Quiet in the Spirit

As I listened to the Lord's promptings this morning, I sensed His words "I hear your cry and know your desire to accomplish all I have for you.  First of all, come to Me.  Allow yourself to become quiet in your spirit so that you can hear Me.  Bask in My presence and allow My healing, My hope, My wisdom to penetrate the marrow of your bones and the muscles and joints of your body and the cells of your body and mind. 

Quiet.

Whispers of love.

Soft breezes of wisdom.

Cleansing water from My Word.

Remember how it sounds when you are deep in the forest,

Or in a mountain meadow.
    

Think on the desert, with only the sound of the wind.

Or listening to the birdcall at a lake in the mountains.

Experience the joy of a bloom covered in raindrops.

Quiet pervades and peace enters your heart.  So it needs to be as you spend time with Me.  Remember the softness of the air.  Remember the lack of disturbing sound.  Let it wrap around you as a cloak of purest softness.  Let silence reign in your heart and mind as you bask in My being.  Go in peace and rest in Me."

A Tree Beside the Water

"Happy is the man . . . the law of the Lord is his delight, the law his meditation night and day. He is like a tree planted beside a watercourse, which yields its fruit in season and its leaf never withers . . ." Psalm 1:1-3 (excerpted)The New English Bible After a long period of no writing, the Lord has opened the way again. It was a hard time . . . a time of testing and of faith-building. I was ill with a debilitating disease. My mother became increasingly ill as she aged. Pressures built upon pressures. I cried to the Lord. "When will I ever be able to finish the work You have given me?" God's still small voice reassured me that I would always have time to accomplish the work He wants me to do. I needed to trust Him. I prayed and trusted and things seemed to only go from bad to worse. My mother took up most of my time and I was totally depleted. She suffered from cancer, dementia and Parkinson's disease. Her care (and I wasn't even her caregiver), both emotional and physical, depleted me completely and my ill health also took its toll. As I searched God's Word, I gained hope, although everything around me spoke the opposite. It was a faith thing. A faith that had to be grounded in the solid fact of God's Word, not my circumstances. I felt I needed to invest more time in the care of my mother and see it through to the end, not knowing how long that would be. We had never had a great relationship, so this didn't make a lot of sense to me, but with prayer and the agreement of my husband, I followed God's leading. It turned out to be a life changing series of events for me. At first, I felt like this picture of stagnant water and a dead tree. Yet, as I gave myself to this ministry, I sensed new strength, both emotional and physical. It was grueling, at times, but I remembered God's Word. I became alive again. I had new energy. I could drive again. I made serious decisions and the relationship with my mother flourished. As she grew more ill, I sat beside her, and she grabbed my hand and held it to her lips and whispered, "Do you know how much I really, really love you?" I told her I did, and she repeated, "Good, because it's important that you know how much I really, really love you." These were words I had longed to hear for most of my life. She eventually passed away (on my birthday). But, I now had new memories--ones of singing hymns to her, holding her hand, being told she loved me, and the knowledge that, even when she could no longer speak, that I made a difference to her as she grasped my hand tightly when she heard my voice. It was a hard but beautiful time. Although I would never want to repeat that time and it took months to recover afterwards, I found healing. I found new life. I flourished under the faithful hand of God. I am now writing again for the first time in many years. I feel good and am excited to get started. God has given me the time He promised me during those bleak years. I rejoice, for by digging my roots into His Word, fruit is growing in abundance and will spill over and bless many. He is faithful. Praise His name.