Saturday, October 1, 2011

Seasons Turn

To everything ... turn, turn, turn ... there is a season ... turn, turn, turn, and a time to every purpose under heaven.  Good song ... even better Scripture! (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

When I was a little girl my family lived in a house that bordered a town park.  Some of my fondest memories from that era of my life were birthed by the hours spent in what became my very own back yard playground.  Even now I can return in my mind to that place and remember the bell shaped merry-go-round that my sisters and I hung upside down on ... the 10 story slide that singed many a bare leg on a hot summer day (ok, so maybe it wasn't quite that big!), and the swings - oh, the swings were my favorite, for on them you could take flight.  But that was another time ... that was another season of my life...

Over the course of time people, rather than parks, became my focus and with this blessing came relationships and a broad bank of memories.  Some people, like my children, will go with me into eternity.  Others have somehow become etched roses on my heart.  While still others were simply a part of God's plan to teach and heal and grow me.  And the seasons continue to turn .....

With the help of a beloved friend I have come to realize that I am but a sojourner ... passing through this life on assignment from the Throne Room.  I wish that I felt secure in knowing that I had been all that God intended for me to be, for every person He intended for me to touch ... but my humanness recognizes my shortcomings.  Consolation comes, however, as I pray that God would grant mercies to cover those things which I unintentionally leave undone.  And still the seasons continue to turn.....

Peace is assured if we wait on the assignments that the Lord has for each one of us.  Just as seasons of this earth turn at His direction, we must wait on Him as the evolution of each season of our own life unfolds before us.  Spring brings with it hope ... Summer strengthens us with promise and endurance ... Fall, with its complexity of beauty and death, bursts forth in both awe inspiring colors and a harvest that sustains and fortifies us during those long Winter nights.  In the midst of any season of life we must be willing to enter into whatever it is that God has planned for us ... going through each season of life with the single vision of being used by God to bring glory to His ultimate purpose.

Remembering Jeremiah 29:11 we can endure any test ... any trial ... any season ... "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  His promises are trustworthy.  Hope in Him sustains us, no matter what the season, for His love endures forever.

May each of us turn and praise His Holy Name ... turn, and praise the Name of Jesus now and forevermore.
Amen and amen.

A Pool of Love

This morning as I woke from a restful night's sleep, I realized immediately that I wasn't alone ... "Good morning, Lord" I said.  His welcomed presence was warm and with it I felt both safe and excited to begin another day.

As the moment unfolded He invited me to sense the presence of the spirits of many of my friends who had joined Him at my bedside.  "Oh look", I thought ... there's my friend whose current journey is riddled with one struggle after another ... and there's my friend who just had surgery ... and there, at the foot of my bed, stands a woman who endures endless hours of loneliness.  Many others who now gathered by the Lord's side were here simply with the hope of hearing a word of encouragement or receiving a soft touch of mercy ........ any sign at all, through me, of God's unconditional love.

In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus tells us to come to Him and take up His yoke for it is easy and His burden is light.  I am of the belief that this hope filled teaching is both for the sufferer and for the children of God whose assignment it is to come along side of a weary traveler and offer them, through prayers and kindness, some much needed rest from their burden.  Then, and only then, are those who suffer able to bear up under the strain of the burdens that have befallen them.  Jesus doesn't just arbitrarily remove our pain ... sometimes He uses His children to redistribute the weight of the burden so that, through those who are willing to stand in the gap for others, the burden is bearable.

By the power of the Holy Spirit I soon found myself in the midst of an experience that now seems surreal.  With the richness of His Word utmost in my mind I entered into what appeared to be a pool that offered wisdom and healing and hope.  My desire to experience more and more was heightened only by the understanding that this pool was filled to the very brim with nothing less than the Living Water Himself!  Hallelujah!

Oh, the joy that filled me when I understood that we could want for nothing more ... that every need would be fulfilled ... every pain eliminated ... every weight lifted.

Anxious to share the Good News, I returned, without hesitation, to the place where my friends had been.  There I invited each of them to return with me to the pool for cleansing and refreshment and renewal.  Joining together, we praised the Lord's Holy Name and gave thanks for His trustworthy Word ... for His strength in time of need ... and for His endless love.  What an honor it is to be a child of God ... to be used by Him to love on others ... to be a bearer of Good News ... and to be counted worthy to share in the burdens of others.

Father God, the day is young ... refreshed and ready, in Jesus' name, I ask that you prepare my way ... providing strength and wisdom and endurance as Your plan for my life comes to fruition.  Thank You, Father, for the love that consumes You for each of my friends that gathered here with you today.  Bless them Lord, I pray, so that each of them shares in the experience of time spent with You in the everlasting pool of Living Water.
Amen and amen.