh at the circle engraved in the ground by our feet marching in rhythm. Sing another verse of the same old song. Forget the new lyrics begging for freedom because we’re too busy to write them down. Trapped in the same pattern we’re too lazy to escape. Another opportunity passed by as we say we’ll do it later. Maybe it just wasn’t the right time or maybe we were too scared to move. We were made for more than this.
In my waking and my slumber may your presence fill my heart. When my eyes close let me see you clearly. When all of me is shut down and distant let me hear you shout loudly. Even when I’m unaware, you’re guiding me, warning me, comforting, drawing me near to your glory. My ever present refuge, my deliver, strength of my heart. I trust in You.
Let me dream dreams of vision. Let my passion be bigger than me. May my vigor for your purpose drive my life; a pen in the hand of a ready writer (Ps. 45:1). All I am I give to you, my desires, my dreams. Make them into something more. Make them lovely. Overwhelm, consume, edit my life until it portrays your message.
I’ll dream again and wait for you.
Proverbs 16:9 “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps”.
Here lies a wandering world, numbed by silence and lulled to slumber in the bed of their own consequences. Hearts yearning for “something more”, frustration and longing for love and satisfaction gripping them with fists of disillusionment. “I thought my life would be different.”
Glimmer of hope, Jupiter crowned in Regulus, star to cut the darkness brightly. King of all wrapped in cloak of skin, divinity set aside in submission to meager mortal. Love beyond comprehension. Inconceivable wonder. (You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.)
Care and protection of the Godhead assigned to lowly frame of girl and boy. Unspeakable mystery. “Be it unto me according to your word.” Prophecies of old fulfilled in one. Odds too numerous to imagine. Proof through faith and Science of a living God who set the heavens in motion for this moment.
Christmas tree, gift of God, hanging sinless in agony for the very ones who scourged him. Forgiving and zealous for the waiting world. Accepting the blame for our mistakes. Tree of life, glorious cross. Beauty from despair, newness from death. Lasting satisfaction and peace given freely from scarred hands of mercy.
I am eternally grateful.
Photo by Gino Santa Maria
Your word, oh Lord, awakens my soul
Like water washing over the tired and dusty crags that shape the landscape of my heart
I searched within and found myself wandering, lost somehow in the maze of my mind
Like a light your thoughts toward me jumped from page, to guide, shining the path toward safety
In you, I am refreshed
In you, I am free
In you, the smile forming on my empty lips is genuine and easy
O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. Psalm 51:15
I find myself leaning in as I listen to my story as it pours from my own lips. It seems distant like a memory long washed away be the abrading fingers of time which scrape away all of the pain left to hinder my focus.
I listen intently in an effort to find life, a giant birthed out of the ashes; what was long seared to fade and fog. It is there as I press my ears to what lies beyond words, I hear your voice. “Broken pots spill more water” you say. Fill me with your river, Lord and I’ll wash the world.
INSPIRED BY THE COMFORTER 