Let’s face it, it’s been a stormy past year.
I was hoping to have finished my midweek thought this evening (Tuesday), so that it would post for you all tomorrow morning. It will be delayed a day or so! I am so spent that I cried when my 3yr old daughter accidentally tipped the dogs water bowl over. I found out today that I have shingles, which explains some of the pain in my body and general exhaustion. I have no choice other than to keep going and to be the best mother I can to my 3 children despite wanting to curl up under a duvet for at least 24 hours. It will pass and it’s all very insignificant when compared to some of the much greater challenges being faced around us. However the point is, that we can only feel what is present to us, in our lives, right now. That is our reality. It may mean something like spilt water can be the catalyst for breakdown, overload and crying out for help. It’s life and it’s ok. We press on and are lifted up.
I tucked my children in and my 5yr old kindly scolded me as I went to leave the bedroom because I hadn’t prayed. Awfully I said that I was just too tired and couldn’t manage to pray ... so I asked him if he would. He prayed “dear god and father, please let mummy have a really good sleep and that we will all stay in our beds so we don’t disturb her .... and we pray that the whole world will light up and be beautiful”. Well you’ll know full well that I couldn’t have prayed anything more wonderful than that! Bless him.
I love this in the KJV: Psalm 121
1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
I have a fair amount going on at the moment and have had to draw a spider diagram out with all the things buzzing round my head so that I can get them out and make some sense of them / order them. You too will have your list and I have no doubt that some of you will have things which were not expected; may be horrific; too much to cope with; a sadness and grief; unanswered questions and such like. You are not alone. Storms come in all levels of severity and the time scale of them when they start is always unknown. As with all storms though, they do eventually end. If you’ve ever been near a beach during a storm and been able to witness the aftermath, you’ll have seen the truth in the words ‘the calm after the storm’. It can be like a mill-pond, a stillness with maybe only a gentle lapping of the sea line against the sandy shore. There may well be debris scattered on the beach as evidence, and this in fact may take some time and effort to clear up, but there is a peace, a calm which is both soothing and settling to the soul.
We often get the clearest revelation of who Christ is, when we're in the darkest storm. How could we ever appreciate what it is to know stillness and a calm heart unless we had experienced the rough waters of the storm? For there to be a rainbow or a silver lining, there first has to be a dark cloud. Thank God we have a close friend who is not only able to walk to us through the storm and hold our hand in it, but can also talk to it at the right time, dissipate it and bring us peace. Rest in that truth and keep trusting Him.
In the Eye of the Storm ~ Ryan Stevenson:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=-sx8wTnnfSc&feature=share
Praise You in this Storm ~ Casting Crowns:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=MgpaULjZOl8&feature=share
Ingrid x
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