this basket has no special features
nothing to set it apart from other baskets.
it sits empty on the shelf
waiting for little hands to pick it up.
waiting to be filled with beauty.
little hands do not look for beauty
to bring to the basket.
rather they take the basket to
find the beauty.
one might ask if a difference
really exists between the two...
one comes across beauty
and needs a place to put it
while the other one
picks up the
basket knowing
beauty is out
there...
a hunt is just required
to collect the beauty.
and who knew an empty basket
could bring such joy?
oh the joy is not in the
emptiness.
the joy is in the
process of filling
the basket with beauty.
the joy is in the
anticipation of finding beauty!
for is there not beauty
everywhere?
and is not joy possible
even when the sun is hidden behind clouds?
even when the storm rages?
even when circumstances appear to be
less than beautiful?
less than joyous?
for is not beauty in
eye of the beholder?
and is not joy always
within reach even
when tears flow?
for beauty and joy
come not from without
but rather from within.
from the One who lives within.
looking for beauty is a choice.
living in the joy of each moment
is a choice.
not always a choice easy
and sometimes the search
requires more than I think I have
and often I must hunt for a flower in weeds
or a rainbow barely visible
or a hint of dawn when the night is long.
yet always there is beauty
and always there is joy
and He reminds me
I must look through the lens of gratitude.
and sometimes it helps to get on my knees...
to see my surroundings through the eyes of a child.
to look up...reach up...give thanks to the One
who makes all things beautiful
and gives joy in the journey.
"but those who trust in the Lord will find
new strength
they will soar high on wings like
eagles
they will run and not grow weary
they will walk and not faint"
Isaiah 40:31
gratitude in weakness.
gratitude for weakness.
thankfulness in struggling.
thankfulness for struggling.
it might seem to make more sense
to pray for strength
to replace weakness.
to pray for well-being
to replace struggling.
for if we are truly honest
would we not prefer to not be
weak or struggling?
to live in ease rather than difficulty?
soaring high on wings like eagles
or even running without weariness
certainly sound more appealing than
simply walking without fainting!
oh but this beating heart has discovered
the opposite to be true.
that incredible joy and peace can
be the result of
thanking in the struggle.
and as I read Isaiah 40:31
I see a new dimension of
those words so beautiful...
when this heart soars too high or often
a good measure of
self-reliance can be the result.
and even when I soar in His strength
I tend to forget that I am soaring
in His strength.
and really, truly,
this heart was not created
to live at that elevation.
yet when I do soar
I feel His wings lifting me up.
and it is indeed beautiful.
running. having the strength to run.
this heart can run. a little.
and I know that in His strength
I can even run further than I ever dreamed.
this heart, however, tends to run
too far and too fast
therefore ending up burned out.
for not even the strongest of runners
can run forever without nourishment and rest.
and I realize that really, truly,
this heart was not created to live running.
yet when I do run
I feel His presence pressing
me forward
and it is indeed beautiful.
walking. this is where He has me.
and as I walk I remember.
I remember when I could barely crawl.
I remember the seasons of darkness.
of weakness.
of struggles.
and I can now see
those seasons drove me
to His arms. and still do.
precious intimacy with my Abba
resulted from those times.
deep communication with my Abba
was born in the darkness
and continues to grow
in times of light.
in times of darkness.
so I thank Him for the gift of the struggles.
and I thank Him for the gift of my weaknesses
knowing He loves me with intensity
simply incomprehensible.
and not for a moment was I alone
and not for a moment will I ever be alone!
and when I do struggle I realize it is a gift!
and never will He allow those struggles
or darkness or weakness to consume me!
and that truth gives hope so real!
and if even one heart can be given hope through
my struggles and weaknesses,
it is worth it.
and I thank Him for the radical
audacious and
relentless hope He gives.
hope stirs
the heart
beats faster
hope relentless
when giving up
giving in
seems the only option
His hope
softly
patiently
relentlessly
finds the hurting heart
that hope comes
wrapped in packages
simple yet stunning
ordinary yet astonishing
hope is seen in the dark
velvet sky of night
His fingerprints
in the stars
moonlight
is soft
its glow
casting shadows
He paints the night sky
with gentle strokes of
His brush
in hues tender
renewing hope
hope is seen as dawn
slowly pushes night away
a myriad
of colors
culminate in
the radiance of sunrise
hope is His gentle
radical
audacious
relentless touch
and slowly but surely
that touch pushes the
dark night of the soul away
to be replaced with love and light
and grace and hope.
always hope.
always there is hope.
do not give up, hurting heart.
no darkness exists that His
light cannot pierce.
you. are. not. alone.
ever.
"for the mountains may move
and the hills disappear
but even then My faithful love for you will
remain
My covenant of blessing will never be
broken"
says the Lord who has mercy on you
Isaiah 54:10
leaves dance outside my window
swaying and playing in the wind
blissfully unaware
that fall is here
that time is short
that soon they will be but a
memory.
if they knew
would they still dance?
would they still embrace
the wind?
or would they cling in despair
trying to will away the inevitable?
the unavoidable truth that
winter follows fall
spring follows winter
summer follows spring
fall follows summer
and so on and so on.
I choose to believe they would dance
no matter what
for I believe they are
dancing to the symphony
composed and
conducted by the
Creator of music itself.
the Master Composer.
the beat underlying all
is the beat of His heart.
the crescendos are heard
and felt in the rising wind.
the diminuendos fall in the
autumn rains.
thunder rolls in accents
unmistakably placed by His hand.
snowflakes fall oh so softly
as His hands conduct in
gentle motion.
movements flow from
one to the next as
seamlessly as the
sun rises in the east
graces the skies
then sets in the west
and I choose to dance like the leaves.
living in today.
embracing the music
composed by His hand.
my life song.
despair: the complete loss and
absence of hope.
hope: a feeling of expectation
and a desire for a certain
thing to happen.
when talking about mental illness
despair is a common theme.
complete.
complete loss.
absence.
absence of hope.
imagine living in this definition
day after day and night after night.
suffering in silence
often not even understanding
that which is causing the despair.
now imagine feeling the intense need
to hide that despair.
to feel ashamed for that which
is causing despair:
mental illness
those 2 small words have
immense implications
for those of us who
suffer from
from said illness.
for as a general rule
mental illness is not a
casserole illness.
yet in all reality
are we not all suffering from
this very disease?
oh to be sure it is to
vastly varying degrees
but if we are honest, are we all not
broken?
and if we are broken together
would that not help alleviate the shame
which so often accompanies mental illness?
Jesus says "come as you are"
no footnotes.
no exceptions.
no postscripts.
only love.
and oh the hope this offers!
audacious hope!
radical hope!
for profound and unimaginable beauty
can come out of the broken
pieces of despair!
and no one is too ill
to be embraced.
no one is too far gone
to be loved.
and the wounds often invisible
deserve compassion and grace.
and is that not how Jesus treated
those who were outcast and
living on the fringe of society?
He touched those in deepest pain
with love and tenderness and respect
beyond comprehension.
for that is Jesus.
and in Jesus there is always hope
for He is the essence of hope.
and hope is often present
in the form of a treatment team
skilled in the treatment of mental illness
and whose own hearts beat for the hurting heart.
now take those hearts beating for the
hurting heart along with the heart hurting
and wrap them all in the arms of the One who
gave His own beating heart so we could know
what it is to have hope...
hope is like the tiny candle
flickering in the dark.
like the streak of sunlight
piercing through clouds so ominous.
hope is that same streak of sunlight
dancing as it meets the falling raindrops
resulting in God's intimate signature of hope...
the rainbow
"He will cover you with His feathers
He will shelter you under His wings
He faithful promises are your
armor and protection"
Psalm 91:4
