Say "Goodbye" to Welcome "Hello"

     

Happy New Year, dear friends!

I wish I could sit down with you right now and hear your story.  Share life.  I wish you could tell me all about your New Year celebration, your goals, your dreams, the future you imagine God leading you into.

I wish we could share about 2018.  The hurt we felt.  The tears that fell.  The moments that pain eased away, and we rejoiced in celebrations and victories and joys!  The times we couldn't help but dance because we were just overwhelmed by God's grace!

If we were walking through the woods by my house as we looked back on the past year, I'd bring you to my favorite place.  Where the trees break to let a small creek flow between two smooth rocks, we'd sit and dangle our feet in the water.  Or, if it's a breezy, cold day, we might stand there, stomping our feet, silhouetted against the dormant rose bushes.

I'd share the victories and joys - friends becoming neighbors, welcoming a new baby into the family, making new friends at the Glory Writers retreat, a graduation, a relative healing from her cancer, writing The Torch Keepers with the Lord's guidance and seeing Him use it to win a contest, and those overwhelmingly beautiful times of worship.  Even the little things - those notes in the mail, the challenges God helped me overcome, the changes in life.

But there were hard things too.  Long, mundane semesters of school.  Phone calls announcing someone on the verge between life and death.  Those dry times where I feel far from God.  The months of fighting cancer over with the gentle, last breath.  Tears.  More deaths.

If we were talking alone, I'd tell you that 2018 was beautiful and hard and tearful and victorious.  In it, I learned the beauty of peace, glory, love, surrender.  And I learned that no matter what, God. is. good.

As the New Year slips around, I'm looking back with so many emotions building up in my chest.  I won't forget the memories.  But I still have to say goodbye, like I did to those people who slipped from this earth into Heaven.

Yet it's okay.  Because without "goodbye" there would be no "hello."

   

I want to dance with Jesus into 2019.

To seek Him fully, love Him fully, trust Him fully.  I want Him to direct these goals and dreams that grow in my heart.

No matter what comes in 2019, I trust Him.  As I say goodbye to an old year and welcome a new one, I embrace the adventures to come.  The hard things.  The challenges.  The victories.

And even the tears.

Dear friend, if I took your hand in mine and lead you through our creek, we'd find ourselves surrounded on both sides by trees.  And then, after swinging on the vine that drapes across the water, the trees would distance.  A little clearing opens to our left.  Around it, there are these stones that peek at us like the edge of the mountain.

There's a log there.  I'd walk across it, trying to hold my balance.  When I got to the end without falling (obviously *cough*), I'd turn around and smile.

Friend, I love your dreams and hopes.  Your future is beautiful.  It might be stained with dirt or blood or tears, but it's beautiful if you let Jesus write your life story.

So dream away.  Scribble down the resolutions you hope to reach this next year.  But hold them lightly so Jesus can take those goals and erase the words, writing a more perfect story for you.

As we slip out of the clearing, I would lead you up the hill through ferns and moist leaves.  We'd come into my house, where a dozen people live in not-so-quietness.  The solitude would slip away as you prepared to leave.

I'd wave from our porch, saying goodbye like I'm saying to this old year.  If you never left and I never said goodbye, I couldn't say hello to welcome you again.

So goodbye, 2018.

And hello the new year with the dreams and hopes and memories to come.

Because we can't talk face to face right now, let's share in the comments.  What are your dreams for 2019?  Where did God take you in the last year, and where do you hope He takes you in the months to come?

Happy New Year, dear friend!

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;  whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

- James 4:13-14

You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

- James 5:8

~♥~

Shalom in Today's World

One morning as I read my Bible, I asked God a question.  The answer overwhelmed me.

It didn't come all at once.  The answer started as a word, one word, and then grew into something larger than I imagined.  It became a picture.  As all the pieces slowly fit together, I sat down here to process and share what He put in my heart.

Here's the story.

      

Once upon a time, the world was this huge, beautiful masterpiece.  Back in Eden, things were perfect (Genesis 1-2).  The little bits of glory that we find today were all unified into this grand, epic world where Jesus was everything and people literally lived in His presence (Genesis 3:8).

Fruit was juicer.  Color more vibrant.  Air more sweet.  Love more true.  Because we had Jesus.

Imagine the world as bursting with color, like the paint on a canvas that just piles up until you can't separate one color from another.  They sweep together, never ending.  They're just so huge.

But then that broke (Genesis 3).  That peace shattered into a million pieces.  Life was like a puzzle - all those shapes and colors working together as one big picture - but now it was broken into so many separate pieces.

It was as if the world became black and white.  Not everything changed, but they weren't the same.  We were left with something missing.  It's still that way today.

We hurt.  We cry.  Sometimes, life's just hard.

But, every once in a while, we see a streak of color.  A flash of red or blur of green.  It's like the stray puzzle piece that's broken in two, and we only see a portion of it.

We had peace - shalom - but we lost it.  Yet not entirely.  Because sometimes, I catch a glimpse of it.

I walk in the woods and hear the rustling of trees, clapping their hands in praise to the Lord.  And there, in that single moment, I see a flash of the color in our black and white world.

Or I receive a letter in the mail, just a note from a friend who says, "I love you."  The swirls of flowers and butterflies on the envelope make something inside me grow warm.  And I see a flash of color.

Or my family gathers with another family, all of us who just love Jesus with this radical love.  And, seated around, we sing praise songs at the top of our lungs.  We share and cry and sing, and sometimes I want to dance.  Because there's that piece of color inside us that just needs to be shared.

That peace in Eden was shattered into a million pieces.  And yet they're not lost.

Every believer has one.  We hold a fragment of that peace - that bit of color - and can give it to a lost world (2 Corinthians 5:20).  We hold the power to offer Jesus' peace because He put it in our hearts.

So I'm here.  I only have a quarter of a puzzle piece, but it's beautiful anyway.  The edges are chipped.  Sometime I forget about it and live without that peace - shalom.  But it's still inside me waiting for me to live fully in Christ.

When I choose to live in that God-given shalom, it's glorious.  I feel the peace deep inside, even when all else fails.  I love others and share that hint of color because I want them to find their own shalom in Jesus.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

For they shall be called sons of God.

- Matthew 5:9

I cultivate it in my own life.  I share it with the lost, those who live in a black and white world.  And when I gather with other believers, we bring together our broken puzzle pieces, join them together, and have a handful of whole, complete ones.

I can't wait for when Jesus returns to find every church holding up their connected pieces and declaring, "Here's the shalom you entrusted to us.  We lived in it, shared it, and are now giving it back to you!"

I wonder what it will be like when He joins the broken fragments together, back into that whole puzzle that we lost in Eden.  What glory will Heaven have if it contains the little beauties of today and a hundred times more?

Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

- 2 Corinthians 13:11

 

That's the story.

Maybe it doesn't make sense.  Maybe it's redundant and twisted and not perfectly accurate.

Oh, but how I long for that shalom.  How I can't wait for Heaven's beauty when the black and white of today will be replaced with full color!  When we return to the glory we lost in Eden, and when all of our pieces will be joined together in unity.  When we see Jesus face to face and hear Him reward our faithfulness.

So I want to live today, grasping onto that shalom, that fleeting color, and never letting go.  I want to share it with a hurting world so that they can find the hint of color and come before Jesus rejoicing.

Peace.  Shalom.  Color.

That day, I asked God a question: what is peace?  And He swept me away with images and memories and colors.  He brought me from the past of Eden to the future of Heaven and the brokenness in between.

And yet it wasn't entirely broken because Jesus was still there.  He came to earth to bring us shalom.  I rejoice because I find fragments of His beauty around me every time I open my eyes to it.

When I looked up the Greek word for peace, it defined the desire that propels me to find Jesus' beauty in my everyday life.  Now it's one of my favorite words.

εἰρήνη (eiréné):  peace; when all essential parts are joined together; the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoerer sort that is

- Biblehub

Or as another author described shalom,

Wholeness and completeness in God.  The way things were intended to be.

- A Time to Die by Nadine Brandes

That's what I'm searching for: completeness in God.  Finding His glory in the midst of this life and living my days to give the glory back to Him.

Christmas represents shalom coming to earth, and I want to embrace that, treasure Jesus, and rejoice in the gifts He gives (James 1:17).

Merry (although late) Christmas, dear friends!  No matter what, you are so loved, right now.  And that's truth, because God loves you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).

And despite all the pain, there's beauty in this broken world.  Let's live, seeking His shalom.  ♥

 

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

- Colossians 3:15

~♥~

Christianity in Real Life || Surrender

If anyone could say they were always a Christian, that would be me.

I chose to follow Christ before I could even read the Bible.  Just exiting my toddler years, I knew there was a God who could save me from my sins.  I was scared of Hell and wanted His salvation.

Years passed, and I did all the right things.  I went to church once (or twice) a week.  I worshiped.  I prayed.  I read my Bible every day.

But sometimes, after those precious moments with Jesus, I would open my bedroom door and get a blast of real life in my face.  It was like my quiet times with Jesus were this secret haven where I was safe.  Out in the boisterous world, those Christ-like qualities vanished.

I wondered if I could have Christianity in my real life.  If those moments of peace could transcend into the craziness of schedules and noise and interruptions and distractions.  But now I'm wondering something else.

What if those serene times with Jesus are real life?

   

It's like we're in this wooden box.  Outside of the box is this glorious world - Heaven - but we only see these walls that are separating us from it.  They're rough.  Hard.  When I touch them, splinters pierce my fingertips.

But when I become still and focus on Jesus, He shows me a small break in the wood.  I peer out.  And there, my eyes are blinded by color, light, beauty.  I see a flash of color, a flash of Heaven and His glory.

It's the real world, and we can experience it.  But sometimes, we instead choose to focus on the here and now.  Instead of looking for the fragments of shalom in our world, we see the stain of brokenness and sin.

Is there a way to bring that beauty into our daily life, or does peace stop when we close our Bibles and leave our quiet place?

That's the question the Lord has been gently revealing to me.  I had all sorts of awesome verses to back up my heart, but somewhere, the references got lost.  Maybe I'll find them later.  But right now, I need to express part of myself that's a desire I desperately long for.

The key is surrender.

Every single morning, I wake up with the same thoughts in my head.  They're selfish.  Ugly.  And from the second my eyes open up, the enemy is pulling me into his territory and trying to claim my day for himself.

When I live for myself, I let the enemy have control.  I do what makes me happy.  I accomplish goals and reach deadlines, but ultimately I'm left so empty and tired.  The things that should make me most joyful are a hollow shell.  I'm looking at the wooden walls and trying to draw a picture of what's outside instead of letting Jesus show me the real thing, the glory of Himself.

But oh - one of the most beautiful and painful words is surrender.  It's painful because I don't like to let go.  But when I do, that day is one I treasure and rejoice in.

When I remember You on my bed,

I meditate on You in the night watches.

- Psalm 63:6

To surrender means to say, "Yes, Jesus, You can do whatever You want with my day."  It means that everything I do - from my quiet time with Him, writing emails to far away friends, cooking up some muffins, laying in bed awake, or watching lectures for school - everything is done for Jesus.

Every aspect of my day is done prayerfully.  I rejoice in them.  I thank Him, ask Him for help, tell Him my problems.  I ask Him what would please Him most.

That's Christianity in real life - letting go of everything to just hold onto Him.

O God, You are my God;

Early will I seek you;

My soul thirsts for You;

My flesh longs for You

In a dry and thirsty land

Where there is no water.

- Psalm 63:1 

It's not always this glorious beauty though.  Last week, it meant me watching so many school videos that droned on and on.  But I strove to rejoice in them.  I shared the moments with Him.  I praised Him when He helped me answer questions.  When I failed, I asked for His help.

It's this best-friend relationship, and I love it.  He shows me the beauty of everyday life when I surrender to His guidance.

     

I want to find Heaven on this earth.  In the extraordinary and in the mundane, Jesus is good.  And all my schedules, plans, dreams, they're all nothing unless they are done with the right heart.

Maybe that's what He looks for - a heart surrendered to Him.  It's not about what we do.  We can accomplish "good" things and still fall short.  But where is our heart?

So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,

To see Your power and Your glory.

- Psalm 63:2

Dear friend, don't ever let yourself fall short of something so much bigger He wants to give you.  Surrender is the most beautiful decision you can make.  Give every day to Him, every decision to Him, and seek to find Real Life.

Maybe you said that prayer as a child like I did.  But don't stop there.  God has a much bigger plan for you, for us, and we can't let life surround us like a wooden box when there's this huge, beautiful Heaven just outside of it.  Seek Jesus to find that joy.

Because Your lovingkindness if better than life,

My lips shall praise You.

- Psalm 63:3

Christianity doesn't stop when we close the Bible.  It should begin with the Lord and continue to impact our every day.  That's what relationships are.

Don't do the right things; seek His heart and love.

You're never alone.

 

Thus I will bless You while I live;

I will lift up my hands in Your name.

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,

And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

- Psalm 63:4-5

~♥~