Glimpses Of Heaven

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17

A tiny puddle with great big reflection. 

However ironic, traditions are ever subject to change. They change with age, through circumstance, they are upgraded, degraded, substituted, and sometimes...merely forgotten. From that of my experience with traditions, this is so. But- there is one tradition, a family tradition,  that has only ever brightened in my mind's eye. A myriad of my most fond memories have been born out of this tradition.

For as long as I can remember, year after year my family has gone camping together in Ludington, Michigan around August. Ludington is a beautiful city that is full of life, bright flowers, summer cliches like ice cream shoppes, fudge and taffy stores, and bed & breakfasts, but is loved most of all for hugging the shores of Lake Michigan. (If you haven't visited, I strongly urge you to do so.) Upon entering the city, my favorite thing that I was always sure to take note of growing up, was the drop in temperature as we drove into the heart of Ludington, approaching the beach. Ludington is no California, but it tastes just as sweet, if not sweeter for a Michigander. :)

As for traditions, every good one has small habits engraved within. Completion steps, if you will.

 For us, watching the Sun sink into the horizon and melt into the water from atop the tallest sand dune, the city and all of our troubles to our backs, the sun and all of its precious radiance on our faces, was and still is one of those small, but glorious habits. 

Lake Michigan, 2012

Ludington, 2010 (Mom always says she prefers sunrises over sunsets, for they tend to be the cheerier of the two, but as for the rest of us, we've never seen her up early enough to greet the sun!) :) So, with the sunsets, content we remain. 

For me, that small habit, or step to completing our tradition, is as close to Heaven as this world can muster. There is no greater feeling then being with the ones you love most in the world while looking at an extraordinary view hand painted by the Creator Himself, and feeling for a moment that all is right with your part of the world.

2010

As I sit on the bed in my room, now, and look out over my back yard, I watch the sun sink into the horizon...then blend into the treeline...then disappear completely from view.

Back Yard

 My sunsets each night here pale in comparison, but .....

Every so often, in the process of setting here to shine elsewhere, warm rays poke through a break in the trees, over a cluster of slumbering branches, and onto the back yard.

Every so often, as the sun sets in my part of the world forgotten by time......I see a momentary glimpse of that glorious Ludington sunset, through my bedroom window.   

Every so often, I see a glimpse of Heaven. 

So with my suburban sunsets, I am content. 

Sometimes, I think that God moves the branches with His own hand so that those stubborn setting rays can be seen. He knows I need it; he knows it makes me happy. :)

Similarly, God made man a weekly tradition. He knew the Sabbath would make man happy. He knew, we'd NEED it. 

God gave man the Sabbath for that very purpose; it's a glimpse of Heaven. A piece of arbitrary time meant to be spent with Him in thought, in spirit and body, in praise, in worship, and in complete togetherness.

Spent with nature, too! 

Though, we are not to just be...content. No...for the Sabbath here on earth is only a portion of what God has planned for us. We are to spend our Sabbath days longing for the whole picture...for the whole sunset... for all of eternity with our Creator! We are to spend them studying in His word and in intercession. We are to gather our friends and the ones we love most in the world and join in complete togetherness with the Lord. We are to hold dear those precious rays and glimpses of Heaven until the day we see the whole picture!

Lake Michigan, 2012

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Colossians 1:1-4

2013

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:1-3

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Goliath. 

He was big, right? I'd imagine he was probably a little scary-looking, too.When I picture Goliath,
I picture this ...
Wall of a man....
All brawn...
Deep bass voice...

Sort of like how Marvel depicts the Hulk...but, not green. :)

 Can you picture him?

I can not (by any means) imagine being David... Marching up to Goliath in all of his fierce Philistine war armor with his larger-than-life sword raised, his feet firmly planted,  being this shepherd boy, armor-less, holding a stone that I had just picked up from the creek-bed, and a sling-shot.                           Yeah.......Right.

Beyond a doubt, I would have stood before Goliath for a half of a second and then fled. I would have said something along the lines of, "Ya'll signed up for this, I however, did not. God speed..."
And then I would have ran back to my sheep as if I HAD God's speed.

Yet, that isn't how it went down. . . .
David stood before Goliath, and with all of the power of God, swung his sling above his head, and let loose one small stone that hit the giant square between the eyes.

Goliath fell, dead, undone by a shepherd boy and a sling. Can you imagine THAT?
Mini mushroom cloud in my brain...
I just can't even comprehend that!

Yet, I can, because David did it by his faith in the Lord's strength. The incredibility of that entire story ... is to the credibility of God. Do you think David could have defeated Goliath...without God? No. No way.

Everyone of us face different forms of Goliath in our everyday lives...giants we can't defeat on our own. You know the song Jesus Loves Me, right?
"I am weak, but He is strong" ? Well...it's true; we..are..weak. So weak.

That's why we have to have God's strength to send our stones flying straight for the spot in between Goliath's eyes. We need God to help us get passed our trials and hardships.

Are you standing before Goliath on that battlefield, holding only a stone? If so, know this:

 "....If you have faith and do not doubt.....if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea', it will be done." Matt 21:21

God can not only remove Goliaths from your path, He can move MOUNTAINS.
Ask in His name having unmovable faith and that unmovable mountain will be removed as easily as Goliath fell.
Is that not wonderful? :)

The Greatest Of Tragedies

The musicians file in one by one to the overwhelming applause of the house. They hold their finely tuned instruments close to their hearts; they are prepared to perform for the first  and last time, unheard by anyone outside of their rehearsals, until today.

Each is dressed elegantly, their instruments polished; they are ready. The audience claps eagerly, overjoyed to see the musicians. Each audience member sits on the edge of their seat...heart pounding, mind running, face beaming; the anticipation is killing them.

-What is it going to sound like??- 

-What will they play?-

-Will I be the same after hearing them play?-

Each heart wonders, their minds reeling.

The audience has been waiting their entire lives to hear the orchestra play and the only opportunity has come at last.

The audience is practically hungering for the music as they wait for the musicians to get situated. Each person in the audience shelters a deep and insatiable craving for the orchestra's song... yet, they've yet to even hear them play....
The reason for this is so simple, but so complex. There, deep within each heart lies a hole, and that hole is shaped only to fit that of the orchestra's song.

The loudest sound in all of the audience is their breathing, excited and coming in gulps. They sit like children, awaiting the sweetest of treats; they almost squirm. Almost.

The orchestra sits and glance around at one another, slight nods of assurance are traded between the musicians. They, too, are eager.


The audience straightens with the orchestra and the lights dim slightly in the house, for all spotlights have been centered on the orchestra.

The air is tense; stomachs unsettle, eyes shine.

The conductor walks out onto the stage, then, after the orchestra has settled and he bows majestically.
Another round of full applause and the conductor erects himself and takes his place before the orchestra; he smiles, then raises his baton; the golden cue. Simultaneously, the musicians raise their instruments.

The only sound now is that of the beating hearts. No one moves.

Then, the conductor and the orchestra begin and as they do, so does the greatest disappointment to ever take place.

Hearts break in that same, earth-shattering moment, each sinking to oblivion. The hole in their hearts grows larger, and larger, consuming them.

There's. Not. One. Breath.

-This isn't happening.- 

Then suddenly, in waves, small gasps slip in through the house, each a blow to the conductor's chest.

-Have I gone deaf?-

 They cry. 

-What's wrong?!-

The audience begins to panic, frightened, but they know that isn't right— for—

For they can hear one another's gasps and audible, unmistakable anxiety...

They can hear the complete dismay and utter sorrow coming from those .....even furthest away from them.

There is no sound. The orchestra is playing...but there...is..no ...sound. 
Tears begin to fall, and angry, the audience trails out. What else can they do?

They've waited their whole lives to hear the sweetest music to ever be played and when they are at last about to hear, their tickets and programs in hand, there is no sound from the musician's instruments.

What else would they do?

Soon, the orchestra plays inaudibly, emptily,  for empty seats, a vacant House. All have abandoned hope; not one soul remains.

Is this how those around me feel....though perhaps only in their subconscious, when I don't share my Savior's love for them?
Am I like a silent orchestra?
I carry with me the sweetest of all melodies...yet I have no volume?

A chill runs down the length of my spine as I sit at my piano, and suddenly, I don't feel like playing anymore. All I can do is pray.

In each of our hearts is a God-shaped hole. Only God can fill a God-shaped hole, right?
Knowing this, how could I ever keep silent?

From this day forward-
I pledge never to keep silent about my faith, or my love for God, or God's love for mankind.

With God as my witness, I shall have the loudest of instruments for the singing of His song. Never again will an audience member, a child OF God,  leave without hearing His sweet melodies, for that alone would truly be the greatest of tragedies to ever take place.

Sing Of Spring

Outside, snow dusted our part of the Earth; the part forgotten by time. My dad and I sat together, watching the snowfall from the couch opposite of the window. Sabbath mornings are typically the quietest for us, for the usual hustle and bustle is resting, preparing for the on-coming week while we, enjoy the break. Rose lay at our feet unconscious, her dark head ON our feet. Every once in a while a paw would twitch or her lip would curl up from a dream.

If there has always been one thing my dad and I share together the best, it is the silence. After a busy week, with my head resting on his shoulder, his hand holding mine,in that moment the silence was really all we wanted.  

Or so we thought.

I had just begun to doze off a bit, when my dad sat up, 

"Do you hear that?" he asked, in an excited whisper. 

I blinked off my sleep and tried to hear what he was hearing. 

"The silence?" 

"No! THAT."

That's when the most wonderful thing I've heard all Winter sounded from outside, in my ears. The melodic sound came from the bird feeder; it was a male Cardinal. 

I haven't seen my dad smile like he did at that very moment in a while. 

"A bird! A bird is singing outside. You know what that means right? Oh, I haven't heard a bird sing all winter long. They never sing in the dead of winter. THAT means Spring is just around the corner!" He went on. 

The silence forgotten, we listened to the cardinal sing for a moment before it flew off to its next round of caroling. 

......Spring is coming...It sang.

                                 

                                                        -Spring is coming-

That's when I realized this very thing:

There is often too much silence shared between people, strangers, between friends and even family. 

Why share silence when you could share the most wonderful thing anyone could ever share, ever. 

Share Jesus. 

Spring, release from the dead of Winter, a breakthrough of new life.....is coming, sang the cardinal. 

With each season, we wait for another, whether we realize we wait or not. Isn't that true? 

In Fall, we wait for Winter and in Winter, we wait for Spring. That's just how it is. 

But in this life, we are waiting for Jesus. 

So be that cardinal, tell the world that Spring is coming. New life is coming soon.

Jesus is almost here.

In The Midst Of The Storm

When He got out of the boat, is it possible...That maybe a brief wish swept through his mind that He hadn't? Maybe He had a moment of hesitancy.  Had He been preparing for what awaited him on the opposite shore, meditating with each push and pull of the oars?

This is the scene that plays out in my mind, starting with the moment His holy feet met the rocky-shore in Luke 8:40.


Jesus inhales the thick air too briskly, His breath catching. The whole of the Galilean shoreline fraught with waiting, desperate faces; emotions of the overwhelming sort arouse in His conscious.

The moment He steps out with His disciples following suit, the multitude calls out to Him.
                                                       
                        -Jesus-
                                     -Healer-

 The multitude's cries are for mercy, revival and healing of the physical and emotional kind. Their pleas run deep, cutting and pain-filled; His heart lurches. He looks into each broken pair of eyes and sees the portals to their hearts, and furthermore, what controls their hearts. He longs to reach out to each one in return and it breaks Him not to, but they aren't ready.
Nervous glances are traded among the disciples for they are eager to witness His next miracle. Everyone is.

Jesus crosses the distance between the boat and the grass, stepping over rocks and sand, when from out of the throng, a man emerges to tell Him of his twelve year-old daughter who lies dying.

With so many people surrounding Him crying out for His aid, the man's pain is but another sharp rock among a bed of sharp rocks. Yet the man still falls at Jesus' feet, begging him to come. The Savior picks up the man's rock, and follows him, but as He does the multitude advances and pushes against Him, their cries intensifying.
                                             -Lord-
                                                                  -Help us-
                                                                                         -Heal our wounds-

From within the crowd, a woman, so filled with long suffering and subject to hemorrhaging for twelve years, pushes through the crowd, and, knowing she wouldn't be able to come close enough to speak with Christ, touches His clothing knowing that alone would heal her, her heart longing for release.

In the same moment, she is healed.
The Lord's next miracle? Unnoticed.

Then all at once everything stops....and the multitude pauses as Jesus' feet slow, then halt.

He asks simply, "who has touched Me? ", glancing from face to face.
Peter, disciple of Jesus, responds saying that all nearest Him have touched Him for the throng around is great.  Jesus asks again,  but this time the woman falls at his feet, trembling and declares herself the only witness of Jesus' next miracle.

Stop now.....And imagine for a second, Jesus DID have a moment of hesitancy as He stepped onto the bed of rock.

Imagine that He wasn't prepared for the masses He was about to face, nor did He know of the woman's faith before touching His garment and suddenly..........There is no next miracle.

Now imagine the counter: The woman, so trusting, embraced the Son of God's love because she knew just how freely that love was given and exercised. She knew, that Jesus wouldn't hesitate for it wasn't in His character and the character of God. Never. Changes.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever- Hebrews 13:8

Jesus didn't hesitate when He got out of the boat.
The woman didn't hesitate to trust in Jesus.
Jesus didn't hesitate to heal her and.....she didn't even have to ask for healing.

 Jesus' heart was filled with such an immense love for her and joy in her faith. So much so, He said, "Daughter, be of good cheer, your faith has made you well. Go in peace."

And as clear as day, another miracle occurred.  Jesus changed a heart from victim, to victor, from another sharp rock in a bed of sharp rocks, to cornerstone.
The difference between the crowd and the woman? She was ready for healing for she believed; her heart was faithful.

Then after the woman disappeared back into the crowd, the man whose daughter was dying had been told that his daughter was dead. Jesus answered with this:
"Do not be afraid; only believe and she will be made well."

From a multitude of people, only one woman had faith enough to reach out to Jesus, rather than having Him reach out to her, and she was healed.
The multitude's suffering kept them from truly believing in His power,keeping them from healing; they were in their own way.

To be released from the afflictions of this world, we must open out hearts to God and trust that He will provide for us from the beginning to the end. We have to remove ourselves from our own way and we must have unyielding faith in His power. Only then, will we receive the fullest of what God has to offer us, only then, will we have peace in the midst of the storm.