Open Hands

Photo credit, not mine :)

There it is again...

that picture in my mind,

that feeling.

I run my hands, those hands that

momma said were so gentle, so tender...

and I say,

so

empty.

I run them through the sand. Warm on top,

cool and dark underneath.

The sand is cupped within my two hands...

still and soft

but then,

I begin to open...

That feeling,

it seeps between my fingers,

falling,

falling.

That feeling when my fingers loose their grip and the

sand just melts away,

blowing in the breeze.

The feeling of openness...

open hands.

It is with me a lot these days;

that feeling

that picture.

I see the sand, as it blows away in the wind...

My natural instinct is to clench my fists,

to roll them into a tight ball.

Then comes defiance with the feeling of loss...

If I cannot be filled with what I desire,

then let me be empty!

I must open my hands to emptiness.

Oh, how fragile I feel.

I must open my empty and barren places,

to be filled.

Oh, how helpless I feel.

"The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away,

blessed be the name of the Lord."

taken from Job 1:21

Open hands,

willing to receive from Jehovah our Provider,

and to give freely back to the Great I AM.

Clenching will not help.

There is a beauty and peace that comes from open hands

before our God and a knowing...

that He is good.

But in the filling,

the growth and swelling...

it must give.

It must give with groans of pain,

pressing through with every ounce of strength.

To be filled, you must give.

Fullness, I want it.

I yearn for it....

and I have found,

that He fills.

Sometimes I rail against His filling.

"Not there Lord! Here! Here!"

But I do know that He cares and that He wants

to fill.

Perhaps not the exact place where we want it,

but fill nonetheless.

He desires us to bear,

to bring forth life,

fruit for His glory.

To swell with His goodness...

open hands,

ready to let go,

to give,

and to be filled

again.

"... to know the love of Christ

which passes knowledge; that you may

be filled with all the fullness of God."

Ephesians 3:19

(written February 2011)

Small Towns, Big Memories

Pultneyville, NY

There is just something about small towns that draw me in.

Maybe it's their simplicity, or maybe it's just because

what you see, is what you get.

Whatever it is,

I have always loved them.

I'm a small town girl.

This town, on the edge of Lake Ontario, is just that.

Farm land is on every side of this quaint little town

that curves along the edge of the shore.

The Americana colors are everywhere,

along with the smell of the water and the warm breeze that

is always present in the summer.

It owns some of the most beautiful sunsets as well...

colors so sweet and smooth, rich and changing.

I have always loved to look out across a Great Lake or ocean

and just look and look,

as far as I can.

It makes me realize how small I am, and how big

He is.

How vast His creation is, what an artist He is,

how beautiful...

He is.

I want to see the Lord's beauty and goodness in

everything.

The "small"...

towns,

people,

days,

lives,

jobs,

chores,

dreams,

hopes,

sorrows,

joys,

pains...

and the "big".

His care is evident. His wisdom is written across the sky.

Press on...

to know

Him.

"So let us know,

let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.

His going forth is established as the morning;

And He will come to us like the rain..."

Hosea 6:3

Our soul waiteth for the LORD;

He is our help and our shield.

Psalm 33:20

Waiting...

'God's will must be done God's way...

Faith and waiting go hand in hand,

we don't know faith 'til we learn to wait.

Faith and waiting are nurtured in obedience.

We don't know either faith nor waiting 'til we learn to do God's work, God's way.

It is always right to wait upon God

and it is always right to wait for God.'

-Alistair Begg

WHO TEACHETH LIKE HIM?

John 12:24

"A corn of wheat" I hold within my hand;

Bare grain it is-a hard, uncomely thing;

I let it fall into the ground and die

And lo! therefrom I see new life upspring;

A shoot; a blade; then ears of ripened corn!

What fruitage from that one small seed is born!

Which thing a parable to me becomes-

Myself, a seed- will but a seed remain

Till I consent, as did my Lord, to die

And so bring forth rich yield of golden grain.

He taught me this, by parable and cross:

My life to gain, of life to suffer loss.

Thomas O. Chisholm

He made known His ways to

Moses,

His acts to the children of

Israel.

Psalm 103:7

The Lord wants us to know His ways, His

truths and His Word. It's no secret.

He wants us to know of

His great works, His deeds,

His mighty power and saving hand.

He wants us to know Him.

And He wants us to tell

others...

Best

Best (best), adj. [superl. of good]

1. most excellent.  2. most suitable, desirable, etc.

(Taken from Webster's New World Dictionary, copyright 1963)

This is what and Whom God is. This is also

what He does and how He works. No matter

what I may think is best for me at the time, He

ultimately knows best, and if I purpose to stay in

and seek after His will, then I can be sure of and content

in wherever I am. 

He knows best!

"To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal?" says the Holy One. Isaiah 40:25

The Lord spoke to my heart a while back

concerning the bare trees and my time of

waiting. I had quietly noted within myself 

how drab and unlovely the trees were looking

during the winter months and was contemplating 

it all and feeling quite sorry for them and myself

when all of a sudden the LORD reminded me how this

is the season that He has chosen for them and how

 during this time they wait patiently for the coming

and promised spring. 

This made me think... and in all truth I have never, in

all my life, heard a tree complaining about its lack of 

leaves, or its apparent bareness of fruit at the moment,

or  even seen a tree trying to uproot itself and run to 'better'

lands or 'nicer' climates. No. But I have seen the trees stand

faithful in the place where God has put them, and continue to

grow and stay rooted until the season when He grants them

their covering and fruit. They do not fret in the gray and hard

seasons, nor do they give up and just uproot. They stand tall

and faithful, and quietly wait for His timing, for His beauty

and for His great grace.

There is great beauty in not only blooming where we are

planted, but also in being content and waiting faithfully

and standing tall in Him when our blooms have yet to appear.

Now I look at the bare trees all 

around and think to myself

how really beautiful they are!

Though the fig tree may not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vines;

though the labor of the olive may fail,

and the fields yield no food;

though the flock may be cut off from the fold,

and there be no herd in the stalls-

yet I will rejoice in the LORD,

I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The LORD is my strength;

He will make my feet like deer's feet,

and He will make me walk on my high hills.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

What you do in your house is worth as much as if you

 did it up in heaven for our LORD God. We should

accustom ourselves to think of our position and work 

as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of 

the position and work, but on account of

the word and faith from which the obedience and

work flow.   ~Martin Luther

Small & Cute, But Not So Sweet.

Yes folks, you are seeing correctly,

that is a cantaloupe.

I thought they were so cute sitting there in

the garden that I just had to get

a picture of them sitting next to

a tomato.

Imagine my surprise when they weren't

as sweet as they were cute!