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i hate being alone.
no, its not that, because i cherish time away from the world.
i am afraid of ending up alone. and i think, if we were all honest with ourselves, we all struggle with this fear.
and if we were to think about it, if we were to really think about it, i think we’d begin to understand that its not being alone that we fear. it is that we fear we’re not worthy of being pursued. that there is nothing desirable inside of us. we do not fear being alone, but what being alone tells us.
that we’re not worthy. that we dont belong, dont fit. that somehow we didnt pass the test. that the sum of our parts didnt add up to a high enough value.
we fear not being loveable more than we fear not being loved.
and that fear hits home.
we cover it, we do our best to hide it. some of us throw ourselves into a hobby, work, our careers, kids or current significant other. we look for answers to that doubt, that fear, in everything and anything we can control.
it’s almost like we were born with a deep-seated knowing that there was, is, something valuable inside of us. something precious. something deserving of love. its like we know, even if we refuse to admit it, that our hearts are valuable. that they are precious, unique and achingly beautiful. its like we understand that there is something of value, rare and matchless, inside of each of us.
and that knowing, because of our past experiences and past wounds leads us to fear ever letting it be seen. so we cover it. and we look for the fulfillment our heart longs for, in the people, jobs and things we surround ourselves with.
and we are never fulfilled.
we were never meant to fill the desire of our heart, to love in a way and be loved in a way we’ve never known, with a career, a relationship, or a hobby. our hearts were designed, created, for something great. to love unconditionally and be loved unconditionally. to be free. to create and love and make music, paint, throw pottery and dance.
our hearts were created for us to find life. true, abundant, beautiful life.
and when we hide our hearts, when past experiences, mistakes, pain, disappointment and fear cause us to lock our hearts away, we become shells of the lives we were meant to live. we become puppets. life becomes a routine, empty, stale unfulfillable.
we need to be reminded of how we were created.
we need to be reminded that we were not created to find our fullness in things, or people. but in a real relationship with the One who sculpted our hearts and knows their scars, better than we ever could.
we need to be reminded that we were destined to live, to find life fully. and to be shining examples of a heart fully alive.
so i challenge you, as i challenge myself, to slow down, to ask the hard questions, to feel the aches that our hearts hide, to fight through them. to learn from our mistakes….
and find ourselves running back home.
to let ourselves, our hearts feel. to be real, honest living people and not the shells we’ve come to believe equal life.
we are not promised that it will be easy. but we are promised that if we hang on and dont quit, that if we follow the One who has created our hearts, then we will find that life, that true, real, pure, brilliant life.
we will get there, we will know life.
and it will be beautiful.
Future of Forestry – Slow Your Breath Down
if you leave I’ll still be close to you
when all your fears rain down
I’ll take you back a thousand times again
I’ll take you as My own
I will sing you songs of innocence
till the light of morning comes
till the rays of golden honey cover you
in the sweetness of the dawn
but you’re always on the run
you hear it too. you sense it. especially at this time of year. when you slow down, if you let yourself slow down. you can hear it. echoes of something ancient. something wonderful. something that we know is missing, even if we dont know what it is.
its the call to more. to something more than shopping, more than wrapping and more than the exchanging of gifts. if you allowed yourself the time to feel it, to truly hear it, you’d hear it while you wrapped. while you shopped. and especially when you exchanged gifts.
what we miss, what i miss, is the reason for all this effort; for the time spent looking for just the right gift and for the hours spent wrapping presents in something that will only be torn and discarded. in our rush to find that perfect gift, to wrap the present just so we forget that we are incomplete. we forget that tomorrow isn’t just the celebration of a quaint story, but that it’s the celebration of the birth of a King. of the One destined to bring peace. of the One who holds our destinies in His hands.
you were created with the knowing, the understanding deep inside of your being that you were incomplete, that there is more. you were created to hear that call. to instinctively know it. your heart was tuned to resonate when the call sounds.
tomorrow, when you hear that call, be reminded that a loving God sent His only Son to die for our incompleteness. for our failures. for our screw-ups, mistakes and depravity. tomorrow be reminded that One came, lived a sinless life because we had no hope of doing so, and died a horrible death so we wouldnt have to. tomorrow, remember that we are not alone. that God-with-us has come. tomorrow, when you hear that call. pause. give yourself time to respond.
tomorrow, we remember that He came to bring life. abundant life. tomorrow, we remember that there is hope. tomorrow, mercy is new. tomorrow, you are no longer alone. you are no longer incomplete. tomorrow, more begins. your story is not over. the more is here. you were and are called for more. your life is sacred. you were created with a purpose. and the destiny He holds for you is beautiful.
tomorrow is an invitation. an invitation into the life you are being called into. the life of more. tomorrow, when you hear the call, the invitation, respond.
and never look back.
Future of Forestry – The Earth Stood Still
there are times when looking back is healthy. when its a good thing to look over your shoulder and see how far you’ve come. to realize how much you have fought through, overcome. other times, looking backwards is a haunting affair. where the shadows you’ve been fleeing from seem closer than when you began to run.
im realizing that there are moments in scripture where God came, where God rescued. moments of impossible circumstances where if God had not moved, all would be lost.
but that isnt how every story ends.
we trade words like vendors at a bazaar. haggling, arguing, jabbing and throwing out our own barbs… but never, never listening. never hearing the ache in the heart of the people we are closest to. never seeing the pain in their eyes. or the brokenness in the sound of their voice.
we’re a broken people, living in a broken world, pretending that we were able to put the pieces of our lives back together on our own. pretending that our lives make sense. that we can somehow, through self discipline, force our defining life-experiences to fit into the mold of what a christian life should look like.
we pretend our scars aren’t old wounds. we joke and laugh when one of those words we trade so easily, hits home. we wince, and cover it with a smile when someones off-handed comments strikes a nerve, and breaks off a piece from our hearts.
we pretend the abuse, the abandonment, the loss, confusion and pain arent as big as they are. we pretend we can get along fine, that if we believe they dont really exist, then theyve somehow disappeared.
we, i put on a mask. and pretend its ok.
i pretend im completely ok being 30 and single. that i dont look with yearning to my friends who have wives. whove found the one they want to spend the rest of their lives with. who are buying a house, or having their first child. who are dreaming bigger dreams, and praying bigger prayers.
i pretend that what has happened to my family is somehow ok. that it’s not as big as it would seem if i just dont look at the issues. i joke and laugh when someone makes a comment that strikes home. i wince, and cover it with a smile.
i pretend like there arent moments when i wonder if this is it. if this loneliness will be the one constant in my life.
i pretend like i’m ok. i stay moving. never stopping long enough in one place to lose momentum, never allowing my masks to fall.
i stay moving, to stay disconnected from my heart. to stay distanced from the one thing that could betray me. the one thing that knows my weaknesses, my failures, my hurts and scars. the one thing that could shatter my painstakingly created facade.
if i pretend i’m ok, i’m ok…. right?
for every instance of the miraculous protection of daniel and the victory of david over the giant, there are stories of heartache. of people having to walk through the fire, to get to the other side. these are the quiet heroes. and these are the stories that matter. because they are the stories that speak to where we are. these stories are valuable, they carry weight. why? because we live in a real world. and yes, there are miracles and i’m thankful for them. but there wont always be, not in every circumstance. there will be times when the seas will be calmed and there will be times when the storm will rage and we will have to do everything we can to hang on.
adam went through those times. he had something he needed to learn. something valuable. something beautiful. something utterly irreplaceable. that could only be learned through the process. adam needed to walk through his fire to learn the value of (eve).
Christ needed thirty years on this planet to prepare for three that would rewrite history. david needed the battles with the bears and the lions, to be ready for the battle with the giant. joseph needed to be a slave, to be ready to wear a crown and be the savior to his nation. the disciples needed the storm, to see the power of the One they followed. moses needed the wilderness, to find the courage to save his people.
the bible isnt just a book of miracles. it’s a book of real people who lived real stories. people who could pull up their sleeves and show you their scars, both figurative and real. these were people who lived each day hoping for a miracle, while choosing to walk through the fire. they knew the value of process. they understood that to get from here to there, was a journey. they knew it would cost. they knew that they served a God who could intervene, and when needed, would do just that. but they also knew they served a God who’s ultimate goal wasnt their personal comfort, or even that they’d escape unscathed. they knew, deep inside of their being, that the story being told was bigger than they understood.
and they knew that through the fires, the storms, the battles and fear, that He was faithful. that He would guide them safely through to the other side. they knew, through it all, that there was hope. and they never gave up. and because of their determinedness, we have their stories.
there are things you and i will only ever learn going through the process. and if you havent figured it out yet, you will not escape unscathed. but the miracle of this life isnt escaping with as little hurt as possible. no, thats not why we’re here.
we’re here to follow the One who has already rescued us. we are here to be His light. His voice. His hands and feet. we’re here to stand up for right. and we’re here to show the mercy and grace we so desperately needed.
the miraculous that these stories contain arent that, in each instance, they were saved from trouble. it was that through it all, He never left them alone. that through the fire, the battle, the heartache, the pain, He was there. He promised He would never leave. and He kept his promise.
thats the miracle. the miracle we celebrate december 25. we are not alone. He walks with us. we have a mission. He is leading us. and we will get through. and when we do, we will have stories to tell. stories that will bring hope.
future of forestry – the earth stood still
….and He took one of his ribs….
The story of creation becomes more fascinating to me each time I read it. I was thinking last night, trying to grasp why God would need an entire rib to create (eve). If He gathered the dust of the ground together to create Adam, why was so much more required for (eve)? What was it about her, about woman, that was so incredibly important?
Everything else God made, He created by speaking it into existence. Then God said…. and it was so. The earth, the sun, moon and stars, the firmament, the land and all that walked, crawled, flew above and swam under it. He spoke, and it was so.
But not so with (eve).
God took adams rib. This is the first recorded instance in the Bible, of something being required. Up to this point, throughout all of creation, every creature, every bird, fish and beast that walked upon land, all of it came from nothing.
Adam – came from nothing.
But (eve) cost something. There was something required for (eve).
Why a rib? why not something more mundane? I mean, if we believe the story of creation then we believe God is the creator of DNA, and we believe that if He created it, then He knows and understands it fully. He didn’t need a rib, He could have taken one of adams hair follicles. He could have simply gathered together more dust, and breathed into it as He did to create Adam.
But that wasnt the plan. That wasnt what Adam needed to grasp. I’m beginning to believe the creation of (eve) was less about the rib and more about what her creation needed to communicate to Adam. Why did it cost? Why was a rib needed? Why did God take something so close to Adams heart, and in its place, give him (eve)?
Maybe it’s because God was trying to show Adam something….
God said, “It’s not good for the Man to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion.” So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn’t find a suitable companion. God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.
God tells Adam it’s not good for him to be alone, and then proceeds to show Adam every single creature that walked the earth. God was telling Adam something. Something we’ve lost. God was preparing Adam for a revelation, a revealing.
God was preparing Adam to see, to fully grasp and understand true beauty.
Think about it. Adam had just seen every single creature on earth and no suitable match was found. God knew that. He wasnt surprised or caught off guard. God didn’t forget to create (eve), He waited. because Adam needed to be ready. And it took Adam seeing every created being, every beast of the field and bird of the air for him to begin to understand the vastness of creation.
God was telling Adam something.
God was telling Adam that of all the millions of creatures that roamed the earth, none had been worth a cost, none had so much value or worth that it needed something for it to be created.
(Eve) was different. and from the very moment she was created, God needed Adam to understand that. God needed Adam to realize that she was the epitome of beauty, of value, of worth and that she was to be cherished, protected, honored, and loved. God was showing Adam, as best as He possibly could, the true value of the beauty that existed in (eve).
God was showing adam what He saw in (eve).
And may I one day see the same.
if you’re anything like me, the word “whole” wouldn’t be one you would use to describe yourself. not your real self. not the you that you don’t let others see. the you that you are when you’re alone. the you that only the closest friends know is there, that you probably wouldn’t be associated with the word “whole”.
more than likely that you is damaged. broken. scarred. and if you’re like most people you’re afraid to actually let that you, be seen. you worry it’s unlovable. ugly. lacking in anything good or beautiful.
you’ve bought into the belief that that you, isnt valuable.
all you see are the scars, the stains of past mistakes, the brokenness and missing pieces.
and the holidays, are especially hard. surrounded by family. by friends who seem to have it all together, you wonder if you’ll ever get to a place where you can breathe easy. where you dont walk around waiting for the other shoe to drop. for someone to lift your shoddily constructed facade and see the real, broken you, that hides underneath.
i’m realizing that this world was never designed to function in brokenness. that we were never meant to live our lives putting on masks, hiding our real selves. not when every stain is an opportunity for redemption. or when every broken piece, a chance for restoration. not when every unlovable part, was covered by unconditional love. and not when One can see through the facade, and love the real you.
Christ’s love makes the church whole.
(eph 5:26)
whole.
His love. makes the church, me, whole.
it’s not instant. i know that. my story is a testament to that. it’s a process. but as we chose to uncover each peace of the real us, that process begins.
He sees you. just as you are. broken, stained. pieces missing, ugly and unlovable. and He loves you.
i know. because He loves me too.
future of forestry – the earth stood still:
a teenage girl and her soon-to-be
a simple trip far as they could see
the sky was clear and the hour serene
but did they know what the night would bring?
lonely hearts strewn across the land
they’d been waiting long for a healing hand
my heart was there and i felt the chill
when Love came down and the earth stood still
when Love came down and the earth stood still
shepherds stood under starry skies
tasting grace that would change their lives
the angels trembled and the demons did too
for they knew very well what pure grace would do
the hope of the world in a baby boy
i remember him well like i was there that night
my heart was there and i felt the chill
when Love came down and the earth stood still
i keep coming back to this song. to how much my heart aches to be written, fully, into the story being told around me.
i get so frustrated throughout the day by the very things that, in an eternal perspective, will never matter. things that carry very little weight, that hold no long-term value or purpose.
and although i started this post a few weeks ago, i’m wondering if it’s turning into an answer to yesterdays post.
because i know, down deep, that belief isnt enough. i know, i think we all know at some level that sometimes there are no shortcuts. sometimes the mountain is there not to be moved, or for us to go around, but for us to learn to climb. sometimes we must go through the storm simply because some lessons cannot be learned any other way.
it’s those times, we learn what trust really is.
and its in those times, that our stories are written. stories worth reading. stories worth retelling. stories worthy of the calling that has never left our lives.
One Sonic Society – Burn
how often has it been said that someone walked within their destiny? that they found exactly what they were called to do, and did it? history records those people as few and far between. washington, lincoln, luther. they found their destiny, saw it through to the finish and the world was never the same.
the more i live, the more i believe this is a rare quality. that we, as humanity, has settled for good enough. that we’ve given up on the possible and the potential, for the present and the popular. that we’ve given up on our dreams to chase after the things that the world says we should want.
that we’re supposed to want the 3.7 kids, dog and white picket fence. that 2500sq ft and a 2 car garage is the dream we should all have.
i think that’s settling. i think that’s buying into the hype of the world we live in.
dont misunderstand me – i would love those things. i would love to provide a beautiful house to a beautiful woman. i would love to give something like that, to someone like that. but this ‘dream’ is not about blessing anyone. its not about who you helped yesterday, or that those closest to you may need your help right now… its about how big your flat panel hd tv is. it’s about what year your car is.
—-
we were created with purpose. with destiny woven into the very core of our being. we were created to know and understand at a very basic level that we are temporal beings. that life on this earth isnt everything. that the 70-90ish years we spend on this planet are but a whisper in the stories told throughout history.
tonight, i am asking a tough question. its one i dont like to think about, much less bring into the blogosphere.
tonight, i am wondering if there is destiny left for me. if there is still a story to be told. if there is still purpose, still dreams to be dreamt, and if those dreams, will one day be reality.
its not that i doubt, in my mind, that there are still stories to be told, and dreams to be chased after. but in my heart? i doubt. i question. i wonder if the chance has come and gone.
tonight, i face my own doubts. and i wonder, question if i still have what it takes. if i ever had what it took. i question if ive made the right decisions. if decisions i made years ago were the right ones. and tonight, i regret some decisions i cannot unmake.
there was a time in my life where i rarely questioned the calling i felt. where i thought i knew what i was supposed to be, who i was supposed to be. when i thought i knew what a man looked like. tonight, thats all been replaced with shades of gray.
i guess, what it really comes down to, is if i still believe. if i still can hold onto the simple truth that there is still hope. maybe tonight i need to realize that i’m not surrounded by shades of gray, but by shades of grace.
and that these are good questions to ask, because they make me face the dark areas inside of my heart.
because the heart, is the key thing.
if we were created with destiny in the very fiber of who we are, then it’s our hearts that know this. its our hearts that whisper these truths in the most inopportune times. its these whispers we try to drown in busyness, in work, in more. more stuff, more money, more time, more effort.
its almost as if we know, deep in who we are, that our hearts are central to our lives. and yet, when our hearts whisper to us that we were meant for more, it scares us. and we do all we can to hide from that. we do what we can to pretend its not there. that freshly painted picket fences and a 2011 car in the garage somehow complete us.
all the while, our hearts know better.
so tonight, i’m listening. im listening to the whispers of my heart, and in those, i’m hearing the echo’s of the heart of the Creator. of the great story teller.
and although i wont pretend my doubts are gone, i have hope.
and i still beli(eve).
brooke fraser – orphans, kingdoms
One Sonic Society – Walk With Me
and sometimes the revelations come at the oddest of times, and because of the oddest of reasons.
we all do it. we all work hard, hoping to be good enough. praying that this little extra bit that we didnt give yesterday, that the increase in effort or time, the extra energy spent, the attention focused, that all our efforts and striving would bring us success, peace and rest.
its a hard lesson to learn, that we’ll never, in our own strength, enter into that rest. enter into the joy, the peace, that we know exists if only because our souls remember a time when they existed surrounded by it.
its a hard lesson, realizing, and allowing ourselves to fully grasp that we will never be good enough. that we are not, right this very moment, good enough.
some of us, myself included, when faced with the reality of that awakening, do everything we can to pretend its not there. we work hard, we strive more, we sleep less and give everything we have to be just that little bit….. better.
that little bit. that will catch that girls attention. or will make you less invisible.
that little bit that will make you lovable. beautiful. wanted.
that little bit which will complete the puzzle of your heart.
that will complete the map, show you the way, and lift the fog which veils your destiny.
that little piece, which never fits.
so we try it again. we start the whole cycle over. we work even harder, sleep even less, love us less but buy more. we bend to others wills, sacrificing our own dreams at the altars of desires of those we barely know.
all for the hope that we’ll be loved. we’ll find peace. we’ll find that rest. we’ll be lovable. successful. wanted. worthy of fighting for.
i realized. just now. that ive been fighting for all the wrong reasons. ive been fighting to find that place of peace. that piece that fits and makes the world a better place. that piece that unveils the mystery, that blows the fog away and reveals the path in which i should walk. that one thing that changes everything. that makes life beautiful. that would make me beautiful lovable, wanted.
i realized, just now that ive been working towards something i will never be able to have or control. ive been working, striving, sleeping little, all for the acceptance of those who surround me. friends, coworkers, church members, in all honesty, it doesnt matter who it was.
what matters is that ive not yet found that piece. what matters is that monday morning is hours away, and the pressure i exert on myself, to perform, to win people over, to get them to ‘like’ me…. is powerful.
its powerful because i give it power.
its powerful because i believe that its in acceptance of others, is joy. and hope. and peace. and rest. and the knowledge that i am lovable, wanted, and worthy to be fought for.
i believe all that when there was One who, 2000 years ago, proved all that. when there was One who fought for me. who showed me i was lovable. who offers peace, and rest, and joy, and strength, and….
the missing piece.
i can plan, and strive. i can work ceaselessly. i can do everything i possibly can to fill the void that exists in the center of who i am. but the honest truth, the truth that we all must come to realize…. that i must come to realize, is that it will never be enough.
is that i am not enough. and i never will be. but He is. and He always will be.
and it’s in that realization, not that i’ll never be enough, but that He is enough, its in realizing that He is the missing piece, the one who created the hole in our souls, the one who planted in us the knowing that we were once surrounded by joy and peace, its in realizing that He is it, He is that joy and peace, that we find what we’re looking for.
it’s in that realization, that we see our true value, that we see we are beautiful, lovable, wanted, fought for.
in Your presence, Lord
there is joy, there is joy
in Your presence, Lord
there is life that never ends
One Sonic Society – Walk With Me
author of the world, walk with me
rule of the earth, walk with me
calmer of the storm, walk with me
healer of my heart, walk with me
how i need You
how i need You
oh Jesus
walk with me
light for every step, walk with me
giver of each breath, walk with me
how i need You
how i need You
oh Jesus
walk with me
how i love You
how i love You
oh Jesus
walk with me
in Your presence, Lord
there is peace, there is rest
in Your presence, Lord
there is life that never ends
in Your presence, Lord
there is joy, there is joy
in Your presence, Lord
there is life that never ends
there is something powerful about watching the rescue effort finally come to fruition. something that calls deeply to our souls, that whispers “this is right”.
it’s like we are born knowing that we were meant to rescue, and worthy of rescue. and when a story of this magnitude, when men move mountains to save a few lives, we see flashes of our Fathers love or us.
for it is in these moments, these moments of rescue, that our true calling, our destiny is most clear.
He came to seek and save that which was lost. and He has asked us to do the same.
one sonic society – our God will come
i spent a significant portion of the last week worrying about things i honestly have no control over. and im only now realizing that i’ve been coaching my team at work, to not worry about the things in our profession that we have no control over.
i think we use the word worry, to cover a multitude of deeper questions that we ask ourselves, but rarely, if ever, get uttered out loud.
questions about why certain people get sick. or where the next car payment is going to come from. questions about why someone you love gets laid off, or why he left. how you’ll pay off that credit card, or will she actually get well.
if you’re like me, those questions immediately force us to look inward, we start to question our own worth. our own worthiness. and we question the power, the will of the One we believe set the planet in orbit.
those questions haunt. they keep us up at night. they gnaw on our souls and pick apart our peace. they destroy, bit by tiny bit, the fragile faith that lives inside of us.
when our focus fades from the One who set the stars in the sky, we lose sight of the beauty that is around us. we lose sight of the awe, the amazing, the beautiful and breathtaking. we lose the birdsong in the morning, the sun dappled canopy of trees and the crimson sunset in the evening. when we lose our focus; the challenges we face, the loneliness, the loss, the heartache, become overwhelming. we lose our sense of purpose, our sense of direction, and our reason for being.
when we lose our focus, when we lose sight of the Author of the story we’re living, our hearts grow calloused, and the ancient music flowing through our souls fades. we begin to drown in the very things we were told we would be victorious over. we struggle to breath. we fight for the things that should come easily, and we grasp at the things we’ve been asked to surrender.
when we lose sight of the One who calls the stars by name, we lose our very selves. we lose all of what matters in life.
we lose life.
admitting i need help, doesnt come easily. im stubborn, and probably proud.
ive walked a lot of this past decade alone. not that i didnt have friends and family, but i didnt let them in. i never showed weakness. i rarely let my emotions show. and when given the chance, i choke. i freeze. the questions strangle the words. and the questions tell me i am unworthy. that their friendship is conditional, that if they knew the real me, they’d leave. like my father left. that i am not worthy of the love they so freely offer. so i do what i ‘know’ is coming, and i cut off the relationship before it gets too deep.
and then i wonder, why the loneliness hurts so much.
—
‘Well, Sam!’ he said, ‘What about it? I am leaving the Shire as soon as ever I can – in fact I have made up my mind now not to even wait a day at Crickhollow, if it can be helped.’
‘Very good, sir!’
‘You still mean to come with me?’
‘I do.’
‘It is going to be dangerous, Sam. It is already dangerous. Most likely, neither of us will come back.’
‘If you don’t come back sir, then i shan’t, that’s certain,’ said Sam. ‘Don’t you leave him! they said to me. Leave him! I said. I never mean to. I am going with him, if he climbs to the Moon, and if any of those Black Riders try to stop him, they’ll have Sam Gamgee to reckon with, I said.
—
i’m learning that if i ever want to walk free of this pain, it means becoming reacquainted with my heart. it means allowing myself to feel again, even the things that hurt. it means digging deep into the reasons i feel so unworthy, and bringing them to the light.
it means being real with myself, and with those who call me friend.
we were born for community. for friendship. for being there. we were born to walk this life with others. after adam was created, God created (eve) to complete the story. as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. a cord of three strands is not easily broken.
to hope we get through this life unscathed is a foolish hope. but to hope that we see the beauty that surrounds us, that we hear the song that was written and sung by those who walked these paths before us, to hope that we hear the birds, see the sun dappled trees and the crimson tide of the sunset, to hope that we find beauty in unlikely places, and friends in unlikely people is a real hope. it is a wise hope. it is a hope birthed not in us, but in the Author writing this story.
we will be bruised, wounded, broken. but it needn’t be the end of our story. if we allow ourselves to refocus on the One who has never left our side, if we let go of the things we’ve grasped on to, and learn, again, to breath, we will get through it.
the roads we’re asked to walk may never be easy, they may even be dangerous. but they can be beautiful, if we can find the beauty in the brokenness. there is completion. there is healing, if we’d only believe that this, we, our story, is far from over.
the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners
–Isaiah 61
mutemath – stall out
racing on a fault line
bracing for a landslide
conscious of everything getting harder
has the race goes underwater
i keep stalling out
i just cant keep up
there’s alarming doubt
am i good enough?
but You keep coming around
to convince me
its still far from over
we are still far
we are still far
we are still far
from over
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