thirteen: slow

While we were having a prayer and worship evening at our house last night, God was reminding me of something - as He usually does!
The week was busy.
The pace was rushed.
It was a chain of events -
a tag team of happenings that found their end in the next.
It wasn't quiet.
I was breathless...
running from one obligation
and pushing into the next.
Expecting time to move with my pace:
Immediate.
Without margin.
And so I entered my time of prayer,
wanting to close my eyes and have Him be there...
with minimal preparation
and limited effort.
Nothing.

"I am slow."

God never shows up late.
He doesn't come too early.
He comes at just the right time.
Precisely.
He isn't bound by the fast forward cycle of our culture.
He doesn't rush.
He never squeezes in as much as He can in the least amount of time possible.
He doesn't chomp at the bit to get His two cents in.
He's into waiting.
Getting it right the first round through.
Taking the time.
Investing.
Prioritizing.

He is slow...
Slow to anger.
Slow to speak.
Slow to answer.
...in our concept of time anyway.

He wants us to know the fulfillment of something duly waited for.
To participate in the process.
We see this in the journey from seed to plant.
The steps of conception to birth.
Transitions of dusk to dawn.
Departure to destination.
It is a gentle courtship of a heart
that must learn the rewarding pace of slow
on both signs of the coin -
Not just from the pursuer,
but the pursued.

I must be slow...
slow to voice the trillion thoughts inside my head.
To always be the one to speak.
To get my word in.
To be doing.
To allow dialogue.
To allow pursuit.

twelve: mover/shaker

Given the recent earthquakes in Haiti and the unrest that has followed, some prayer requests were a given tonite...


and as I was thinking on strangers
half way across the world -
homeless...
hungry...
displaced...
God was paralleling this thought
with His character.
Sometimes He needs to give our lives a shake,
to traject us from our beds of ease and familiarity,
so that He can move...
in the bedrock of our thoughts,
in the hardness of our hearts,
in the darkness of our nights.
He shakes with purpose.
He moves with precision.
And in our displacement we see the shifting foundations that we were resting our hopes in,
and the immovable rock we need to be standing on.

Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

A river brings joy to the city of our God,
      
the sacred home of the Most High.

God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed.

From the very break of day, God will protect it.

The nations are in chaos,
and their kingdoms crumble!

God’s voice thunders,
and the earth melts!

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;

the God of Israel is our fortress.


Come, see the glorious works of the Lord:
See how he brings destruction upon the world.

He causes wars to end throughout the earth.
He breaks the bow and snaps the spear;

he burns the shields with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;

the God of Israel is our fortress.


eleven: breath

In hopes of running a half marathon at some point this year, I'm back at the gym, huffing and puffing my way through facing the reality how out of shape I am!
I don't ever intentionally listen to my breathing...
it usually goes by unnoticed -
save for the few times a year I get severely congested and end up impersonating Darth Vader.
But in the final laps of cardio -
legs feeling like rubber,
body hating me,
my lungs screaming with every step -
I am very conscience of the fact that I need to breathe.
In rhythm
not panic!

Sometimes we take our breath for granted,
but by it, our bodies can continue functioning.
It escorts life-giving oxygen to our organs
while taking out the toxins and waste.
Weeks can pass without food or water,
but minutes without oxygen can prove lethal.

How we breathe
What we breathe
When we breathe
are all factors that can alter our health.

And as I was gulping in the air,
wishing I was doing my cool-down stretches
instead of pressing into the extended "home stretch"
I saw the parallel of God in each breath:
How He provides life-giving nutrients to our lives
and removes that which would destroy us.
How there are moments I am aware of Him,
and those where He is still working but I am content in the familiarity of His presence.
That how I breathe
What I breathe
When I breathe
are essential in my growth and health and life in Him.

It left me craving the lungs of someone in spiritual shape!

ten: kindness

We live in a world where displaying kindess is looked at with surprise,
filtered through skepticism,
and thoroughly examined for strings that would attach themselves to hidden agendas.
I was reminded of this verse today when challenging my grade 7s to acts of kindness in their communities...

Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other.
But—“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”
This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good...
-Titus 3:3-8

Perhaps the world cannot accept the gospel because they're not accustomed to kindness and the free gift of grace God has to offer.
Perhaps it is because those who have received so much through the kindness of God, have forgotten to clothe themselves with His character.

nine: intentional in creation

I don't know if you've ever sat through the nine hour documentary on our home town...Planet Earth


I highly recommend it.
With thrilling footage and spectacular displays of both creation and creatures
it is sure to enthrall your senses on the amazing place we get to call home.
As I was watching mountains shaping,
crystals forming,
deserts shifting,
and toothy creatures devouring their prey
it struck me how each piece plays a part...
how everything is intentionally and masterfully created
in a tightly orchestrated design.
The winds that are needed to blow across wastelands in order to fertilize.
The cycles that create balance within the food chain.
The marvel of creatures under harsh conditions surviving in a precise order of events.
Is it by chance?
Fluke?
Luck?
A VERY big bang?

I look at the simplicity of the mask,
the complexity of composition that lies below
and cannot help but see,
in the diversity of nature,
the intentional and creative markings
of a Master Designer.

eight: rest

I didn't have to go for my on-call shift tonite...

a sigh of relief
an open evening
a couch
a coffee
a moment to reflect
and be reflected
and for the first time to feel like I live at my house
to unwind
to breathe
to bring the burdens
the worries
the weariness
to rest
in the One who created rest.

seven: restoration

Lyrics from a song I heard have been burning into my thoughts all weekend...

"This is your life...are you who you want to be?"

I look past on 30 years and can't deny the regrets
or the feeling that I could have accomplished so much more.
I always thought it would be different.
I would be different.
Don't get me wrong, it's definitely been full of adventure and surprises,
but there's a plethora of time that has been lost by inactivity,
laziness,
distraction,
aimless wandering,
forgotten dreams.

These unsettling meanderings of thought were laid to rest with a single verse,
a friendly reminder to not lay my focus on what has been,
but what will be...

So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten...

These locusts devour hopes,
dreams,
desires...
leaving a heart stripped bare of purpose.


But all is not lost.

We have One who restores.
One who takes our pillaged years
and returns them to fullness.
Who can rewrite the famine
into abundance.
Who can silence our regrets
with a promised-filled future.