The winter has been so cold and gray, but today there are snowdrops!
This winter, in particular, has been very cold from the beginning (snowing even before Thanksgiving!), and there has been so much darkness. The sky, which for years has been my solace, is often covered by a dull haze or gray clouds, and days have gone by without a glimpse of the blue sky.
Blue sky! Today, it’s blue outside. The sight of that sunlight, and the calm and lovely blue sky brings me a peace that is hard to describe. It’s a taste of spring after a very long cold winter.
One of the things that makes days like this so wonderful is the fact that they are rare at this time of year. The gray of winter gives way to the gloom of rainy weather, but how we long for the sun!
In public, strangers catch my eye and point: “The sun is out!” The joy is so great, it overcomes social norms. When the sun shines, we are all brothers and sisters, joyfully soaking up the light.
We spent some time today looking at the classic illustration for a child’s book of poems that Tony is getting ready to record. There were so many beautiful drawings in pen and ink, paintings with saturated colors, gold edges, curling lines and flourishes!
Why did we let this kind of beauty go? I look at the children’s books from today, and they are so simple, so silly and so vulgar compared to what we had just a hundred years ago.
After all, the inspiration for those classic pictures still exists; just look outside! The mushrooms are still growing up along the tree trunks; the dragonflies are still riding on the tops of the cattails, and the sky is still reflected in the puddles today just like it was back then.
Illustration by Florence Storer, 1909
Our lives don’t have to be dull. We don’t have to allow ourselves to be jaded into oblivion, bored with everything, and incapable of feeling wonder. I have felt that way, and I hate it. It’s just our natural defense against too much stimulation. We are drowning in mental clutter, our senses bombarded by flashing lights, and clatter and the monotony of constant novelty.
This is what I do:
I slow down, and be quiet. “Be still, and know that I am God,” He says. (Psalms 46:10)
Be still. Remain in one place. Don’t fidget. Don’t wish you were somewhere else. Think only about what is directly around you, the things you can see with your eyes.
Now close your eyes. Pull yourself in. Continue to be still. Come back to yourself.
Remember that God sees you as you do this. He is watching you collect yourself. He wants you to contain yourself, to wait until the white noise begins to disappear from your ears. The negative shadows of this world will begin to disappear from behind your eyelids, too.
And when your mind is quiet and dark, and you become aware of your physical and spiritual position, straighten yourself in His presence. Think of God, watching you, loving you. (Keeping your eyes closed might help with this.)
When you are ready, open your hands, face up, in your lap. Imagine God pouring his attention toward you, warming you. It is almost as if He is filling up your hands.
I know your hands are physically empty, but when you open your hands toward God they begin to feel full, somehow. This is powerful.
(Did you know that light changes back and forth between being a particle or a wave depending upon if it is watched? The atom has particles called “quarks” that do the same thing.)
Perhaps we become energized or change in some fundamental way when we become aware that God is watching us. For He is. And when you do the above exercise, you’ll understand.
When I take time to do this, to notice that God is watching me, I usually feel a strong urge to connect with Him, to thank Him or praise Him. The knowledge that His attention is toward me provokes a response. And so I worship Him.
King David said:
"Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You."
(Psalm 139:7-12)
God is always there, though we are often unaware of His presence. In a similar way, the sun is there in the sky, though covered by clouds. We are the clouded ones, but God sees us perfectly. He is so incredibly patient, waiting for us to let go of the glossy paper toys we’ve been chasing so that He can fill our empty hands with the gold of Himself.
He is the Father of Lights. He is LOVE. All life comes from God; all creativity comes from God; it is God that inspires us to do good, to love others; true JOY comes from Him, and we belong with Him.
Being with God is coming home to the place where we are accepted as our true selves. God sees us as He created us to be: Young, fresh, and full of promise! And that is how we will be when He has fully restored us to beauty and purpose.
That is our destiny. We are children of God. We belong. We are secure. We are loved beyond our understanding. And all we have to do is remain in His love.
How do we remain in His love? Jesus said,
“As the Father loved me, so have I loved you. Continue in my love. If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love. . .This is my commandment, that you love one another.” (John 15:9-10,12)
It’s such a wonderful feeling to love and to be loved, and that is exactly what Jesus showed us. He showed us what true love looks like so we know, and can love others. It’s easy to be distracted by the things of this world, but if we can get a little space to breathe and think, it’s obvious that we are even more attracted to what is real.
Don’t give up your heritage, my friends! I know it can be discouraging, but we are never alone. God is with you wherever you are, and all the whole world of true believers is our family. As we grow closer to God, we grow closer to each other.
Link up with those who truly believe and be encouraged by what God is doing. Tell your stories of His goodness; don’t be afraid. Our testimony is our most powerful asset. It is the proof that we are His children, proof that God is working in our lives.
We think of you often, dear friends! Spring is on the way, and the sun is overcoming the clouds. Oh, be encouraged, and don’t be afraid of anything in this world. Jesus’ last words to his disciples before he went to the cross were:
"In the world, you shall have tribulation:
But be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
(John 16:33b)
The Fullers Four 