In July we stayed on a lake in the mountains. I had to consider a location for my walks. Would I meander the cozy lake neighborhood? Or drive to a nearby state park? My answer came sniffing and snorting through the yard early the next morning, pushing over large trash bins to find breakfast. My “walks” would be in a kayak in the middle of the lake. Yes, bears can also swim but I took my chances. Walking, after all, wasn’t the reason I went to the park. I ventured out on quiet paths in still woods and snowy fields seeking God. Lo and behold, my kayak found Him out on the water as well.  

I can get caught up in restrictions when I start new habits. I may create stipulations which when not met exactly, make the whole thing null and void. For instance, at the start of these walks my self-pride went into overdrive and began creating a framework by which I would accomplish His idea. One of those things was that, because God had called me to the park, I would walk at that same park every day!  But God was calling me to begin an intimate relationship with Him. The park wasn’t the point. How cleverly my mind tried to wrangle His merciful love for me out of His hands and into my own.

When my inner Pharisee dictates, fears and threats invade. When I humbly seek God, His grace carries me in peace and stillness. Not my life, not my rules, not my failures, not my victories, but Jesus. His victory. His perfection. His love. Point to Him; be carried by Him; rest in His Light

You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3

 

This lamp stands outside the old skateboard grounds at my park and it always makes me smile. I know skateboarders. They’re the type to see a bar and raise it, to observe the norm and cut right through the middle of it with ease and flair, to see a sticker high on a pole and shimmy up to stick one higher—not to say you can’t, just to feel the breeze in their faces as they say, I can. 

My son began skateboarding before he could ride a two wheeler. His friend still soars smoothly through town at the age of thirty. The gravelly sound of skateboards on the driveway was the soundtrack of my young parenting years, a constant grind of desire to push further, jump longer and higher and flip freely. To finally, cleanly make it over the leaf pile in the gutter. Let no one call them quitters.

Who’s to say spending time in batting cages or pushing football sleds or rolling heavy balls down an alley is a fine and appropriate thing to do? Skateboarders don’t just balance on wheels, I think they are visionaries, in tune with a flow untapped and unseen by most. 

…a time to gather speed and a time to launch…

Shouldn’t I aim, as a Christian, to think and fashion anew? Am I not to surmount the norm with faith that God will stick my landing? Some believe that others’ paths should straighten in keeping with the beaten one. But the inspired sail on with His breath, leaning deep into their curve, glancing the edge of revelation

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

 

God finds me in all things, in all places. He whispers in my silence and nudges in the chaos. He is everywhere, in every drop of water and every wisp of air. But I am in only one place at a time and if I’m not with God, mindfully and purposefully, I’m simply treading the present, gulping in a swell. I float away and drown in the current again and again. 

Nothing changes if nothing changes, they say, and I’ve found that to be true. These walks, these appointments I kept with God each and every day changed my life and my relationship with the Father like nothing before ever had. They created inside of me a place where I dwell with Him. We carved it out together, God and I, every day, every step. He moved, I followed. I tripped, He caught me. He spoke, I listened. I wandered, He met me there and embraced me.

My year of walks was a row of days with undivided attention. Simply holding that intention to meet with God and observe Him move in my spirit effectively changed every single day for the better and ultimately, my life. Without intention, I drift. Without concerted action, I fly off, solo, hearing only my voice and the solo calls of others’.

Routine and order, when set into motion with God at the lead, afford abundant freedom and space for Him to flow in and make each day deep and wide and bountiful. He is calling. He is always calling

For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. 1 Corinthians 14:33

 

Early on in my walks I absolutely relished my time alone with God. I would share these walks with no one else. What would be the point? No other could speak the things God spoke to my heart. Could another listen with me for the frogs’ call and the hawk’s wing? Could another hear God in them? I was on an exclusive mission to discover the exquisite. Another soul would smash into a million pieces this diamond I mined so diligently, I thought.

God absolutely does want me alone; He listens to my prayers and He has things to tell me. But others have something to share with me too. They have walked alone with God as well. They too have heard His voice in the deep dwelling of their soul. They know His Word and love Him dearly. As God moves in me to bless them, He moves in them to bless me.  They have been  moved by a profundity of God’s Word, by His Holy Spirit in ways I haven’t. 

For years I had often prayed for a spiritual director. I don’t know if I used that term, but I longed for a wise faithful person with whom to discuss my spiritual journey with Jesus, my Father and His Holy Spirit within me. In the last month of my year of walking, I met Sister Kathleen. She was my spiritual director at my first silent retreat and we have continued our walk together since.  She is wise and she speaks to me both the Word of God and His song in my heart. Walking this journey with God, He will invite others to come alongside me, to love and inspire me for His glory

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.  2 Timothy 2:22

My son is an artist. I might have known when he discovered the sublime in a strand of ribbon. Since the first time those precious hands held a pencil, we began to see it too.  Those tender faces formed entirely of circles, a piano askance and a view of the church choir from the balcony scratched on the back of the bulletin. We were continually captivated by his skill that seemed to come from nowhere.

Nowadays his creations seem to have no bounds. Beautiful films, a giant sculpture of his fiancé’s nose, a clever box of drawers made from a single block of wood, beautiful knives forged in our backyard. He delights in the gifts of God—his talents, His elements. 

Each one has been given something. Each one is capable of surprising herself with a creation that seems to have come from nowhere. It comes from God, of course, for He has provided His children the power and capability to birth in His name, to bring forth the miraculous.

I read a quote about being an artist once that has never left me. It said that some people use a brush or a lathe or a musical instrument to create and some are artists of living itself, that their very way of being on this earth is a work of art. I want it all. I want to create and be created unceasingly on the canvas of this precious life with God.

See…I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.  Exodus 31:2-5

 

My husband is a geologist. He was taught that the earth is billions of years old, a number nowhere to be found in the Bible.  When we bought our home, the former owners left a few Christian books on the shelves, one specifically addressing the schism between geologists’ timeline and the Bible. I didn’t read it. 

It’s not that I don’t have questions, sure I do. Not necessarily about the age of the universe, but about my personal experience. I wonder about my life, how God arranged the details, the things “behind the scenes” that I never knew. I would love to hear the story of how He drew me safely into His love and grace, how He wooed me as I went along my silly way, having to be wooed again and again, 

I don’t know if all of my questions will be answered in heaven. I imagine it as an acquired awareness. Surely things will become exquisitely clear living in the blessed company of the Holy Trinity. And surely other things will become irrelevant and I won’t give them a second thought.  Like: How old is the earth?  What is a “day” to God and how does it compare to this 24 hour day of mine?

I have faith that God illumines and elucidates in just the measure He sees fit, as I wonder, ask and open to His truth. In the meantime, I take comfort in the words Jesus wrote to His disciples, You know the way to the place where I am going. It is through Him, the answers, the wonders and the way.

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.                                    1  Corinthians 13:12

 

One might expect, on a walk at the park, to see the remains of a picnic, plastic cups, mustard packets, the crust of a sandwich. Or loose change, random slips of paper, a forgotten ball. I would not have imagined curly, sleek, shiny ribbons, but I found many of them. Sometimes they were tied to benches hanging low with a deflating balloon, or lost in the grass, caught up in a bush. Once I saw one strung playfully over a fence.  

Never simply litter or debris, ribbons are sparkling announcements of a good thing, freely given. Thoughts of people celebrating, smiling and bearing gifts came to mind, but mostly the lingering ribbons reminded me of the glorious gift I have in Jesus. Remember, as you walk in the trees and delight in the birds and reflect on the pond, as you swing on the swing and sit on the bench, consider the gift of Jesus. 

One day, when my middle son was a toddling towhead, my husband rolled a ball to him in the yard. Luke’s big green eyes fixed on the ball which zoomed by too fast. He turned to follow it but something else caught his attention. A strand of ribbon glistening on the lawn. Luke abandoned the ball and made a beeline for the ribbon. His chubby hand pulled the shimmering prize from the grass and held it high for all to see. 

A part of the soul knows Jesus and sees Him in the midst of the mundane. That is the part to treasure. To know Jesus is to treasure Him and hold Him high for all to see.

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you know the gift of God, and who it is  who says  to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” John 4:10

I’ve been considering starting a home Bible study for years now. I remember the one that served my spirit so well for so many years—and still does, even to this day. I do have a nice space in my living room. I know a couple friends who would be interested. I don’t know what I’m waiting for but I’m very familiar with what’s stopping me.

Excuses and irrational diversions come to mind when I consider hosting a Bible study. At the top of the list is the downstairs bathroom.  It is currently a gutted room in waiting. Also, my home is always busy with friends and family members coming and going. What about the privacy and quiet? These are simply not valid reasons to forgo a  Bible study.  No, just False Evidence Appearing Real clouding my mind when it dares to pursue good things.

My sister often teases me about the number of chairs and tables at my house—inside and out. Dining tables, picnic tables, cafe tables on my porches, chairs around the fire pit. I could conceivably host 5 Bible studies at the same time! God has blessed me with a home, not to sit there and gather rust and dust, but for service and fellowship. He blesses me so that I can bless others.  He blesses others so that they can come sit on my chair, rest their feet on my ottoman, sip my tea and bring their blessings!

Focus on Him, rejoice in His blessings and share them in good spirit with others.

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13

Walking daily with faith in God’s goodness above all else helps me trust the fluctuations of His seasons. The story of Joseph, in Genesis, is a compelling example of how God’s hand is upon His people through all things. 

Joseph was the 12th son of Jacob and his favorite. His brothers hated him because of it and schemed to kill Joseph. Instead, they sold him to a passing caravan headed to Egypt and led their father to believe that his beloved son was killed by an animal. In Egypt Joseph was sold again and became the slave of a man named Potiphar. The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, says Genesis 39:2. The young man had been sold into slavery by his own brothers and, all the while, living out God’s great plan for him. 

I want to remember that verse. The Lord was with Jennie and she prospered. Walking in the chaotic nor’easters of life the Lord was with Jennie and she prospered. Crawling through the deathly heat of life’s long summers the Lord was with Jennie and she prospered. May I learn to walk in all things knowing that the Lord is with me and I will prosper.

Joseph’s story gets even worse—and better. He suffered lies against him and was thrown in prison but God was with him and Joseph prospered. God had given him the gift of discerning dreams and soon he was prospering in Pharoah’s palace, the king eventually placing him in charge of Egypt! Joseph’s gift of discernment prospered Egypt in a time of famine and when his unsuspecting brothers traveled there in search of food, Joseph (the Lord was with Joseph) blessed his family with Egypt’s bounty.  The Lord is with me in all things and I prosper.

…a time to weep and a time to laugh… Ecclesiastes 3:4 

What is normal and “good” to the world is not necessarily the goodness that God bestows.  It can feel like a herculean feat to choose God over swimming in the norm but as His child this what I am blessed to do and blessed in the doing. I am abundantly blessed to release the things of this world to embrace my Father’s provision.

How to say “No” to the things of the world:

Remember that I am a child of God and without God I am nothing, life is pain and confusion.

Remember to consciously give my will and life over to God so that when He speaks, I am free to be moved by Him.

Remember that the world, in and of itself, offers me nothing. 

Remember to walk in the direction He leads always; even small ways create wide paths of fruitful obedience.

Remember how much He loves me—that He died to bless me abundantly.

Normally, one believes she is the center, that life is her own to do as she prefers. Commonly, one believes that her needs will be met by the world around her. Ordinarily, one feels it is heroic to be the commandeer of her own life and build with her own hands.  No. When I choose God, I am saying “No” to normal and ordinary and “Yes” to life aligned with the Extraordinary!

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15