God Rules Above

Though most of the time spent near this little garden was full of very wearying pursuits, the pictures paint portraits of peaceful moments spent in the garden. How often are we very near to the garden, but not there, still not with the Gardener. Those moments with Him are better than the "necessities" of life. The word is life to those that find it. Burdens lighten, stresses dissolve, for humanity can see that there is One who orders the affairs of men. One who orders things right. 

God rules above.

Why be anxious oh my soul?

God rules above.

And He holds supreme control,

Yet reigns in love.

For the times when all seems grim,

Let us only look to Him,

And those troubles will grow dim,

God rules above.

Circumstances may look bleak,

But trust His hand

For He leadeth still the meek,

To better land.

All we have may be too small,

But 'tis then we must recall,

That One ruleth overall,

God rules above.

When confusion weighs the mind

Which way to go,

When the eyesight seems so blind

It cannot know,

Then on bended knee behold,

As our Guide will there unfold,

All the map that we can hold,

God rules above.

Simple Song - Unfathomable God// Part llll 7 Minute Layover

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty,

There’s nothing my God cannot do.

It could end there, but it doesn’t. 

The mountains are His,

The valleys are His,

The skies are His handiwork too.

Ding! 

“Ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated with your seat belts securely fastened. We are still in active transit to our gate. Thank you.”

My flying companions ruefully settled back into their seats for the few remaining moments of our “active transit.” We were all in the same boat, or rather, we were all on the same plane. Wintertime travel + plane de-icing = —time. It is impossible to roll toward takeoff exactly an hour after schedule, and not make for subsequently tight connections. 

We jerk to a stop. I had been tracking our tardiness beside the schedule. By that word, our arrival would be 5 minutes after the door of probation would shut. I look at my phone: 12:48. This left room to hope. 7 minutes of it.That’s 7 minutes for our door to open, everyone in front of me to wrestle their bags out of the overhead bins, and me to get to the other end of the opposite terminal. This is impossible. …But… 

The mountains belong to God. Those things that tower over us in massive defiance, threatening to topple upon us any moment. Those things that we cannot conquer, though we try. Those things, belong to God. In the face of sure defeat, we are to put our trust in Him who owns the mountains. 

Though He is well able to, God does not give us eagle’s wings to soar away from our difficulties in blissful flight. What He gives us is strength as our days. Strength to climb the mountains. Every ounce of our will power may be taxed, but the strength of God is as sure as the mountain. So we must run. 

And run I did. The whole way. My best efforts alone could not guarantee that flight, but neglecting the little humanity could do would guarantee failure. I have half a mind to leave the story there. The rest doesn’t matter. God has a plan for your life, and for mine. If He sees best that we miss a flight, that our plans get messed up, or that our hopes must find their rest deeper in Him, what difference is it? God’s plan is better. 

But I won't do that. :) Catching my breath in seat 31F, 7 minutes later, I marveled at the greatness of my God. 

The mountains.really.are.His.

...Nothing to Fear... pt. 3

      So I was waiting, and finally, I heard. What I heard was the unmistakable clink of a shut door, totally, thoroughly, shut. 

      But God is merciful. The next few days were full of precious blessings, heart-searching, prayer,  and waiting. This waiting was a bit different though. I knew I was waiting, not for the last textbook chapter, not for the completion of paperwork, nor for the go-ahead of the nursing home. God was calling me to wait. for. Him. He was calling me to a willingness to go or stay, to do or not to do, as He saw fit. He was calling me to examine my heart and redefine the purpose for which I live.

      The One who commissioned His followers to go into all the world, does not lack a place in His field for any one. He knows the spot that is best suited for the training and discipline of those who give themselves to His service. God calls us to the work that lies nearest, to minister to those who are dearest, but His call is sometimes to leave the familiar, to step out of our comfort zone.

      Then I heard. 

      Not an audible voice, nor a silent impression. This time it was the vibrating of my phone. I didn’t get the call… in more ways than one. Actually, I laughed. Even as I did so, the thought flashed across my consciousness that this was really interesting timing.

      My schoolmate called again (before I had returned her first call), and then again. I knew I ought to pray about her proposition. Talking to her only convinced me further that I needed to pray.

            To be continued...

...Nothing to Fear... pt.2

      Even though I thoroughly enjoyed school, ah… the anticipation of “the end.” The end of school and all it entailed, equaled, in my mind, the beginning of work. But God is merciful. My textbooks had required several more months to complete than I had hoped for. Then there was the externship and testing and paperwork (which someone suggested was moving as fast as “molasses in the wintertime”)… and finally the end for which I had been waiting was upon me.

      But God is merciful. In His infinite wisdom, God ordained more delay. There is a difference between impatience at delay and submission to delay. God wants us to learn to Wait. On. Him. A puppy may be restrained by it’s master’s hands, but unwilling to wait for a command from his lips. It's great to see a dog wait. How much better a person?

      One by one, the opportunities and options on my list withered. My small, but very faithful clientele evaporated as soon as I started to charge for my work. Chair massage in a local business produced virtually nothing. The list of what didn’t come to fruition could continue, but the point is simply that I was not seeing God direct me to what I honestly believed I was supposed to do.

      January, February, March, April… There was one door left to my finite way of thinking. One for which I had higher hopes, and even expectation than any other. My externship had been in a local nursing home, and both the employees and I hoped that I could continue working there. I had been waiting for a response with the requirements of their mother institution for working in that facility, and then… finally...

      “Hope deferred (or delayed) makes the heart sick...” so says the wise man. Then why is waiting such a positive thing? Good question, but keep reading. “…when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” Solomon also wrote, “The fruit of righteousness is a tree of life…” Proverbs 13:12, 11:30. Delay may be unnatural to us. It may even feel wrong. It may be a chastening experience, but it is “for our profit.” For the joyous purpose that “we might be partakers of His holiness.” “Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness.” Hebrews 12:10,11. Perhaps that is why waiting is not a one time experience for the christian. A tree takes years to grow and develop. Hmmm… not a moment, or a day… but a lifetime.

...Nothing to Fear... pt. 1

      Waiting. It’s part of life. A seed planted in the morning will not bear fruit in time for dinner. Yeast does not instantly turn a bowl of dough into puffy-topped loaves. Nor does the oven immediately brown the hopeful products placed inside. We have to wait. 

      Abraham had to wait. Sarah had to wait. Noah, David, and the disciples had to wait. Have we any less need of that experience than they? Do we think somehow that the ideal world would be devoid of need for patience? 

      Lamentations 3:25 says, “It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.” It is good… What does that mean? Waiting is a good thing? “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” Psalm 27:14. The fulfillment of the promise is conditional upon waiting. Would the Lord make a beautiful promise dependent upon something that was bad for us to have to do? 

      In merciful love our Heavenly Father leads us down a path that includes waiting. Not merely that we can learn the benefits of patience in earthly life, but that we will learn to wait on Him. 

      So it was a year ago.

Notable Curtains and Eternal Surprises

      With mounting anticipation, after months of waiting and hours of travel, the final scheme is set. FaceTime from the closet, behind new curtains. Notable curtains.

      Exuberant suspense. 

      Ready. 

      “I talked to Grandpa the other day…” my brother began in his most noble attempt at nonchalant composure. “He is thinking about buying a car…”

      Wow! It didn’t take them long! I think, poised behind those long, brown pieces of fabric. Here they come. My breath almost stops in mid air. 

      “Oh, look. These are our new curtains.” My sisters pause to note the newly hung drapery.

      Forget FT. The time had come. Those noteworthy curtains whoosh back. 

Priceless. Absolutely. Priceless. 

      • • • • •

      My mind is drawn back through the centuries. Another surprise. A bigger surprise. Centuries of waiting, not weeks. 

     That time though, there was not instant recognition. That time, those who had been told that One was coming, the ones who should have been there when He arrived weren’t. In fact, it was as if they were the ones at home, oblivious of what was happening, and those who had not been told were seeking Him. 

      Can you imagine? Heaven has been breathlessly waiting… The time has come… The curtain is about to be drawn away from the character of God. He is about to be revealed in reality. 

      And they are unconscious of it. The gift is undiscerned.

      • • • • •

      My mind speeds forward. Another surprise. Centuries of waiting passed. He is coming again. We have been told. The world will have been told. Still, some will be surprised. 

      But those who wait. They will know. Instant recognition. 

Priceless. Absolutely. Priceless.

INFC: More to See in Preview Three

The printer that refused to print... Praise God there are stores that sell toner!

Now we need the people to fill the chairs!

Oodles of waffles...

Chopping veggies for lunch.

Sometimes hands... are really the most efficient tool ;)

Ready and waiting