Breath taking
We took a quick trip to the beach this weekend for our daughter's 19th birthday. We chose Myrtle Beach because its hyper and loud and distracting, not quiet and thought provoking like our usual choice. But there's just something about the ocean that draws you into its depths. We went out after the sun went down and even surrounded by all of the noise and lights, it worked its magic. I watched my girl staring out into the darkness and thinking all her thoughts of how it shouldn't be this way, her special day, here with her boring parents and little brother and sisters.We walked away and left her there to her solitary thoughts and sometime after we turned around and the moon was humongous and red and gorgeous. She found us and marveled at the strangeness and beauty of the sky. No photograph could do it justice, you just had to be there.
On the drive home the car was so still and I was allowed my own quiet thoughts and I found myself thinking about how the disciples must have felt when Jesus was laid in that tomb. They had been gathered together when the women found them to tell all that Jesus had risen, but they had been grieving their loss, not remembering the hope of His promise. They had been present when He had raised others from the dead, even Lazarus who had been placed in the tomb as well. And then when He had to leave them again, this time for a longer time, and He left them with comforting words. In John 14 He tells them that He is leaving behind a comforter, One who will remind them of all that He has said to them. He leaves them with peace, unlike the world's peace and encourages them to not be afraid or to let their hearts be troubled.
There are some losses in this life, that really cause my heart to be troubled, they call everything I believe in into question. The death of a close loved one knocks the breath right out of me. My heart crumbles, my hope dwindles. I cry until I feel like I can't breathe. But the Father, knowing me better than I know myself, reminds me to breathe, fills me with His peace, sets me back on my feet. I may not understand, I may not see the end to this season, but I can trust in His promise of grace and peace in the journey. Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear, He is with me.
On the drive home the car was so still and I was allowed my own quiet thoughts and I found myself thinking about how the disciples must have felt when Jesus was laid in that tomb. They had been gathered together when the women found them to tell all that Jesus had risen, but they had been grieving their loss, not remembering the hope of His promise. They had been present when He had raised others from the dead, even Lazarus who had been placed in the tomb as well. And then when He had to leave them again, this time for a longer time, and He left them with comforting words. In John 14 He tells them that He is leaving behind a comforter, One who will remind them of all that He has said to them. He leaves them with peace, unlike the world's peace and encourages them to not be afraid or to let their hearts be troubled.
There are some losses in this life, that really cause my heart to be troubled, they call everything I believe in into question. The death of a close loved one knocks the breath right out of me. My heart crumbles, my hope dwindles. I cry until I feel like I can't breathe. But the Father, knowing me better than I know myself, reminds me to breathe, fills me with His peace, sets me back on my feet. I may not understand, I may not see the end to this season, but I can trust in His promise of grace and peace in the journey. Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear, He is with me.
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