“We brought you some things from the forest.” My girl with the pink nose and cupped together hands tells me as she shambles in through the front door untieing her boots and reaching to hang her winter coat. “It looked like Christmas, so we knew you’d love it.” It’s true, I do love it. I thumb through my navy-blue journal with the embroidered teapot on the cover, a gift to me from a precious friend. I flip to yesterday’s pages and re-read my own words in soul-quenching desperation. I need the lines that flowed easily the day before, the ones that I could see at every corner, the ones that are so hard to find on this day. Thankful 11-29-2023 Chickens with cocked heads and curious eyes. Two hooded boys running down a freshly snow-covered hill. The hushed glide of the broom - sweeping up dirt from “man boots.” A table covered in school lessons and lunch plates, candlesticks and Legos. Snow on green grass and piled into porch corners. The deep sounds of the cello being practiced from the living room. A sniffling girl wrapped in a handmade shawl. The plinking of the piano, Christmas tunes. A boy brushing my hair and calling me pretty. It’s a fact, I don’t always have a fresh deposit of thanks to file away onto lined paper. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have to go back a day or two and re-live thankfulness through the lens of an uncomplicated yesterday. But listen to this:
“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9 Do you see? Do you understand the words here? God isn’t scanning wide-eyed for hearts of robust and rugged nature! He’s not searching for the Hulk Hogan of heartbeats or the steady “thrum, thrum” of a lieutenant’s platoon. For years I mistakenly imagined a God scouting for hearts well-built and muscular, self-sufficient and supernaturally ready to be noticed. Complete with some American Idol golden buzzer confetti show as He scans the countryside to find the winner. But His gaze is on those whose fragmented and frail hearts are simply dedicated and committed to Him. Neither strength nor preparation are prerequisites to flag His attention. The verse says, HE does the strengthening, He provides the prep, all you need is a heart of devotion. Good news for you (and me!) your weak and wobbling heart won’t be overlooked if it’s full to brim with commitment to Him! What is a God-committed heart anyway? Though faltering - you foster The Word deep within you. Though weary - you wake to the day knowing it belongs to Him. Though faint - you fervently pray for the moments to be fruitful. Though tested - you trust He has not left you alone. Your flag planting day is today! And there’s no need to bulk up your ticker before you choose to follow the One who has read every beat. Just simply come, even with a heart that has only the softest of ghost strokes left, your rat-a-tat will transform to RESOUNDING when His eyes fall on you! Devote yourself to Jesus today! “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.” Psalm 37: 5-6
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Author"My life passes as swiftly as the evening shadows. I am withering away like grass." Psalm 102:11 Archives
March 2024
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