a soft place to fall.
a soft place to land.
and haven't we all
needed one at some
point in time?
or many points
in time?
perhaps even as you fell,
someone else was falling
on
you.
perhaps without you
even knowing it,
you were a
soft place
for another.
and what makes a soft place
soft?
and what makes a soft place
safe?
for are they not closely
intertwined?
for if the softness
did not have safety,
the softness could
not possibly be a
truly soft place.
a soft place is open.
always open.
always tender.
always accepting.
always compassionate.
always understanding,
even if the situation
is ununderstandable.
a soft place has arms
to hold close.
hands with
which to
wipe away
tears
falling
like
the
rain.
no attempt
to fix,
for who
can fix what is
often unfixable
anyway?
just. a. soft. safe. place.
Then Jesus said,
"Come to Me, all of you who are
weary and carry heavy burdens,
and
I
will
give
you
rest.
Take My yoke
upon you.
Let Me teach you,
because I am humble and
gentle at heart, and you will find
rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy to bear,
and the burden I give you is
light." Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus is the ultimate
safe place to fall.
He is always
there.
always.
and when we
who love Jesus
love as He has loved,
we can be His arms
to hold close.
His hands
to wipe away
tears
falling
like
the
rain.
and our Abba
has promised:
He will not crush the weakest reed
or put out a flickering candle.
Matthew 12:20
and He always keeps His
promises.
"so now I am giving you a new
commandment:
love each other
just as I have loved you
you should love each other
your love for one another
will prove to the world that you
are My disciples"
John 13:34-35
in a season of relentless strife
Jesus says to love.
to love each other
just as He loves us.
how well are we doing?
in a season of relentless disregard
for life itself,
Jesus says that
our love for one
another
will
be
the
proof.
proof of what?
that. we. are. His.
how well are we doing?
no where in these words,
spoken by Jesus the night
before He was crucified,
can I find an exception...
no 'only when'
no 'except'
no 'but'
no 'if'
simply love.
simply love others.
as He loves us.
and 'simply' does not
imply it will be simple.
and never will our love
for others be even close
to how Jesus loves us,
yet He tells us to love.
what would our world
your world
my world
look like
if. we. truly. loved?
what if we spoke with love?
what if we touched with love?
what if we listened with love?
what if in one single moment
the love given is the initiating
movement out of which
ripples in the water grow?
and what if a touch
so gentle
or a response
so kind
is the first movement
of a butterfly's wings
whose whisper of air moving
travels around the world?
"your love to one another will
prove to the world that
you are My disciples"
how well are we doing?
praising through
might seem next to impossible.
praising through
might take more than you think you have.
and in all probability, it will.
and your through is different
than someone else's through.
and your through today
is different than your through
of yesterday or last week
or last month or last year.
the through is a variable.
the praise is a constant.
not because of how you praise,
or where you praise,
or when you praise,
but rather because of
who you praise.
and when you do what on the surface
might appear to be a paradox...
bring a sacrifice of praise...
you are acknowledging who.
He.
is.
and He is
worthy of praise
always. no. matter. what.
He knows.
He knows you.
He knows your heart.
He knows your circumstances.
He. knows.
He knows your prayer before
you pray.
He know your longings before
you long.
He knows your needs before
you need.
when you praise through,
you open the way to His heart.
when you lift empty hands high,
you release into His keeping
circumstances and people
about whom you care
so
deeply.
and your hands,
now empty,
are free to receive
all that He longs to shower
down on you.
His joy.
His peace.
His comfort.
His very presence
in intimacy staggering.
that is how deep
His love for you is and always will be.
so praise through,
for nothing brings you
closer to His heart than
praising in the hard places. 
how easy to loose sight
of who is in control.
how easy to loose sight
of whose whisper
and whose hand
ochestrated
the entire
universe
into being.
how easy to forget
I am not God.
one would think that
fact to be quite
solidified in my
mind by this time,
yet still
I forget.
not that I
consciously tell God
that I am taking His place
for the day or even moment...
yet am I not?
you see, I am prone to want to help Him,
especially when someone I love is
experiencing pain of any type,
be it physical, emotional,
spiritual or circumstantial
or mental or that which fits
into no category or runs
between them all.
my heart loves largely
and also bleeds easily.
and I would take away
the pain of every life
and heart if I could,
for is there not more
than enough pain in this
our broken world?
but that is not how
our
Abba
works.
I tend to take on the hurts
of those around me as if
somehow me hurting or
worrying or controlling
will take their pain away!
that is not how
our
Abba
works.
He. is. so. much. bigger.
But Moses told the people,
"Don't be afraid. Just stand still
and watch the Lord rescue you today.
The Egyptians you see today will
never be seen again.
The Lord will fight for you.
just. stay. calm."
Exodus 14:13-14
He is God and I am not.
He sees what I cannot see.
He knows what I do not know.
and His love for each of us
soars to heights unimaginable
and goes to depths we cannot
begin to comprehend.
and His hand so pierced
pours grace and mercy
over even the most
painful spaces
and darkest
places.
