Yesterday was Monday. Mondays are notoriously hard for me for a variety of reasons.
I was in deep prayer and passionately crying out to God specifically for a lost, broken and hurting friend.
My mercy heart was in full gear.
In the midst of that time another friend texted me and simply asked, "how are you doing?".
I thought for a moment and replied "It's Monday and my mercy heart is hurting."
I paused and added, "It's okay. Just part of my calling really."
So very true. I was crying rivers of tears, but I wasn't depressed, desperate or sorrowful. I wasn't out of control or needing solace. I was petitioning God on behalf of someone He has put on my heart, someone I care very much about. I had a clear view of my calling to pray, frosted with a deep sense of peace.
King Solomon says there is a time to weep. There is a time. People around me often push crying aside, their own and mine. Suck it up Buttercup. But there is a time for tears. And perhaps I've found part of it.
It was very much like when I care of a skinned knee calmly administering a cotton ball to clean and a bandage without panic or fear. I believe these tears are part of a petitioning process. Dare I say they're tears that the lost soul cannot or will not shed on their own? Perhaps.
I was in deep prayer and passionately crying out to God specifically for a lost, broken and hurting friend.
My mercy heart was in full gear.
In the midst of that time another friend texted me and simply asked, "how are you doing?".
I thought for a moment and replied "It's Monday and my mercy heart is hurting."
I paused and added, "It's okay. Just part of my calling really."
So very true. I was crying rivers of tears, but I wasn't depressed, desperate or sorrowful. I wasn't out of control or needing solace. I was petitioning God on behalf of someone He has put on my heart, someone I care very much about. I had a clear view of my calling to pray, frosted with a deep sense of peace.
King Solomon says there is a time to weep. There is a time. People around me often push crying aside, their own and mine. Suck it up Buttercup. But there is a time for tears. And perhaps I've found part of it.
It was very much like when I care of a skinned knee calmly administering a cotton ball to clean and a bandage without panic or fear. I believe these tears are part of a petitioning process. Dare I say they're tears that the lost soul cannot or will not shed on their own? Perhaps.
There is a certain human tendency to try to take control of our situation. If we're going to be the creators, we must have the freedom to create whatever we want. If we're going to save the world, we want to save it on our own terms, in our own way. It's hard to give ourselves up to the unknown, the uncertain, the undefinable. In the Christian journey, we know that that's exactly what God asks us to do. To follow him along the narrow path. But somehow we always construe that in a way that puts the power back in our hands. We try to codify God's expectations so that we can follow them without God's help. We put unnecessary boundaries on ourselves in order to steer far clear of anything "impure" that would lead us astray. . .
Excerpted from Values and Vices of Fantasy Literature by Portia MIckelson June 2018
used with permission
Excerpted from Values and Vices of Fantasy Literature by Portia MIckelson June 2018
used with permission
"We put unnecessary boundaries on ourselves..."
Oh, we do, don't we!
Jesus Himself said, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
The things that He asks me to do will not feel heavy, even if they look like they are: raising 10 kids, homeschooling, spending years on my knees interceding for a friend.
The tears I shed are not oppressive. They are not pitiful. They are not evidence of a heavy burden. I am certain that He hears my weeping and He understands my spirit and in that I smile, knowing that He will take it all and turn this very thing into dancing and beauty and unfathomable joy. His Word tells me so!
Be sure, God is very creative and it is dangerous to codify, outline or formulate His style.
My prayer today:
Dear Father, Thank You for loving Your Creation so much!
Thank you for caring about the details of my life and for giving me this mercy heart!
Help me to always be willing to be used in creative ways.
Show me where I've boxed You in and remove those walls.
We are no longer slaves,
Hallelujah!!
Oh, we do, don't we!
Jesus Himself said, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
The things that He asks me to do will not feel heavy, even if they look like they are: raising 10 kids, homeschooling, spending years on my knees interceding for a friend.
The tears I shed are not oppressive. They are not pitiful. They are not evidence of a heavy burden. I am certain that He hears my weeping and He understands my spirit and in that I smile, knowing that He will take it all and turn this very thing into dancing and beauty and unfathomable joy. His Word tells me so!
Be sure, God is very creative and it is dangerous to codify, outline or formulate His style.
My prayer today:
Dear Father, Thank You for loving Your Creation so much!
Thank you for caring about the details of my life and for giving me this mercy heart!
Help me to always be willing to be used in creative ways.
Show me where I've boxed You in and remove those walls.
We are no longer slaves,
Hallelujah!!