FMF She

Five Minute Friday: SHE
http://lisajobaker.com/2013/09/five-minute-friday-she/

Sister, the first. The one who shared rooms, laughs,math textbooks in high school and thoughts. 3 hours between us, yet heart not so far.

Sister the second. The one who wanted to be just like me, who learned from my failures, and blossomed early, spreading herself thin with love for her friends, like a beautiful veil falling gently to the ground.

Friend, the one who loves me with great joy. Her laughs have comforted, her chatter been food for my listening ears. Since she randomly talked to me on the bus, I realized slowly it was not random.

Friend, the one who pushes me. She is honest, and the compete opposite of me, a blessing unexpected. We push and pull, and grow together, so quickly, it has only been a year. But it feels like a lifetime.

So many more SHEs in my life, so many beautiful hearts with faces warm and souls strong. Blessings counted often, gifts of the Father.

So much love,
undeserved,
needed. 

sunrises

Somewhere in the grey, the sun breaks through, like so many sunrises I have seen in weeks past.

Sometimes it is a flaming, perfect orb hanging in the mist. Other times, it is a sliver of pink among lavender fluff. Still others, it is a golden haze.

Sunrises are beautiful, but in general tend to be less dramatic than sunsets. Pastels frequent the early hours of life, and it is easy to overlook their gift-ness.

In some ways, the sunrises keep me going.

They remind me of His promises. New life. Hope. He is with me. Blessed assurance, sure as the earth turns to warm her sides in the sun.

When I avoid Him, I fall into grey. Life is dimmer, and I miss so much--joy, experience, and chances to love. I become distracted by my own flesh, my own selfishness, my own bitterness--and it pains my soul how stubborn I am.

Even here, there is Grace. To begin again, each day anew. To hike this road. To turn to the One who loves my soul. The One who rises over my sinful darkness and spreads the fog and clouds away. The One who gave all, from Whom all is gift.

worship

They stood.

I sat.

They bellowed.

I whispered.

It was the first time, the very first, that I didn't feel uncomfortable doing my own thing. I felt His presence, I sang in quiet ways to Him. I love singing, but in all honesty, it is not my most authentic worship.

{Wonder is involuntary praise.} Edward Young

These words, penned far from my own eyes, have tattooed themselves to my mind. I gasp at the way the light falls, smile at the rolling mist, feel the brush of leaves against my palm; these are my moments of worship.

When gratitude, that blessed eucharisteo, rolls over my soul, and flattens complaints and worries.

When I choose Him over others.

When I am afraid, but I walk on.

To trust Him is to worship Him.

Five Minute Fridays! http://lisajobaker.com/2013/08/five-minute-friday-worship/
http://www.incourage.me/2013/08/a-five-minute-friday-free-write-on-the-word-worship.html

present

I miss so much.

I come to school. I complain. I take for granted so many blessings.

"Sometimes, I still go through periods of ungratefulness. I get small-minded, short-sighted and sink to a degree of selfishness that makes everything in my soul seem dark."  Jennifer Rothschild

This comes from a woman who has more faith, more gratitude, and more insight than I do. Yet I find in it so much comfort. I am not the only one who fails. Not the only who falls into the selfishness and darkness.

If I ended there, this would still be a sad tale. But I find a deep desire to be grateful. It brings joy. It is a fulfillment of my purpose to praise. Difficult, it is. But joy will be found by those who are thanking. 

""Beauty and grace are performed whether or not we will or sense them. The least we can do is try to be there.” Annie Dillard

I want to be there. Here. Now. Grateful for the glory of this life. The glowing orange sun burning the morning mist. The smile of a friend. The unexpected presence of the One who moves the winds and paints the flowers.