The pussy willows are in full bloom, they know it is Spring, the willows are turning red. Pussy willows are awesome and I think we can learn a thing from them about being “awesome”.
Awesome can bring hope and promise, new growth announces spring itself, they testify that the dead of winter is over! To preserve pussy willows, simply place them in a vase with no water – they will last forever, reminding you that after a long dead season, Spring is here.
It has been a long 2 years. Uncharted territory for most of us; but there are those of us who remember similar times of uncertainty, upheaval around the world. Thing of it is, if you are a history buff, you have studied the rise and fall of many countries, governments, ideologies and philosophies. Someone gets an idea into their head that they want “more”. More power, more territory, more respect, more money…. Whatever it is they want more of it and they will do “anything” to get it.
The common folk, you and I get trapped under the weight of these government leaders, it can feel like we have no where to go, that life is over, dead. But that is absolutely not true.
I was venting the other day to Brian and bless his heart he listened but then had to try to “fix it” by giving me a visual. Here it is:
He made up a sign that said: “Leave it here” and put it at the foot of the wooden cross we have in our house. I instantly got the message. The weight of the world is not mine to carry, so I need to put my burden, my sadness, my load, the world’s load, at the foot of the cross and leave it in Jesus’ capable hands.
Later, I went to stoke up our fireplace, I put new wood into it and after a couple minutes it looked like it had gone out. I went up close to investigate and there on the side was a bit of a glow with some glow poking out underneath the new wood. I simply could not see it from where I was sitting. It looked lifeless, kind of dead.
I opened the door of the wood stove to check on the glow and suddenly, a whoosh of air, and whaa laa, the flame erupted up through the wood, igniting the wood into a flame.
I think that most of us have had all these same kind of emotions, feeling and thoughts the past while. We think something is going to happen and it doesn’t so we shrink back down, looking and feeling lifeless and hopeless much like my fire that looked out.
But inside, deep inside your spirit, there are still some embers, a spark laying there waiting for our faith to rise up again, we simply need to open the door and get some fresh air, let the spirit flow onto the embers and whaa laa, spark, flame and we are back!
Many of us wait for God to open the door and put the spark back in, but God tells us plainly that we have to take the first step. He will not do it for you, He will wait and for some of us, He has to wait a long time.
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and they with me.” Revelation 3:20
In this passage Jesus plainly says that we, you and I, have to open the door. It takes initiative, it takes courage, it takes faith, it takes effort, but you can do it.
Lay your burden down at the foot of the cross, and leave it there, then open the door to Him and get a fresh infusion of God, let His Spirit flow through and fan your flame, let Him explode inside of you, igniting your spirit.
I have talked with a few people in the past few weeks, people who are depressed, despondent, scared, hopeless, that is not how God wants us to live. He NEVER is scared or fearful and He asks us to trust Him.
I get it, those darn giants loom up before you, looking larger than life, and every now and then they might even take a swing at you. Stand firm, stand fast, and cry out to the one who can hear you and do something about it. Trust that He has answered you even if you cannot see it just yet. God always answers prayer.
Brian and I have this driveway, I have mentioned it – it’s pretty straight down and up. It is a mountain either way, up or down. It can be tricky to navigate in the winter. I believe I told you in a previous blog that to go up, I take the traction control off, put it into manual, pray and ask Father, Son and Holy Spirit and the angels to help and away we go. I pray before I go down as well.
Well, the other day, we headed down the driveway, Brian and I in his truck. He decided that it was fine to navigate the driveway in 2-wheel drive because we were going down after all. I did not necessarily feel the same. However, that is what we did. We got about halfway down to the very steep part and the ice under the skiff of snow started us on a skating journey that cause me to grab the “oh poop” handle on the roof and cry out: “Help God!!!” as we headed for the snowbank on the side. We miraculously straightened up and kept going, actually there was no stopping anyways. We headed to the bottom at a rapid rate and again I cried out, “Help God, God help!” because there is a corner at the bottom and we were heading straight! We made the corner and did not land on top of the snowbank at the bottom. I was most relieved and grateful. I told Brian that was tricky driving and he laughed and said, “that wasn’t me! Trust me it was only God.”
You might be discouraged right now that things have not turned out in your life, in your family, in our country, in our world, the way you anticipated. You may feel we are sliding down an icy slope headed for a crash. You might have feelings of anger, frustration, or maybe you have given up that anything will change. All I can tell you is that you need to open the door and let Him fan the flame, let your spirit get strengthened, then rise up and if you need too grab the “oh poop” handle and yell: “Help God, help!”
I have seen so many miracles this month, God is very much in the miracle working business. Haven’t seen one in a while? Most of mine where not in “fun” times, rather in very stressful, very serious circumstances – life and death some of them; no one wants those. No one asks for those. It seems to be it is in those exact times, the darkest of times, that God chooses to show up. God never works on our timetable; He has His own.
God will not share His glory with anyone so He waits until such a time so no person will get any credit, He may use people to get the answer, but He will work it in such a way that everyone knows, it was Him. It will be in a way, you never anticipated because after all, He out thinks all of us anyways; if He didn’t He would not be God and He would not be worth following.
Trust Him, this God who tells nature when to bloom, who fans His Spirit in our souls into flame, who answers our call, trust Him when our mountains loom before us, trust Him when we cannot get up. Hold tight to His promises, to His hope, God cannot lie and He promises that He will NEVER leave or forsake you.
Arise and let’s be a new kind of AWESEOME (fresh and new, exploding with new life) today!