September… Silence, Light & Hope (part 3)

/ orchidsandaloe

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This “new normal” includes a persistent awareness … dark & light.  silence & sound.  death & life… with prevailing Hope. 

“The darker the night, the brighter the stars. 

The deeper the grief, the closer is God.” 

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Crime and Punishment

Leaning in close to the Only One Good grants grief a lens to life… And even in its presence… Pulsing fresh delight… joining ancient prayers.  These prayers mingle promises… a past redeemed, our present Help and a future flowing with  persistent Hope and enduring joy.”Where there is darkness, let me sow light.”  (St. Francis of Assisi)

As with any symphony, several key elements must come together with practice, precision … and a certain unleashing emotion.  So, too with learning to lean into tough space, we learn to bridle difficulties & grief into useable energy to shine, to sing, to love, to live.

Make my life a prayer to you
I wanna do what you want me to
No empty words and no white lies
No token prayers no compromise

I wanna shine the light you gave
Through your son you sent to save us
From ourselves and our despair
It comforts me to know you’re really there

[Chorus]
Well I wanna thank you know
For being patient with me
Oh it’s so hard to see
When my eyes are on me
I guess I’ll have to trust
And just believe what you say
Oh you’re coming again
Coming to take me away

I wanna die and let you give
Your life to me so I might live
And share the hope you gave me
The love that set me free

I wanna tell the world out there
You’re not some fable or fairy tale
That I’ve made up inside my head
You’re God the son and you’ve risen from the dead

[Chorus]

I wanna die and let you give
Your life to me so I might live
And share the hope you gave me
The love that set me free

written by Melody Green & sung by Keith Green
That vibrant living isn’t a bygone whim, but a reality … that is actually beyond us. Yes, just beyond our reach.  Our hearts long for it.  Our minds strategize for it.  And our souls know deep within deep living doesn’t happen alone.  !Viva abundante!   Beyond us…Yet, vibrant living is also for us… but not for us exclusively.  Meaning?  Once we arrive at a place where we recognize our own breath is still circulating… we whisper a prayer of thanks.
Not a cliche’ thanks to the clouds that pretends away the pain of the past or lacks direction… but a weak thanks to our Creator Who has sustained through darkness & revealed He alone is the Light of the World.  We thank Him in the midst of our trying times because we know His Character isn’t short-sited.  His plan?  Mysterious to us in many ways, but ultimately … Always Prevailing.  Hope Personified.
And He chooses us to pour out pure & gritty Hope.  Gritty?  Yes, we’re still here – a world coiling & recoiling …  attempting to taint, to smear that which is Good… to lessen the Mighty with the grime of resignation, apathy, envy, discontent, discouragement and rivalry.  While the tension is real, it is not new.  History reminds us chaotic darkness dares to dim His Glory.

“The most powerful evangel is the glory of God dwelling in the midst of His people.” 

Ravi Zacharias Is There Not a Cause? Part 4/4  (Nehemiah)

 I think sometimes we expect it all to look different, to feel different… we want the song without the weight of silence, we want the light without the framing darkness, and we want our difficulties and even our energy to be manageable.
Living Hope… is beyond us… as a song to Him, reflecting His Light in the crevices of our weaknesses… and it is binding us… together.
written by Heidi L. Paulec
September:  Suicide Prevention Month 2016
children-of-the-light

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