Waiting for Hope

      "I waited patiently for the Lord, and He turned to me and heard my cry for help."  (Psalm 40:1 CSB)

    Sometimes you even have to wait for hope. It's not a pretty place to be-- perhaps a little like the inside of an ordinary caterpillar's cocoon. It's tight, and it's messy, but somehow soft and comfortable, because it's home, and you don't have to move... just wait. And rest. Because the real work, the hard part is yet to come: that painful squeeze through the tiny opening that will make you into the glorious, sun-kissed, delight-giving beauty that you were meant to be all along.

      It's not very much fun, this waiting. Downright boring and frustrating at times. You might even forget there's a purpose for it and feel like giving up the wait. But remind your inert chrysalis every day, every hour if necessary, of the glory that is to come. With David, proclaim to your heart,

"Praise be to the Lord,

for He showed me the wonders of His love

when I was in a city under siege.

In my alarm I said,

"I am cut off from Your sight!"

Yet You heard my cry for mercy

when I called to You for help.

Love the Lord, all His faithful people!

The Lord preserves those who are true to Him,

but the proud He pays back in full.

Be strong and take heart,

all you who hope in the Lord."

-- Psalm 31:21-24 (NIV)

      And while you are waiting, never forget:

"We demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ."

-- 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (CSB)

      Then pray this heartfelt prayer with the late great George Matheson, who went blind at the age of twenty:

 "Give me the power to wait for hope itself, to look out from the casement where there are no stars. Give me the power, when the very joy that was set before me is gone, to stand unconquered amid the night, and say, 'To the eye of my Father it is perhaps shining still.' I shall reach the climax of strength when I have learned to wait for hope."

 "He must increase, but I must decrease"  (John 3:30)

♱

Diving for Pearls

      Sometimes it feels as though I've been underwater longer than I can possibly hold my breath. Are there pearls down here I have yet to find that will make the dive worthwhile? Perhaps my perspective has been upside down. 

      I read recently that pearl divers must carry large rocks with them in order to overcome their bodies' natural buoyancy and reach the depths where the largest and most precious pearls are found. I think I've been clinging to my Rock in hopes of rising from these depths, but maybe I've been looking at things all wrong. Maybe it's clinging to Him that's keeping me deep enough to discover a priceless pearl waiting there for me. 

      Upon greater reflection, however, I must acknowledge the pearls I have already uncovered:

      1. Love, understanding, perseverance, and patience in a husband who admittedly struggles with the latter. (Don't we all?)

       2. Support in the form of prayers, cards, messages, and understanding in loved ones who admittedly can't truly comprehend why I often can't talk on the phone, respond immediately to an email, or even explain what's going on with me.

      3. Doctors who continue to spend hours outside of office hours helping me try to figure out what's really wrong with me and how to help me feel better.

      4. Empathy with the suffering of others. 

      5. How to say "I can't" and ask for help without feeling guilty.

      6. How to recognize and appreciate the daily "love gifts" from my Heavenly Father: a cuddle with a loving dog, an injured bird who flies again, a flower, a butterfly, a hummingbird, rain dripping off the tree outside my window, the ability to see, hear taste, smell, feel. "Morning by morning new mercies I see!" (Lamentations 3:22-23)

      Meanwhile, awaiting the day when I shall emerge from the depths with the most priceless pearl of all, 

       "The Lord is my Rock, my fortress, and

        my Deliverer, my God, my Rock where

         I seek refuge, my shield and the horn

         of my salvation, my stronghold." 

         Psalm 18: 2 (CSB)

Photo: q8allinone.com

                 

 "He must increase, but I must decrease"  (John 3:30)

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Pressed But Not Crushed!

Queen's Day Crush!

 "We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair."  (2 Corinthians 4:8 NLT)

       One of my favorite daily devotions, Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, directed me to this Scripture today, and there immediately sprang to mind a memory from some twenty years ago. Bill and I had traveled to the Netherlands in Spring expressly to see the tulips in bloom. We were staying in Amsterdam, as the famed Keukenhof Gardens were just a short bus ride from there, and we could enjoy the sights of the city in addition. Unbeknownst to us, our trip encompassed "Queen's Day," which is comparable to our Fourth of July celebration, but even more raucous, as you can imagine in this extremely worldly city.

      On that day, of course, we would not hide in our modest hotel room just to avoid a harmless crowd, and so we joined the fun on the streets. We had had lunch in a small Greek cafe along a canal, observing the passing crowds and barely moving cars in the streets, boats filled with revelers literally forming a solid bridge across the canal. We could feel more than hear the throbbing of the pervasive "techno" music even inside the restaurant. We at last decided to venture out to cross over a footbridge to the other side of the canal, and almost without warning we were truly crushed in an immovable mass of humanity, people trying to move in all directions and completely gridlocked. My feet literally left the ground as the crowd carried me forward, almost breathless and definitely helpless. I remember clinging to Bill's shirt with two fingers, worrying mainly about the big camera around my neck, trying not to panic. And then suddenly we were loosed from the grip of the crowd and I just stood there shaking, taking in big gulps of air, and clinging to Bill in relief. 

      Have you ever had days, weeks, months, or even years like that? Times when you can't see a way out of the hard place and all you can do is breathe, and even that with difficulty?  I know I have, and I'm sure most of you have, too. It is times like these when I know that I can, I MUST, reach for my Bible to study Paul, or Job, or turn to my favorite Psalms of comfort to put my troubles in perspective. At the very worst of times, I simply sit in quiet contemplation of my dear Savior, visualize the last days of His short life, and remind myself He did it all for me. The pain and punishment I deserve, He did NOTHING to deserve, yet He took more than I can ever imagine... for me, for you.  

      And so I keep breathing, knowing that  "our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory."  (2 Corinthians 4:17 CSB)

Keukenhof Gardens -- A Taste of the Glory to Come!

This song was sent to me today! Contemplate that last photo and listen: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqxtFUwM3-o

 "He must increase, but I must decrease"  (John 3:30)

♱

NOTE: Some of my favorite Psalms of comfort: 8, 16, 23, 34, 42, 46, 91, 139.