Dirty, dirty world

Dirty, dirty world

Oh dear!  

My shoes, Lord!?!  

Do you see?  

I'm sorry, Father.  

I only went out walking... 

The mud today was very deep. 

And, now, Lord... 

Do you see? 

My boots are covered in muck. 

Mud lingering up my leg. 

Dirty, heavy, drowned in sludge

What shall I do?  

Easily cleaned, you say?

Stand still a moment.

Simple water will do the trick.

Cold, uncomfortable, but easy to clean.

Thank you Father!

Cleanse my muddy boots.

Wash away the muck of today's world.

Wash my hands, my feet, and my head, too!

"Jesus answered, A person who has had a bath need only to wash his feet"   John 13:10

Go Looking For It!

I live in a country where it rains a lot.  I mean... it seriously rains...  a ...lot.    

An awful lot!

Growing up in California, where it is daily 75 degrees and sunny, this can still be hard for me from time to time.  

One thing I have learned in these 10+ years in this rainy land is---that with rain comes the opportunity for a rainbow!  One never knows when it will come...  but, with rain comes the hope.   Without rain, rainbows aren't even a possibility!  

I have a funny habit that has developed over the years.  When it starts to rain, I go looking for the rainbow.  Today, instinctively, when the downpour started, I ran to front window and then to the back window--- feeling like a child looking for Santa's sleigh in the sky.  

At the back window, I could feel my heart drop just a bit.  I was disappointed when no rainbow was found.  But, ...then I had this inclination...  this whisper in my heart...  Just wait a minute.  

So, I waited.  A minute...  such a short time.  But, it took effort.  Waiting is not easy for any of us.  

Then it appeared.

The waited for...  it appeared.  My rainbow.  It felt personal.  Such a beautiful result of rain.  

My rainbow!

This rainbow doesn't distract from the reality that with rain comes mud--- oh! so much yuck, muck and mud.  With rain comes mould, mildew, sickness, slippery walk ways and bone-chilling-cold--- oh! such deep cold.  The rainbow doesn't take away from the 'yuck' that comes with so much rain.  

The beauty found in any moment doesn't lessen the pain.  But it adds to...  It adds some joy to the equation.  The equation now includes breath-taking, moving, dramatic skies, sound of rushing and pelting water, and green fields that stay green all year round.   Reality is balanced by these moments of joy.  

One small moment.  

I could have missed it, if I hadn't gone looking for it.  

Looking.  And waiting.  I waited in hope.  

It's been a 'rainy' year--- this 2020, hasn't it?  And, 2021...  is deep in muck and mud.  Our nightly news is bone-chilling with no end in sight.  

Join me in looking for the shadows in the skies as an artist might look.  Look for the green fields of strength and endurance in each other.  Listen for the sounds of life amidst the pain.   They are there.  I promise.  

Promise.  

Let's look--- hope and wait for the rainbows.  We have no promise they will come today. But, we can always hunt for them.  Hunt and look with me, today, will you?  

------

Yep... I have written on this topic A LOT!  Here...  and here...   I guess it's still impacting me today.  Nothing new under the sun--- especially rainbows!

The Waiting Deposit

 

There is a sadness that sits in the silence

as I go looking for you.

I wait and wonder, 

where I am and where you are.

What I know to be true and feel in these moments

are far from each other.

So, I wait and wonder, 

when you will come, when I will feel you.

Deeper still, I listen hard and sit long

I sense your Presence.

I wait and I wonder...

A well of truth and love that fills

the depths of my soul.

I wait and wonder...

This recessed deposit reminds me

a future that will come. 

I wait and I wonder...

Sunken deep, a guarantee

my spirit tastes and sees.

So, I wait and I wonder, 

where I am and when you will come.  

"The Spirit is God’s deposit guaranteeing that he will give us the inheritance he promised 

and that he has purchased us to be his own people. 

He did this so we would praise and glorify him."  Ephesians 1:14

 

"It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ.  

He set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts 

as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."  2 Corinthians 1:21-22

Old Habits

 

There are things we learn to do, ...to say, ...to think

To cope when we are young.

Habits of thought that bring comfort

Actions that blanket a sad heart

Activities that wrap around loneliness  

As we age, these habits become second nature 

Knee-jerk and natural responses.

They have grown up with us like friends from childhood.

But, they are incongruous and ill-fitting

They pinch and push against our maturity.

What once promised a cover of warmth, 

Now delivers cold realities

A heart revealed and a soul needing more. 

What we can do... what we do do...

Not always beneficial or constructive, Paul says.

My old habits are tattered and worn, warped and torn.

Old and in poor condition, full of holes.

I still try them on from time to time.  

Each and every time, I find them lacking.  

Dusty with years of stench... yep, the bin is where they belong.

"Throw off that which so easily entangles you!" (Hebrews 12:1)