And Yet, I Ponder This

 © Nancy Turley  

'Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.”   II Corinthians 4:6

“I would have despaired unless I had believed I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." Psalm 27:13
       


My heart is rent for those who grieve for a lost spouse, for lost health, for a lost dream.
It aches for those who grasp for healing and find no present cure,
Who hunger for relief in spirit or body while the earth still spins,
Who mourn what cannot be recovered.

And yet, I ponder this:
       Those that have lost know more clearly what really matters.
       Those who cry deeply for their loved ones still celebrate their joy in heaven.
       Those in pain yet hold on to the hope of their calling by the heavenly Artist.

I question why some awaken to deep pain in the night,
How shadows steal rest or joy until they see morning light,
How life is taken unfairly by tongs of the unknown or evil.

And yet, I ponder this: 
     Those who know the Artist know He uses dark and light colors to accentuate truth,
     That melded colors of shadow and light blend together for good,
     That there is still hope for the future and meaning in the present.

I consider how the body ages despite the care one might take.
I ruminate on the “what ifs” of having had more time for a more balanced life.
I contemplate how life is bound to the clock marching forward. 

And yet, I ponder this:     
    That the heart and spirit can be renewed while bones lose density and skin wrinkles.
    That time is both chronos and kairos,
    That we can be lost in moments of joy when time does not beat nor the body decay.

I reflect on unanswered questions, unfilled potential and hearts longing to soar, I contemplate how some still hope while others despair.
I ponder the mystery of faith, those who glimpse that which can’t be seen,
Of those who still seek melody in the midst of a dissonant world.

  And I rejoice as I ponder this:     
      That we can rise as eagles when we rest in the brush strokes of the Artist,
      That there is truth in paradox: we grow in the dark and in dying we live.
      And that those who sing to the celestial Artist harmonize to an eternal beat.

When All Is Quiet

By Tiffany Bleger

When all is quiet

Where do you go?

When His voice isn't clear

Where do you run?

Do you charge ahead

Determined in your path?

Do you stand stock still

And wait for the whisper?

Do you turn and run

Back to the familiar?

Do you wander in circles

Moving but going no where?

When all is quiet

Where do you go?

When His voice isn't clear

Where do you run?

Do you lean on your friends 

For an encouraging word?

Maybe listen a little harder

To Sunday's sermon?

Do you beg and plead

And beat your head?

Do you make promises 

You know you won't keep?

When all is quiet

Where do you go?

When His voice isn't clear

Where do you run?

Do you pick up your bible 

And blow off the dust?

Do you listen to music

You think He would love?

Or do you trust and wait

And remember His promises?

Do you know Him well enough

To be still in the quiet?

When all is quiet

Where do you go?

When His voice isn't clear

Where do you run?

Are You Invoiced?

By Tawna Wilkinson

Putt-sing around my house a few months ago, I was wrestling with a dogging question: Should I or should I not help an individual with a genuine need, which in this case happens to be close to me? When I heard: “Bear one another’s burdens…” And…“for each one shall bear his own load.” (Galatians 6.2, 5)
 

A familiar frustration rose in my spirit, for in times past I had grappled, without resolution, with these exact phrases and specific words.

“Lord,” I said. “In one breath You command us to bear another’s burden, and in the next You seem to contradict commanding the exact opposite. I don’t know what to do or how to be.”

“I know,” He replied. “Look into it.”

So I dropped what I was involved with, went to my Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, and looked up the words and phrases I felt Him emphasize.

To my chagrin, in both instances, the definition of bear was exactly what I thought: “to remove, lift, endure, sustain, receive, etc.” However, I was surprised to find where its meaning was derived….from the base of the Greek word basis which means “to walk; a pace (‘base’) i.e. (by implication) the foot.”

Immediately a picture came of two people walking side by side, one was carrying a large burden while the other, walking in pace, was helping alleviate some of its weight, but was not taking the burden from them.

Intrigued, I dove into the definition of load, and was even more startled at its meaning: “an invoice (as part of freight) i.e. (fig.) a task or service.”

“Wow, Lord…an invoice?”

“Yes, an invoice. I assign to each an invoice; a task; a service to join with Me. If I have not invoiced you to walk side by side with another, yet you choose to, you are in fact sabotaging their relational footing with Me. And, by carrying all, or some, of another’s burden I did not invoice harms our walk as well. Be watchful, child. Do not disrupt your, or another’s, relationship with Me by carrying what has not been invoiced you.”

Sweet release washed over me shedding light on my present situation, as well as evaporating that unresolved and dogging question. For I had many times, out of guilt, shame, or condemnation, whether self-inflicted or imposed by others, helped carry, or carried all of another’s burden never invoiced me. And the results were damaging to the cadence of each relationship.

So, when another’s need arises, I am now inclined to stop and ask, “Have you invoiced me to come along side, Holy Spirit? Or is this theirs to join with You, alone? 

Still

By Kim Beach

Ever just get tired of being here? In this life? In this time and place, filling this space on earth? 

Sometimes I look around at the pain and heartache of this world and I just want to hide. Runaway. Flee.

Senseless death claims a friend's son and another friend's brother. Cancer. A family struggles to find a home. War. Broken relationships. Disease wrecks bodies. Marriages in crisis.  

Young people grapple for identity. Fallen Heroes. People use their hurts as weapons. Slavery claims more captives than ever in human history. Abortion. Children are pawns in a game of "love". They are disposable. Suicide. Loss.

It just hurts too much.  

Hopelessness begins to surround me like a cloud. It wraps around me like a heavy woolen blanket, hot and inescapable. Struggle seems futile as it pulls me into despair.

"Where are you God ?!"

Silence.

"Do you see this mess ?!?"

Darkness

"Do you care?"

Then I hear Him whisper...

And a song fills my heart . . .

His promise is true. . .

"He is near to the brokenhearted and those whose
spirits are crushed,"
Psalm 34:18

And HOPE grows again. . .