The Mystery and the Majesty

Winters in Florida go from freezing cold one day to warm and sunny the next. As far as the weather goes, I really don't know what a day will bring. But, when when the air is chill, the smell of the fireplaces burning is in the air and the children are sipping cups of hot cocoa with frothy whipped cream on top, I know there is something special, sacred about this time. Our short winter.

The great migration is in full swing and in the ponds and lakes, some unusual water fowl are beginning to appear. 

Earlier this week, Bright Girl went to mail a letter to a pen pal, but stayed outside. The clock ticked away, and I kept looking at the door.  She's usually more prompt and doesn't dawdle. I wondered, what is keeping my Bright Girl?

It was a particularly cold day, and I wished she would hurry back. Before I had to leave my warm abode and get myself and all the children warmly dressed for a little search and rescue mission, she came in, skipping merrily through the front door.

"Come and see what I found, Mom," her smile was shining, her voice loud, bursting with excitement.

"Please just tell me what it is. It's too cold to go out." 

"I found some ducks. I've never seen this kind before." She has the same affection as me for wildlife. I could understand her excitement, but still, it was freezing outside.

"Why don't you go back out and take a picture of them? Then you can show me," —and save this Florida girl from having to go outside in the bone-chilling weather.

When she came back, she was leaping with joy, and lifted up the camera to show me these:

"   

"See? They look like little ducks with mohawks don't they?" My daughter pointed at the viewer on the camera.

"Yes, they do," I chuckled. "I've never seen this species before, but, the male, I believe is the more colorful one. He has yellow eyes." 

She hadn't noticed and smiled in wonder.

>>>Fast forward to Friday. 

Time for me make a visit to the dentist. It was still long-sleeve weather, but had warmed up a bit. The mystery ducks had gone away, probably to another pond somewhere.

I was sorry to see them go.

The Captain called. Right as I was about to leave. The VP of his company scheduled an impromptu meeting, and he couldn't make it to watch the kids.

Oh. Stress.

It's not nice to share it, so I showed Him grace. "I'll be okay. Hope your meeting goes well."

Thinking quick, I grabbed some of Little Bit's favorite baby magazines, filled her sippy cup full to the brim with rice milk and hoped she would behave for Bright Girl in the waiting room.

It was nerve-racking enough to go to the dentist, but to go alone with three wiggly children and a big sister, not old enough to babysit was too much.

My chest was tightening and I was having difficulty breathing. Anxiety was beginning to take its hold...

Then I remembered, this year's Scripture memory from #theJesusProject.

"In the beginning was the Word...(John 1:1)"

The Lord knew all about how hard this would be and He was right here with me.

"The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14)."

He knows what it's like. He did this.

My heart began to settle. To rest. And my mind was free. Free. I could think. And all I wanted to think of was Him. The One who freed me from my fears.

To look into the very eyes of Christ and see Pure Love Himself.

"And we have seen His glory. The glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14)."

I breathed deeply and smiled. Everything little thing was gonna be all right.

The kids were all settled into the minivan and we took off with time to spare.

Instead of stressing, I gloried in the beauty of all the trees that lined the expressway. Old cypress trees with wide trunks and tales to tell. The pines with branches reaching up to heaven. Oaks, tall and stately.

More of the Word came to mind.

"Oaks of righteousness. A planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor. (Isaiah 61:3)"

Planting. Planting seeds.

The seeds of the Word. By grace, through the gift of faith, they'll grow. In my heart, in theirs.

I turned off the exit and looked to the right.

What joy at the sight of it.

A pond full of the mystery ducks. Spashing. Dipping. Diving. My heart full to overflow. Stress gone. No room there now.

Because of Him, the Word. Christ. My Redeemer.

He calmed my fears and gave me rest so I could see His glory. And glory in His Word.

The Word that sets me free.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
                           (John 8:36)

The Pearl of Suffering

Stress.

Just saying the word conjures up pictures in my mind. Things I'd rather forget. People who have been hurtful to me or let me down. Unresolved conflicts with those I was close to. Messy relationships. Dark times. Grief.

These things have taken a toll on my health.

Years ago, during a time of great stress, a cyst formed at the base of my skull. The size of a pearl. It no longer hurts, but it's still there.

I sigh.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)"

"All things." The ancient, holy, living Word, says "all things."

Even the things that are not good. The broken pieces in our lives that don't seem to fit into the picture of a holy and loving God who is Sovereign over all.

"The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.(1 Thessalonians 5:23)"

Faithful. He is faithful. It takes faith in His faithfulness to see what we cannot see:

The impossible coming true. Miracles happening. The bad turned into something good. The sad things coming untrue.

A friend once counseled me on how the Lord can turn our suffering into something beautiful, like the way a clam turns an irritant in its body over and over again until it forms into an iridescent pearl.

All the stressors, the irritants in our life that keep happiness at bay, if we focus on Christ and hope in His unfailing love, turning the hurts over and over again in prayer and softening them with our salty tears (1 Peter 5:6,7), something amazing will happen.

Jesus, the Son of God, the Suffering Servant who bought our redemption, He knows our pain. And, He knows how to make it 

Something beautiful. 

In Christ, there can be beauty in the pain. In the suffering. However long.

And, when the hurt is gone, with only a scar that remains. A pearl. A reminder of where you've been. There is something you can do with it.

In the light, a single pearl found.

We can clutch our pearls, keeping them close to our heart.

Or we can open our hand and share them with others. With others who will treat them with delicacy and honor. 

We can bring our hurts to light in community. A community that has let the love of Jesus shine in their hearts.

"The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5)

For it is in the Light of the love of Christ that we are able to see the beauty that our hurts have become.


The broken pieces of our lives can be strung together as a necklace, a story, to adorn the beloved bride of Christ. His church. The one His heart desires and longs to be near. Now and forevermore.

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary..." (Psalm 107: 1-3)