Monday, February 15, 2010

Blessed


I know its been a while, blogland...  And I don't even have a good excuse since I've had all sorts of goodies come across my mind and heart I could have been sharing.
     One of the things I wanted to take time and share has to do with God speaking into my life with such sweetness.  Even as I'm aware of my flaws, and shortcomings, and worries, and the things that weigh on my heart (the ones that keep me awake at night-do you have those too?), even with all those things God has brought His goodness into my life.  Or is it I've gained a better vision to see Him at work?  Far too much of the time I'm embarrassed to say that I allow my focus to not include God.  And when I do put God in the picture, its far more of an intellectual statement that runs along the lines of:  "God has been faithful in the past, He has not changed and He is going to take care of me."  Yes and yes!  Nothing wrong with recognizing God's character in my life.  But then again, that statement right there has allowed me too much control.  It is a reliance upon fact and lessens my relationship with God.  I know God desires me to come to Him, to share with Him rather than comfort myself solely on "fact" (even when it is Truth).  So I'm in a learning process, my friends.  I'm learning to dialogue more and more with God.  And (this is challenging!) I'm learning to listen for His response.
     As I've been learning to soak in God's Presence and be engaged in our relationship, I marvel at the ways He shows His sweetness.
     Just last night as I was driving in the dark I came upon a delightful experience.  It was Valentine's Day evening, and right in front of me I watched a shop owner step out of his restaurant with two huge balloon arrangements.  He stood in the middle of my lane, and I came to a stop in front of him to watch this display.  Lit by streetlights and shop windows, I watched this man release about 4 dozen balloons into the night.  There was something almost fairytale-like about the scene.  The whimsy of releasing these balloons, that brief moment as their forms bobbed and danced away, the warmth of the lights spilling onto the street.  And then poof, the moment was over.
     This morning I was sitting in our student lounge when two of our *ahem* mature students came in with a guitar case between them.  These gray-haired men were like two children in their delight over this guitar (which was apparently a good one).  I listened as they began to play, and even I could recognize the sweetness of the sound.
     There are these achingly sweet and amazing moments in my life that God allows me to experience.  In all my processing of thoughts, ideas, emotions, concerns, and fears I am amazingly blessed to catch glimpses of delight and joy!