A guest post from Ann Voskamp: “What to do on Hard Days” The devil hates singing . . .
Category: courage
Doing the next thing
Sometimes the best thing you can do to love the Lord is to just do the next thing. Ann Voskamp, in her usual honest and beautiful way, shares about not wanting to get out of bed one morning: When perfectionism and to-do lists overwhelm.
The age-long minute
If you feel like Jesus may pass you by, have hope–He is coming to you.
The title of this post comes from a meditation by Amy Carmichael on Ps 107.29-30: He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. I have to say that my first thought after reading Then they were glad because they had quiet, were: “This verse must mean a lot to parents of toddlers and teenagers!” Amy’s reflection was other–and deeper–than mine 🙂
“Then they were glad because they had quiet;” the words were music to me. Then in reading the different stories of the Lord calming the sea, I found this: “He came to them . . . and meant to pass by them” [Mk 6.48]. The more literal the translation the more startling it is. As I pondered the matter I saw that this “age-long minute” was part of the spiritual preparation of these men for a life that at that time was unimagined by them–a life of dauntless faith and witness in the absence of any manifestation of the power of the Lord; and it must be the same today. Such minutes must be in our lives, unless our training is to be unlike that of ever saint and warrior who ever lived. Our “minute” may seem endless–“How long wilt Thou forget me,” cried David out of the depths of his–but perhaps looking back we shall in such an experience a great and shining opportunity. Words are spoken then that are spoken at no other time . . . We have a chance to prove our glorious God, to prove that His joy is strength and that His peace passeth all understanding, and to know the love of Christ that passeth knowledge.
And the “minute” always ends in one way, there is no other ending recorded anywhere: “But immediately he spoke to them, and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; have no fear” . . . and the wind ceased” [Mk 6.50].
“Then they were glad because they had quiet; and he brought them to their desired haven.”
(Edges of His Ways, pp. 143-44)
If you feel that you are in “an age-long minute”, have hope–He is coming to you and will bring you to your desired haven.
The Butterfly Circus
One of the sisters called my attention to this beautiful short film, that you can view here: The Butterfly Circus. I’d love to read your comments.
A message of the movie is this:
No one has been born by chance and no one was consulted before being brought into the world. The essence and existence of each person is something of extraordinary value, something very important . . . And if no one exists by chance, there is no chance involved in his particular physical and psychological make-up. There is also a reason for the fact that everyone has his own individual temperament, qualities, a particular degree of intelligence, sensitivity and even particular features . . . Everything has a reason for being and existing and each creature has been appropriately gifted for the end which it is to fulfill in the universe. (Frederico Suarez, Mary of Nazareth)
Courage
I just came across a card sent to me by a good friend at a very, very challenging time in my life. (A story for another time.) It was tucked away in the front zippered compartment of my bible, a place where I’ve put a number of treasures. I don’t look in there very often, and, hence, I sometimes forget what is in there–like this card. There is only one word on the front of the card: Courage. The card then unfolds to a 17 x 11 inch poster with the quote: It is at night that faith in light is most admirable. I thought about laminating it and putting it up somewhere, but I think I like it best to just re-discover it once in awhile tucked away in that zippered compartment of my bible. And it always seems to be just the right time to re-read it . . . (Thank you, Kathleen K.)
Witnesses to Hope 