February | 2021 | itsawonderfilledlife

Archive for February, 2021

I Know the Plans I have for you

Posted in Faith, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #duringandafterthestorm, #godisincontrol, #godisthere, #iknowtheplansihaveforyou, #inthestorm on February 5, 2021| Leave a Comment »

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Every follower of Christ has a story with with this verse from the Prophet Jeremiah. For most there is a love-hate relationship with this verse, because it can come across as Pollyanna fluff. When someone is in the midst of a terrible situation, the receiving of this verse can feel emotionally similar to pouring salt into open wounds.

When we are in the midst of suffering, when we cannot see light in the midst of the dark … when the diagnosis is cancer, when the phone call announces the end of life of a loved one, when the child is struggling, when the job has ended, when the letter from the university is a rejection, when your child is being bullied … then people don’t want to hear that God has a plan for our future. That’s because this verse hints that maybe these tough times are also part of His plans and that is hard to comprehend.

It is when one has come through the tough situation, when one is on the other side, this is when the truth and the beauty of this verse is understood and appreciated. This is when the hand of God is evident, because, as we look back it is His peace, His provision, His plan that is so clear.

It is then that we realize that in the midst of the most dark and dangerous valley, when we felt completely alone, He was there, the scaffolding beneath us.

When she arrived at the cliff in the valley, 
there was no room in her soul for fear,
for she knew God had brought her this far
and He would still be with her here.
And though she was waiting to see
what miraculous thing He would do, 
she never let go of His highwind whispers:
"I know the plans I have for you."
-Morgan Harper Nichols

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Beauty

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #beauty, #beautyinthedark, #beautyscreator, #forthebeautyofthe on February 2, 2021| 2 Comments »

As I write this post it is still dark. According to the forecast, it will remain dark throughout the day (throughout the week). The rains are falling hard and fast.

This is the perfect storm for feeling down, for the formation of a frown, for seeing life in a dark light.

For those of us who know the effect of dark on our solar-powered heart, we know that like nourishing food and physical activity, we need to seek the light in whatever form we can find.

And it often doesn’t take much light to fight off the dark.

I awoke and saw the gorgeous image (above) on my computer and heard the words of a hymn written over one hundred years ago, by Folliott S. Pierpoint as he gazed on the Avon River and the surrounding countryside. Each verse something of creation that the writer was able to see God’s fingerprint in and the short refrain an acknowledgement of that creation, the creator and personal thanksgiving.

Focusing on the beauty in the storms, that beauty which mirrors the Creator, can be the oxygen one needs in the midst of the dark.

For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies.

Refrain:
Christ, our Lord, to you we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the wonder of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale and tree and flower,
sun and moon and stars of light, [Refrain ]

For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild, [Refrain]

For yourself, best gift divine,
to the world so freely given,
agent of God’s grand design:
peace on earth and joy in heaven. [Refrain]

(because I will always hear this song sung this way in my heart …)