"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28 (NIV)
Come to me.
I want to run the other way.
Come to me.
I can't hide from You.
Come to me.
Still I want to run.
Come to me.
Okay... well, maybe
Come to me.
Just a little step.
Come to me.
I open up a little.
Come to me.
I lay some of my burden.
Come to me.
How can I trust?
Come to me.
Your arms are open wide.
Come to me.
Here's a little more of my burden.
Come to me.
Here's my rest.
Come to me.
Yes.
LM, September 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Our Beating Heart
Last weekend I was given new insight into our beating heart in two encounters. First I was at a retreat called "Prayer In Motion." We meditated on songs using several very simple movements to enhance the experience. One song was based on Psalm 139 - focusing on how wonderfully we are made and how God knows every little thing about us. The refrain said "You made me, You formed me, You kept me alive." For the last phrase we put our hands over our hearts and felt it beating, and thanked God that He chooses to give us our next heart beat. We also acknowledged that He can stop it at any time.
The following day I was at work in the emergency room. A man in his fifties kind of staggered in clutching at his chest, gasping for breath. His EKG showed that he was in the process of having a heart attack. We had 15 min to get him to the cath lab where they would put a balloon through the vessels of his heart to open up the blockage. While we were preparing him, his head went limp and his eyes rolled back. His heart was no longer giving the strong beats that it should. The ventricle which beats with such a strong force to push the blood through the body was in a quivering rhythm called ventricular fibrillation - a deadly rhythm. It was then a fight for his life as CPR was started.
In light of my meditation on the previous day - did I witness the moment that God determined that this man's heart would beat no more? How awesome to realize that God truly controls the very muscle which keeps us alive. Yes, we do have to thank Him for every moment that He gives us because it is His gift to us.
But a curious question - we did manage to get this man's heart beating again - so humans intervened in God's control of his heart. One could say that God has given us the means and technology to do this. And one could say that if he was in another country where medical technology was less advanced - his heart would have never got started again. Ultimately one must conclude that whatever the situation - God still does control the beating of our hearts. And our times are in His hands only. He determines our lives. Do we really appreciate and comprehend the scope of this?
Thank you, my heavenly Father, that my life is in Your hands.
The following day I was at work in the emergency room. A man in his fifties kind of staggered in clutching at his chest, gasping for breath. His EKG showed that he was in the process of having a heart attack. We had 15 min to get him to the cath lab where they would put a balloon through the vessels of his heart to open up the blockage. While we were preparing him, his head went limp and his eyes rolled back. His heart was no longer giving the strong beats that it should. The ventricle which beats with such a strong force to push the blood through the body was in a quivering rhythm called ventricular fibrillation - a deadly rhythm. It was then a fight for his life as CPR was started.
In light of my meditation on the previous day - did I witness the moment that God determined that this man's heart would beat no more? How awesome to realize that God truly controls the very muscle which keeps us alive. Yes, we do have to thank Him for every moment that He gives us because it is His gift to us.
But a curious question - we did manage to get this man's heart beating again - so humans intervened in God's control of his heart. One could say that God has given us the means and technology to do this. And one could say that if he was in another country where medical technology was less advanced - his heart would have never got started again. Ultimately one must conclude that whatever the situation - God still does control the beating of our hearts. And our times are in His hands only. He determines our lives. Do we really appreciate and comprehend the scope of this?
Thank you, my heavenly Father, that my life is in Your hands.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Resurrection!
Here I am back again with my first thoughts in too many months.
Is there such a thing as a blog graveyard? I wonder how many people have started blogs but have not written on them for eons. I have certain blogs that I check everyday for new entries. A lot of my favourites - some friends, some missionaries, some people I have found out of the blue - now have dead blogs. I don't know how long an interval of not posting would deem a blog dead. Certainly in my books if I don't see a new entry in a month, than that blog is not worth checking every day.
The amazing thing is that these dead blogs stay recorded forever unless the author chooses to delete them. I have to admit though, that I am not one to read tons of entries on old blogs - unless it really piques my interest. I hate when I "google" an interesting person, open an attached blog, only to find they haven't posted anything for years. It is such a disappointment!! I want to hear what they have to say today and not years ago.
Blogs are good things, but having been a blogger I do understand it is not easy to keep them up!! It does take time and dedication. And the author doesn't see many results indicating that what you have written means anything to anyone but yourself. So it takes perseverance. But one never knows who just might be searching and find on your blog just what they needed at that moment. They may be your friends or a total stranger. And that is my motivation to keep on writing.
And so I have resurrected my blog. Who knows how long this run will last? Enjoy!
Is there such a thing as a blog graveyard? I wonder how many people have started blogs but have not written on them for eons. I have certain blogs that I check everyday for new entries. A lot of my favourites - some friends, some missionaries, some people I have found out of the blue - now have dead blogs. I don't know how long an interval of not posting would deem a blog dead. Certainly in my books if I don't see a new entry in a month, than that blog is not worth checking every day.
The amazing thing is that these dead blogs stay recorded forever unless the author chooses to delete them. I have to admit though, that I am not one to read tons of entries on old blogs - unless it really piques my interest. I hate when I "google" an interesting person, open an attached blog, only to find they haven't posted anything for years. It is such a disappointment!! I want to hear what they have to say today and not years ago.
Blogs are good things, but having been a blogger I do understand it is not easy to keep them up!! It does take time and dedication. And the author doesn't see many results indicating that what you have written means anything to anyone but yourself. So it takes perseverance. But one never knows who just might be searching and find on your blog just what they needed at that moment. They may be your friends or a total stranger. And that is my motivation to keep on writing.
And so I have resurrected my blog. Who knows how long this run will last? Enjoy!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Thumb Prints On The Cross
Wow, this Easter weekend this year was full of meaningful things for me. One significant thought came from the old spiritual "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" Can you hear the people singing? I was really struck by my answer - Yes, I was there! You ask, how can I say that? It was over 2000 years ago. I believe I was on Jesus' mind as He bore my sins. He was in His human form but in being God's Son He was capable of thinking about me, thinking about you as He died on the cross that day. Yes, I was there - in His mind and on His heart.
In a presentation of experiencing Jesus' last days through the senses, there was a large wooden cross and a bowl of red paint. The Scripture verses from Isaiah 53 were there for meditation - "But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed." The instructions were to put our thumb in the red paint and put our thumb print on the cross. It was an overwhelming rush of emotion. Yes I was there. Unconsciously, only thinking of it later, I put my thumb print on the part of the cross where His heart might have been. Yes, I was on His heart, as He suffered and died for me. And on Easter morning, the cross was there, covered with red thumb prints - so many were there.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
In a presentation of experiencing Jesus' last days through the senses, there was a large wooden cross and a bowl of red paint. The Scripture verses from Isaiah 53 were there for meditation - "But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed." The instructions were to put our thumb in the red paint and put our thumb print on the cross. It was an overwhelming rush of emotion. Yes I was there. Unconsciously, only thinking of it later, I put my thumb print on the part of the cross where His heart might have been. Yes, I was on His heart, as He suffered and died for me. And on Easter morning, the cross was there, covered with red thumb prints - so many were there.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Monday, February 11, 2008
Our Heavenly Mansion
Have you ever watched "Extreme Home Makeover"? Basically, a family who has suffered some kind of calamity and shown extreme courage throughout it is chosen each week. A team of builders and friends come together and build their dream house. The designers take time to know each person and create rooms - especially the bedrooms - to what they think they would be best for each person. Last night, an Iraq war veteran who lost his leg and has come home to care for his four children was featured. The cameras pick up each one as they enter the bedrooms designed expressly for each family member. The look of wonder, speechlessness, surprise, feeling of being honored and just their trying to comprehend that this is now their own room is seen on each of their faces.
John 14:2-3
"In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."
Imagine it. At the end of our courageous, winning struggle to live trusting God here on earth, we are shown the rooms He has prepared for us. I would think that He has designed them exactly with what He knows would be extra special for us. Can you see our faces? The wonder, the awe, the feeling that we are so loved, the anticipation that this is where we will spend eternity! Can you hear all the people in heaven, the cloud of witnesses, cheering us on?
And yet, that room in the heavenly mansion, will be miniscule in light of the fact that we will see God face to face. That we will live with Him, in His presence, forever. I have no words for that moment.
John 14:2-3
"In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."
Imagine it. At the end of our courageous, winning struggle to live trusting God here on earth, we are shown the rooms He has prepared for us. I would think that He has designed them exactly with what He knows would be extra special for us. Can you see our faces? The wonder, the awe, the feeling that we are so loved, the anticipation that this is where we will spend eternity! Can you hear all the people in heaven, the cloud of witnesses, cheering us on?
And yet, that room in the heavenly mansion, will be miniscule in light of the fact that we will see God face to face. That we will live with Him, in His presence, forever. I have no words for that moment.
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