Whisper of Peace

   

Sitting alone in the damp sand and waiting in the velvety darkness as the dawn begins to glimmer over the ocean,  I watch the little birds hopping and fluttering and listen to the sounds as the waves caress the shoreline.

I've been praying for a miracle and for peace.  I've been hanging close to God's ear and pouring out the
torment and grief that have beleaguered me for a year.

It feels like there is no end to the crushing weight on my heart and soul.   The tears never stop and the heartache is unceasing.

I've come to this edge of the world ocean side for a getaway, and for a get with God time that I so sorely need.

The waves lap at the shore and the wind flows over me and whispers "peace".  But peace has not come.   It feels out of my arm's reach, too distant and elusive to grab hold.

It's the last day of what has been the hardest year of my life.  Ups and downs,  betrayal, divorce, new birth and new beginnings.  Each event that should have been a happy milestone has been accompanied by anguish. 

I am so ready for this year to be done with itself, and here it is ...finally.

This day is New Year's Eve 2006. 

Light begins to shimmer as the sun peaks out from behind the misty clouds that are hanging over the ocean's horizon.

Suddenly the light flickers through the clouds, reaching across them into infinity, shooting a sliver of light that pierces across the face of the ocean to touch the very ground where I am watching in amazement as the form of a cross appears in the sunrise.

What the wind and waves could not bring to me, God has sent in the form of a cross.   A cross formed by the Light of the world.

The whispers of peace from the waves and wind were only foretelling what was to come when the Light appeared.   

What I could not attain on my own, my loving God placed in my heart.

On the last day of the hardest year of my life, the sun still rises.   A sign of life and a future.

The Son still brings love and joy and peace.  He brings hope.

Without fail, His eternal connection with His creation will carry on.

He has not forsaken.

He never will.

He holds us in His strong arms when no other's arms can help.

His comfort salves our broken souls when no words or actions can assuage the misery we feel.

Absorbing our heartbreak, He makes it His own and offers joy in return.

Take His offer.   Trade your pain and grief for what only He can provide.

Let Him turn your mourning into praise and dancing.

"I will not leave you, nor forsake you." (Joshua 1:5 NKJV)

"Jesus wept." (John 11:35)

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."  (Romans 8:28 NKJV)

"You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.  O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever." (Psalm 30: 11-12 NKJV)

#outrageousbelief

 

One Day

In the last few months, there have been so many people that have passed from this life to the next due to accident or illness, it is difficult to take it all in and process it mentally or emotionally.     Everyone I know has lost someone.

We ask why.  We attempt to reason it out.  We can't make any sense of it.

But me?  Although I am truly sorrowful they have passed, and my heart has been broken for those I love, I am a bit envious.

Because.

"Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory?" (1 Co 15: 55 KJV)

Once I was lost, now I am found.  Because of Jesus.

Before Him, I had no hope.  No joy.  No knowledge of immortality.  No enormous excitement in anticipation of eternity.

No understanding of who I am or who He is.

I love to travel.  I love to meet new people, see and experience varied cultures, experience the beauty of this world and its people.

In my heart and spirit, I am a great adventurer, a warrior against evil,  author of  best sellers, and missionary to the world.   

Yes, I am so grand!  (go ahead ...insert laughter here).

In reality, I am just a normal every day human being who believes in Jesus, trying the best I know how to be a good person, be responsible for myself, love my family and friends, and hope to share Jesus with others in a way that makes them want to know Him too.

Also, in a better reality that is more true because this is what Jesus says,  I am in this world but not of this world.  I am a stranger in a strange land.  This world is no longer my home although it is my current physical dwelling place.  All because of the Holy Spirit within me.  All because of the transformation that took place inside of me when I turned to Jesus.

He is the One who placed those visions of grandeur into my heart.   He is the One that will complete them in me.

This is my Great Hope!  This is my sure knowledge of salvation through Jesus Christ.

One day I  will step out of this body and into a new world... a new realm.

One day I will see Him face to face.   One day I will know Him as I am known by Him.  

That day is when my greatest and most outstanding adventures will begin and also be fulfilled ... made complete.

Until then, it's just me traveling this earth with Jesus by my side, and hoping that I get things right. 

So when I am gone, if a tear should leak from your eye, please cry for joy in knowing that I am finally in that place I have looked forward to for decades.    

I will be in that "One Day" with Jesus.   Believe me, it will not be boring.

Death is victory for those who believe!  (1 Co 15: 54)

 

Please get this one thing right.   Seek Jesus.  Be saved and transformed by Him.   Don't spend this life on earth without hope.  Don't spend eternity in everlasting regret.

#outrageousbelief