What can you say about the way God came to you through chance encounters? People may have showed up to give you a cup of cool water. Perhaps you were encouraged by something you read, or a story you heard. Or maybe there were times or places that served as an oasis for you--a small "break" from the trials you were facing in that wilderness.
If a person new to faith were to ask you: " Is it true? Does God really stay with you in the dark places of life?" how would your response serve to inspire that person?
I would say it is true. . . even when we cannot see that God is there with us we trust in the promise that Christ will never leave us alone and that as you so aptly have pointed out, that angels are tending to us in our grief, our sorrow, our struggles, our pain and bring us through them to a place of deep and unexplainable joy that is to be savored in the moment because it just might be a fleeting experience. That was a very long sentence. :)
ReplyDeleteyes, a long sentence. You must have been feeling close to St. Paul! My question is this -- why do you think that those oasis moments can be so fleeting? Do you think we choose to move back towards the "desert"? Do you think that our doubt that the comfort or joy is real shrouds the oasis? Or perhaps, it dissolves because God moves us beyond, and in the beyond, for a while, we experience desolation, until we look around us and listen and discover God's presence again. (also a very long sentence!)
ReplyDeleteNot sure why the moments are so fleeting but it reminds me of being on the mountain with James, John and Pete. The moment only lasted a short while. . . Peter wanted to capture it and keep it, put it on a shelf like a snow globe! He wanted to make tents like the tents that the Israelites erected each night of their wilderness journey. But Jesus said to him, "No Pete, you've got it all wrong. . . we have to go back down the mountain, away from the bright light, away from the obvious presence of God and into the mission field, the world." Those transfiguration moments serve to bolster our faith for the times when we are NOT sensing the presence of God (even though God is always present.) How's that for another long sentence? LOL
ReplyDeleteWell, it wouldn't be the last time that Pete seems to match how we are as we walk along the discipleship path!
ReplyDeleteBlessings and Angels
ReplyDeleteHere the most retched of creation has its place
Here I can be broken and still trust I am part of God's design
I know God loves me
Jesus sits with me
There is no expectation to fix what I cannot change
Here I am a disappoint to no one
It's no one's fault
My brokenness is my blessing
I love you
Wow, Deb..... thank you for sharing that. Simplicity of expression. Unlimited complexity in what it invites and stimulates.
ReplyDelete