Last week I pleaded with the heavens for just a little faith; faith to believe and faith to know that He had called us and He would provide, EVERYTHING that we are in need of. Friends and family ask, "What will you do? What is the plan?" And we say, "No plan really, just God, we are just waiting . . . on God." They glance away with concern in their eye and I see the reflection of worry from mine.
And I plead again, just a mustard seed of faith so I can tell this mulberry tree to grow in the sea (Luke 17:6) and please a tiny seed to pick up this mountain that looms over my family (Luke 17:20).
Then the tiny seed begins to burn warmth into my inner man and I breathe a sigh of relief.
She called on Friday to say they needed to meet with us and I ask when and she says how about now? She explains they are headed out of town and they have something for us and I think to myself, great! I am sure she baked us some fresh bread or cupcakes for the kids. Or not.
We meet in the parking lot and he hands my husband a wad of cash, a $6,300 wad to be exact. He quietly says, "I sold a car and I wanted you to have it." And in the moment I am overwhelmed and awkward and unsure of what to say but Will always knows, he reaches out and hugs him there standing in the parking lot. And in that lot some may have wondered ~ did I just witness an emotional drug deal?
This is the truth of what they witnessed ~
One father who shoulders the weight of nine; nine in need and nine hurting, nine who are lost and without, nine who need ears to hear and eyes to see. And this father he gives all he has to give and he loans them his eyes and his ears through prayer and intercession, through fasting and faithfulness. One father shoulders the weight of their young worlds so they can climb out from under their burdens to find the Light.
And this one husband bears the weight of his wife that bends and bows like the willow and turns weeping to her heavenly Father and to this one husband. And he reminds her to bend upwards and higher and he promises she will see the light again.
And he shoulders the weight.
But on that Friday afternoon in the midst of people and cars one brother stood beside him and said, "Today I shoulder this load with you and brother to brother, father to father I stand with you under the eternal gravity of these children."
On Sunday our Pastor said, "Remember, the moon has no light of its own, it only reflects the light of the sun and we must reflect the light of the only Son."
And when the land is shrouded in darkness and the earth stands silent our moon quietly rises to illuminate the dark night. That reflected beauty shines light on our dark nights and it promises us that the Son will rise again.
And we too, His bride, emptied out and laid bare; the Church, His great love, living lives fully surrendered, we too, reflect His beautiful light on a land that lays in darkness.
And as the shadows of bills lay looming large in our present space, as the darkness that creeps in with unanswered questions that sound something like this ~ "How will we feed nine teens? And shod ninety toes? And transportation? Will we finally be one with our sandled sister and will our beautiful island behold a traipsing eleven walking to church?" And darkness tried to slither its slimy self into our family but on Friday God reflected His light off His people and in the the middle of a Subway parking lot He said, "Remember, I have told you, My light shines in all your darkness and the darkness will NEVER overcome Me."
And our friends stood as beautiful moon in our dark night and they reflected His beautiful light and we were bathed in the beauty of it.
Two men said, "Today, we run our race together and we will gather all these hurting little ones and we race them into the arms of Jesus."
And we race on.
And I plead again, just a mustard seed of faith so I can tell this mulberry tree to grow in the sea (Luke 17:6) and please a tiny seed to pick up this mountain that looms over my family (Luke 17:20).
Then the tiny seed begins to burn warmth into my inner man and I breathe a sigh of relief.
She called on Friday to say they needed to meet with us and I ask when and she says how about now? She explains they are headed out of town and they have something for us and I think to myself, great! I am sure she baked us some fresh bread or cupcakes for the kids. Or not.
We meet in the parking lot and he hands my husband a wad of cash, a $6,300 wad to be exact. He quietly says, "I sold a car and I wanted you to have it." And in the moment I am overwhelmed and awkward and unsure of what to say but Will always knows, he reaches out and hugs him there standing in the parking lot. And in that lot some may have wondered ~ did I just witness an emotional drug deal?
This is the truth of what they witnessed ~
One father who shoulders the weight of nine; nine in need and nine hurting, nine who are lost and without, nine who need ears to hear and eyes to see. And this father he gives all he has to give and he loans them his eyes and his ears through prayer and intercession, through fasting and faithfulness. One father shoulders the weight of their young worlds so they can climb out from under their burdens to find the Light.
And this one husband bears the weight of his wife that bends and bows like the willow and turns weeping to her heavenly Father and to this one husband. And he reminds her to bend upwards and higher and he promises she will see the light again.
And he shoulders the weight.
But on that Friday afternoon in the midst of people and cars one brother stood beside him and said, "Today I shoulder this load with you and brother to brother, father to father I stand with you under the eternal gravity of these children."
On Sunday our Pastor said, "Remember, the moon has no light of its own, it only reflects the light of the sun and we must reflect the light of the only Son."
And when the land is shrouded in darkness and the earth stands silent our moon quietly rises to illuminate the dark night. That reflected beauty shines light on our dark nights and it promises us that the Son will rise again.
And we too, His bride, emptied out and laid bare; the Church, His great love, living lives fully surrendered, we too, reflect His beautiful light on a land that lays in darkness.
And as the shadows of bills lay looming large in our present space, as the darkness that creeps in with unanswered questions that sound something like this ~ "How will we feed nine teens? And shod ninety toes? And transportation? Will we finally be one with our sandled sister and will our beautiful island behold a traipsing eleven walking to church?" And darkness tried to slither its slimy self into our family but on Friday God reflected His light off His people and in the the middle of a Subway parking lot He said, "Remember, I have told you, My light shines in all your darkness and the darkness will NEVER overcome Me."
And our friends stood as beautiful moon in our dark night and they reflected His beautiful light and we were bathed in the beauty of it.
Two men said, "Today, we run our race together and we will gather all these hurting little ones and we race them into the arms of Jesus."
And we race on.
No comments:
Post a Comment