there's beauty in the fog

 

On my way to work this morning I saw something I don't normally see: beauty in the fog.

 

Before my rising, the fog had journeyed its way to find a nesting place between the sky-scraper buildings in downtown Providence.  I am taken aback at how the fog somehow couraged every inch of its body and managed to stretch all of its bearing over the heart of this city.  It was as if the fog wanted to declare this morning, "Let me hold you."

 

 
That's the glory of the Lord.

That's the glory of the Lord, I said to myself.

I drove deeper into the city rehearsing those words: that's the glory of the Lord, that's the glory of the Lord—meanwhile other thoughts ran rampant.

 

How does that look like the glory of the Lord? 

Do you know how ridiculous you sound right now? 

Maybe fog isn't God's glory.

Where did you get this insane thought?

 

Maybe it's from here.

 

Genesis 2:4-8 says,

 

"This is the history of the heavens and of the earth when they were created.  In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens—When no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not [yet] caused it to rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the ground, but there went up a mist (fog, vapor) from the land and watered the whole surface of the ground.  Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life, and man became a living being.  And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden [delight]; and there He put the man whom He had formed (framed, constituted)."

*Words bolded for emphasis

I love how the translation The Voice puts verse 6-7:

"In those days, a mist rose up from the ground to blanket the earth and its vapors irrigated the land.  One day the Eternal God scooped dirt out of the ground, sculpted it into the shape we call human, breathed the breath that gives life into the nostrils of the human, and the human became a living soul." 

This fog I saw resting over the city today reminds me, God is watering the whole surface of the ground: the ground of my heart, the ground of the past, the ground of the lost, the ground of dying.  God is saturating the grounds of the hard and soft places in my life.  As He did in the beginning of creation, He is showering us with the vapors of grace so that from it He can form us by His breath and spirit of life so that we may be made alive!

"Don’t you know that He who pursues and explores the human heart intimately knows the Spirit’s mind because He pleads to God for His saints to align their lives with the will of God?  We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan.  From the distant past, His eternal love reached into the future.  You see, He knew those who would be His one day, and He chose them beforehand to be conformed to the image of His Son so that Jesus would be the firstborn of a new family of believers, all brothers and sisters.  As for those He chose beforehand, He called them to a different destiny so that they would experience what it means to be made right with God and share in His glory." -Romans 8:27-30

God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

Sometimes I don't see the point of the fog... but fog means rain, and rain means the sun will come again, and sun means rainbow, and rainbows mean God's promises. If you can't see past the fogs right now, rest assured that the glory of the Lord is here with us.  Maybe it's through the fogs we are able to see that we've been called to a different destiny, one that allows us to experience what it means to be made right with God and share in His glory.  Maybe it's through the waiting of the clouds to pass we can be convinced of this:

Truly, the glory of the Lord is among us.  He is holding us.

 

drink from His cup, the one that overflows.

Photo credit: Ashley DeVrieze

 

This morning as you take your coffee mug or nalgeen bottle to fill, I hope you can fill your cup with:

 

gratitude

 

hope

 

encouragement

 

the word of God

 

endurance 

 

&

 

possibilities.

 

 

I hope you can see the goodness of the Lord.  I hope you can find your needed rest, your silent but deep sighs.  I hope you can feel His kindness and great love with each sip you take today.  You were made for this day.  Rejoice in it.  Taste in it and see the glory of the Lord.

 

"I pray that God, the source of all hope, will infuse your lives with an abundance of joy and peace in the midst of your faith so that your hope will overflow through the power of the Holy Spirit."  - Romans 15:13

 

What are you filling up your cup with this morning?

 

 

When we honestly ask ourselves...

If you know me you know, I am kind of in love with Grey’s Anatomy. Funny thing is... if I need a good cry, my formula consists of the bed+wine+Grey's Anatomy.   Sounds dramatic but hear me out.   As hysterical as it seems to some, a lot of the painful experiences these characters go through (losing a sister, a dad, a mom, a wife, to learning how to walk in recovery, to the “phantom”pains)… it touches me.   It helps me cope.  In comforting ways these characters know and share in my pain, touch my heart, and speak about their life experiences in ways I can’t seem to do for myself.

Yes, it’s a TV show.  That's the point.  If this is TV what is happening in reality?  What if we did this?

Turn our pain into sharing.  Touch the wounds of others just by being present in someone’s life.  Forget the tweets and wall posts.

What if we showed up?  What if we show up and really walk with a person through lifes challenges, defeats and victories?  

If characters on a TV show can do it, how much more are we able to do in “real” life?

The profound author Henri Nouwen wrote:

“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us,
we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures,
have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.”

What kind of lives are we living if not one for each other?  For community?

I read this passage in Philippians this morning and it hit home.  Thought I’d share it with you.

“If you find any comfort from being in the Christ, if His love brings you some encouragement, if you experience true companionship with the Spirit, if His tenderness and mercy fills your heart; then, brothers and sisters, here is one thing that would complete my joy—come together as one in mind and spirit and purpose, sharing in the same love.  Don’t let the selfishness and prideful agendas take over.  Embrace true humility, and lift your heads to extend love to others.  Get beyond yourselves and protecting your own interests; be sincere, and secure your neighbors’ interests first.

In other words, adopt the mind-set of Jesus the Anointed.  

Live with His attitude in your hearts. 

Remember: Though He was in the form of God, He chose not to cling to equality with God; But He poured Himself out to fill a vessel brand new; a servant in form and a man indeed.  The very likeness of humanity, He humbled Himself, obedient to death—a merciless death on the cross!” (Philippians 2:1-8)

Take this version of The Message:

“If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends.  Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top.  Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead.  Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. 

Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.  He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what.  Not at all.  When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human!  Having become human, he stayed human.  It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.”

So again: “When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.”

 I don’t think the people who were obsessed with Jesus when He walked the earth were after His “good teaching” or “Holy Ghost-miracle shows.”  I think people wanted to taste, hear, see and feel this Jesus because instead of giving advice, solutions or cures, he was moved with compassion to share their (and our) pain and touch their (and our) wounds with a warm and tender hand, even at times without physically touching.

He was present… he showed up. 

He didn’t just pray in closets—he met people where they were in life.  He met the woman at the well.  He stood outside when the adulteress woman was about to be stoned to death.  He met Zacchaeus in a tree… and called him.  He held my hand when I was being raped.

He meets us right where we are… and He chooses to take our pain and our wounds upon Himself because He sees the VALUE and WORTH in our lives. 

He embraced humility, extended love, saw beyond His own needs, and journeyed to meet death at the cross, all because He saw us, the beloved children of God.  Through His showing up at the cross and raising from the grave, we can witness a display of victory in sacrificial love, agape love.  God placed us before His son.  Wow.

So forget what the world has to say about self-gratification and discovering to be a happier you.  I think when we adopt the mind of Christ (hello, renew ya mind), step into the heart of God, and operate from THAT Love, we are “fulfilled” in knowing, He did this for us too.  “We love because He first loved us” begins to make sense in our lives.

“What I’m getting at friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning.  When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up.  Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God.  That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.” (continued of passage I shared above; Phil. 2:12-13)

Your life is so precious and important.  By your showing up in the lives of those around you, you are helping keep someone's hope alive.  So show up.  Be that "my person" to someone like Cristina is to Meredith.  Be like Alex and find love to be true again.

Show up and keep loving others, even when it’s hard and especially when it’s the least convenient.  Keep pressing deeper into the King’s heart.  Forgive and love again.  Community is powerful.  Matthew 5:23-24 says, "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar.  First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift."

What does showing up look like for you?  How are you living in responsive obedience to choose community--to be reconciled and to love others?  Who are you meeting?

with all my heart, pk.

I gave up writing.

I keep hearing in my spirit to...

Take heart.

Be brave.

Believe it is possible.

Not give up.

Choose love each and every day.

Be still.

Listen.

Give more.

Meditate on Christ.

Breathe.

Sit at the table.

I hear these phrases whispering in my sleep, in the back of my thoughts as I'm driving and when I'm standing in my pool of worries.  They sound like good stuff, right?  Of course but I sometimes find myself facing doubts and ask God questions like: how do you take heart?  How can I be brave and give more when some days feel like a battle to just make it through to the weekend?

I don't have the absolute answer to life's lemons but I do have a starting point.  It's this: we must remember who God says He is and stop focusing on what we are not capable of.

So how does this relate to the subject line "I gave up writing"?  Well truth be told, I did give it up.  

I gave up writing to prove myself that I could amount to something because of it.  I gave up writing for the need to win the admiration of others.  I gave up writing Facebook posts and tweets because it was appalling how I allowed the responses of others to dictate how I should feel: valuable, smart, interesting, and even wise.

I gave up writing for you because somewhere along the way I lost myself.  Today, refocused and revived, I am writing again.  This time it's not for the need to put out something worth retweeting or the recognizing.  I am writing because it's wired in me and I love doing it.  So I hope you will take this open-invitation to join me.

I intend to pen the words from my heart to yours, that it may stir encouragement and bring your spirit and mine what we need to hear... more of Him.

Writings at the table will be a place of conversion where we can talk honestly, for as long or short as you like. It's a place where we can share of the one-size-fits-all dreams. of the wild, hard, sometimes no-words-for-this type of prayers. of the heart aches life can bring us. of the deep joy no one can steal. of the small things that have brought on perspective. of life. of hope. of things to believe in again.

So my friend take a seat and join me at this table.

With all my heart.





A big thanks to my new friend Rachel of Chasing Kite Tails for encouraging and inspiring me to write (blog) again.