God is...

God is compassionate
and so full of grace
He took the time
to memorize my face

God is love filled
He knows you and me
He looks with mercy
wanting us to see

God is capable
of all that I am not
He stays my hand
when I cannot stop

God is peaceful
when none should exist
He remembers my pain
and my struggle to resist

God is powerful
stronger than temptation
He holds me back
from receiving condemnation

God is faithful
He provides the victory
Every time I reach for Him
He rescues me

God is omnipotent
He knows my needs
He takes my hand
and gently leads

God is Victor
and I, too, with Him
in my weakest moments
I am freed from sin!

Following the Sun

I woke up early this morning
sun barely peeking over the hill
muted colors awashed in beauty
with the whole world still

I grabbed the keys
and jumped into the car
following the sun
the most glorious of stars

Winding down the road
past the hidden trees
I raced toward the sun
so I could be free

As I rounded the bend
sun reflected off the rock
tears ran down my face
as I silently took stock

Does the Sun
illuminate my face?
When you look at me
can you see His grace?

This burden on my back

I am weighed down
with this burden on my back
helping you get back to our Father
It feels heavier than I can bear
this burden on my back
like I can't carry it much farther
If I give it to our Savior
this burden on my back
will He help me carry it?
If I lay it upon the altar
this burden on my back
can it be lifted before I quit?
I want to be free
from this burden on my back
and let you get back on your own
If I let go of
this burden on my back
I will cause you pain unknown
So I will walk on
with this burden on my back
searching for the victory
I will try harder
with this burden on my back
and trust in eternity...

The Color Purple

I finished The Color Purple! I learned more about what Paul talks about in the New Testament when he speaks of being content no matter what state he is in. Celie, the main character, expects nothing, finds something that is extraordinary to her, and loses it. It threatens to destroy her, the loss is so profound. She stands strong and true and grows through the process. She learns to create, becomes independent, rethinks her thinking and finally becomes okay. She says if her great love returns, she will be happy. If not, she will be content. That is what made me think of the apostle Paul and the Savior and how He wants each one of us to enjoy our journey, regardless of our losses. He wants us to learn to be content in any circumstance because we have Him. That is a powerful message and one I need to further examine.

Thoughts on C.S. Lewis' "The Weight of Glory".

Thoughts on C.S. Lewis’ “The Weight of Glory”.

He speaks of many ideas in this essay, but what pulls at my heart today is the weight of our neighbor’s glory and how it rests on our backs.

He says, “The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you say it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or the other destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations-these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit-immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But out merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously-no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner-no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbor, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him is also Christ vere latitat- the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.”

So, if my neighbor is almost as holy as the Sacrament, how then do I treat him? With what words do I speak? How carefully do I consider what he needs instead of my own interests?

I am inspired to look at him with different eyes and with a different heart. But how will I really act? It seems dishonest to say that I will from this day forward speak kindly and never think of myself or what I desire instead of that of whom I interact with. I know that isn’t true. I am human with all the accompanying faults. But there is an exquisite beauty in the journey though it winds with pain, glory, tears and triumph. Being able to see someone like that is the greatest gift and with it comes the greatest responsibility. I know that of which I speak. I have seen the glory of God. I feel Him in other's presence. I can physically feel their burden on my back and I am praying for the strength to carry it and for the Savior to carry me when it becomes more than I can bear. I struggle to keep it in the uppermost part of my mind so my choices run through it as through a sieve of holy protection. May I learn to look at everyone through these eyes.