The Eternal Breaks Through!

A wise person once told me that when you are not hearing the voice of the Lord, to go back to the last thing He told you to do and do that.  It is kind of like getting lost in the woods.  When you find yourself going in circles, stop and wait.

My journey with the Lord has been a lot like wandering in the woods.  So often, I am going in circles and covering the same ground over and over.  It is never a loss, however.  I love wandering in the literal woods and when I am outdoors in God's creation, there is always something new to wonder at.  The other day,  walking outside with my grandchildren, I noticed everything painted with the brown of Texas winter.  I was looking earnestly for something new and alive in the dead leaves and grasses.  Suddenly, there it was!  A tiny, pinhead sized bright purple flower sparkled up at me, bringing the hope of spring!

This minuscule piece of glory gave me such revelation into the heart of Faith.  That little flower was about the size of a mustard seed.  Gazing at it, in my mind's eye, I could see the field surrounding it filled with all the fabulous flowers of spring.  They were so real.  There was a certainty in my heart that they would soon be there: Blue-bonnets, Indian-paintbrushes, Rain-lilies, Blackfoot-daisies.  I could see them all just as if they were already there.

In the same way, The Lord is speaking to my heart to stop and wait; to look deeply into the wilderness journey I have been on and remember.  He is telling me to recall the places in my life where the eternal broke through into my life, much as that sparkling, purple flower broke through the dead, brown ground, and brought my feet to my high places.  Those places where I could see forever.

This morning, I read in Psalm 41 the three verses that brought me out of deep despair in 1978:
 

1 How blessed is he who considers the helpless; 

2 The Lord will protect him and keep him alive, and he shall be called blessed upon the earth; and do not give him over to the desires of his enemies. 

3 The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed; In his illness, You restore him to health.

Our youngest son, Stephen, had been born, prematurely, and with Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome.  He was not doing well, at all.  I was not able to hold him or feed him.  His heart would stop every time they tried to get him off 100% oxygen to room air.  I was stricken with anguish.  A dear friend, Steven Plummer, called to pray with me.  At the same time, our two year old son, John Erin, had toddled off and found my Bible and brought it to me.  He opened it to Psalm 41 and said, " Read, mommy!"  

As Steven prayed and I read those precious Words, I knew our ordeal was over.  The doctor had just told me that Stevie would be on oxygen for weeks and may not even survive.  (He was a total jerk, whom I had to forgive!)  24 hours from our prayer, Stevie was off oxygen and in my arms! This same "encouraging" doctor, still not happy, said that Stevie would still have to learn how to nurse and that could take a lot of time...Stevie showed him!  He locked on and went to town.  Within days, he was home. 

This is my purple flower of hope I am releasing out into the world today.  Remembering the power of that encounter with God, through my brother, Steven and my darling son, John Erin, I am filled with hope and wonder once again.  

Thank You, Father!