Tag: love

Thickets

JFig1 Comment 
Straight and narrow:
it seems we have been advised
to stay.
It should not
surprise, then
that life's journey
braves the thicket
and the swamp
the deep, dark womb of forest
where the seeds of living are formed.

Straight and narrow
climbs the cliffs
hanging on in terror
to feel oneself sustained
again, and again
by the wise, tenacious 
love of God.
Do not skirt the thicket;
its briers frame
this fierce, improbable beauty:
the God Who Loves'
abiding embrace.

Dear Reading Friend,

A sharp contrast was drawn for me this week, between the orderly neatness of having it all figured out, and the messy struggle of ever-clambering to keep hold of the shirttails of God. I felt, deep in that place between stomach and gut, that I would rather choose messy; continue to sport all the scratches and mud splotches evident of the potentially infectious encounters of pursuing God wherever he leads, than wear the polished veneer of having stayed behind. I’m sharing these poems to invite your pondering, but perhaps also to bolster my resolve. Godspeed, Jfig

For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

“Matthew 7 (ESV) – For the gate is narrow.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 27 Mar, 2021. https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/mat/7/14/s_936014.

Messy
i did not anticipate messy
mountains of laundry
the stain of anguished tears
for there are some that drip from a mother's heart
that stain one's shirt forever.

i did not anticipate seeing
when we each vowed, "I do"
sullen dark corners inside the hallways called me
no solvent could touch,
save grace

messy, this creosote
of banner borne, blood yet fresh
on the beams of his cross
my need sticky, with
splinters and nails

little did i imagine
his agony of stretch
nor such tedious debridement;
things Creator would not 
have me (w)bear

chafing - cautious dismantle
to recover image;
His Love
emblazoned on my heart.
messy.

jfig     3/2021

30 Days in Gennesaret: Day 27 Greyscapes

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RW pic grey

RW pic grey ponder

Greyscapes

There is a grey space

murky before the dawn

where questions abound broad and deep.

 

Then and now

is there broad definition— heal

measured not in limbs and cells

counted and recounted

but in communion

weighed in hours spent

cloistered in the sanctuary of suffering

naked need – that seed of knowing?

Did God intend that we not know evil

but embrace knowing him?

 

Then and now

which ones fisted the hem

and did not let go

escaping the mortal bounds of earth

for the expanse

of eternity?

Leaving our hearts

half in Gennesaret

half in heaven.

This pain knows no bounds.

But

God’s love cannot

be removed

that which he births

remains.

 

Then and now

now that we have seen Jesus, scourged and resurrected, we

live in a land where it is not the certainty of knowing—

outcomes veiled

but the certainty of journeying

face to face, heart inside of mortal heart

is this healing?

 

“What’s next?” The world is in a situation where this has become almost a universal question? Although I ask myself, has Covid19 really changed anything for those who daily try to survive the extremes of poverty and vulnerability to secondary infections? When my oldest daughter was working in missions, she said to me, “I don’t know why they call it a mission field. In a field you can see a long way. They should call it the mission forest…” This poem is about that – the ‘what next?s’ of Gennesaret and now.

There is a grey space, murky before the dawn, where questions abound broad and deep, but without the insistence of daylight that one discern an answer. It is a safe space in which to contemplate. Space in which Jesus might ask a few questions of his own. The story of Gennesaret whispers a couple of those questions. I do not have the answers. Original sin was seduced by this slithering lie, ” you will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” We don’t have to know all the answers, though I might try some on for size, to see if they fit. The trick is in remembering that the answers have to fit Jesus, not me. He is the one with the healing robe.

jfig     4/2020

Jesus, we love you, for having held our questions for literally centuries, gracing us time  to wrestle, and the offense of misinterpreting/maligning your intent time and time again. There is a hunger deep inside, to know you and have our ‘needs met’ not by what we want, but by who you are. You are the dawn we seek, Holy One. Amen

 

30 Days in Gennesaret: Mixed Metaphors Day 23

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RW pic compassion celebration
Compassion Celebration: gleanings

Mixed Metaphors

Isaiah 61 has a plethora of mixed metaphors

sprouts, bridegroom, priests

everyone gets new clothes

as many as touched him

Gennesaret met with

extravagant benevolence

Jesus disembarks

strews healing around

prayers like confetti:

Praise and honor

glory and power*

unfurl the banner

market spice

not just anyone

can unleash such compassion

celebrate

we have a Jesus

who heals

jfig     4/2020

RW pic seahorse fern

 

Healer Jesus, we recognize that there is nothing indiscriminate in your extravagance, but that you invite all—all of us anywhere to receive from the storehouses of your grace and mercy; and in the marketplaces of Gennesaret, your healing. We acknowledge that you came to be about your Father’s business—that business of healing the scourges of sin, raising the dead, and giving LIFE in abundance. Restoring the beauty which you created. We are blessed to call upon your name in hope and longing for your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Help us to do our part; reach up the shallow distance to your threads, come to the table and bring others with us. Today we are flying your flag and singing your praise. Amen

 

You can read the full text of Isaiah 61 here: “Isaiah 61:1 (NIV) – The Spirit of the Sovereign.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 26 Apr, 2020. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/niv/isa/61/1/s_740001&gt;.

*You can read the full text of Rev 5:13 here: “Revelation 5:13 (NIV) – Then I heard every creature.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 26 Apr, 2020. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/niv/rev/5/13/s_1172013&gt;.

photo backstory: Compassion Celebration. Sa had recently returned from the Peace Corps, teaching physics in Africa. (in Portuguese!) Overstretched and overfull, she was willing to share all the goodness with cousin Bfig.

journey: is love really pink?

JFigLeave a comment

Joy – quiet, beautiful joy, this elbow room of grace –  falls into our month by waiting, and praying, and watching one another choose grace, and the assumption of positive intent.

Woe – how easily we offend.

But this morning, after he chooses grace, I choose to wait… while you, God of all questions, offer a picture:

Wait…at 7:00 it is still dark, though one can hear the geese.

@ 7:08, and 7:09 muddy, burnt clouds of orange frame the South Pass. They rise, as does the sun, and grasp the edges of night’s blanket.

Wait…

I wait, walking… and wonder about pink. But while my back is turned, bold light seriously shakes the clouds. Nevertheless, pinkless, I walk toward home content. There is light. There is beauty. A gebillionth day God has made something that he called good.

Wait…7:53 and suddenly the sky is streaked with pink. I go searching for more – at the  windows up and down, but the glow remains saffron. Aaaah, burnished with time… but born in the fresh pink of grace. Thank you, God of longsuffering love, for grace applied.

pic RW journey

jfig; somewhere on the journey of marital love

astonishment…

JFigLeave a comment

 

Things that astound:

The idea that Jesus is not overly concerned with my filthy rags before seeking to grab a meal with me, continues to consume my thoughts. It is JUST REALLY AMAZING in the context of his holiness / my lack thereof, that he would keep choosing to engage me, a sinner; perhaps because I am finding it such a challenge to stay on level ground. Or maybe it is in thinking about how much time and energy I have spent trying to clean myself up, only to realize he really doesn’t care; or not so much that he doesn’t care, but he is not at all put off by my stench. Granted, I’m a set-free sinner, but one who continues to get tangled up in the nets of selfishness, wounded pride, arrogance, worry, anger, the despair of failure. I feel like a retro vending machine – SO MANY BUTTONS TO PUSH on me…

My reflection didn’t start there. I was simply thinking back over God’s faithfulness through the challenges of the past year. There were a few – personal, family, public, community. The list of astonishing ways in which God has faithfully shown up. began to grow… 

I really am stunned that God would choose to hang out with me. One because I’m kinda boring; and two, because I keep making the same mistakes over and over again. You’d think he’d give up… The ‘dinner with a sinner’ is grabbing me because it’s the same mistakes, but the attitudes behind those mistakes are starting to be revealed, and well, it isn’t pretty, nor socially acceptable, nor polite…

provision. The list within a list. Material: One of the ways my husband reflects God is that he is an amazing provider. He works, diligently. I think in 30 years, he has taken approximately 7 sick days, 3 of those post surgery. That’s 2.1 hours per year.  His daily efforts take care of our family,  but also other families, sometimes with little thanks from anyone. His wages pay for food and clothing and electricity and healthcare and educations. His thoughts provide wisdom. There is a lot of thinking of the other in him; of me, our kids, or what would be best for our family. Space – God has shown up to provide needed space – tiny moments of it, or rooms worth at the neighbors for visiting family. God has pushed wide the borders of our thinking to allow much needed processing space: time for asking honest questions and grappling with the answers. Friends – even though, due to confidentiality, I don’t share everything that is going on with me or someone else I love; God has provided friends whose laughter and discernment have held me up in the lonely places. Counsel of the Holy Spirit – this one gets its own asterisk.

comfort. It is in the nature of life as a Jesus follower to persevere. I think. The other day a friend suggested that it might be good (in the midst of that) to allow God to provide me comfort. The next day, just to reflect, I scratched out a list.  The depth and breadth of ways in which God regularly provides me comfort was astonishing. Things like the owl who tu-whoos deep and long into the night, the deep waters of the smile of a child. Even more astonishing was that on my list were places that sometimes feel hard, difficult, conflictual. But there they were on my list as places that provide comfort – not surface comfort, but deep, resonating consistent comfort – like a tuning fork for my personhood. Tim.

Counsel of the Holy Spirit. When we built our house, the tile mason found fossils of God’s creation in the entryway slate. It seemed apparent, that this was to be God’s house, his welcome at the door. I, however, am a stressed hospitalitarian. I like to cook, but I am not so good at greeting. We have other family members who rock that aspect of it, so I guess we are covered, but it is a skewed distribution for sure. 2018 has been a year FULL of hospitality, and it has stretched me to live into God’s story in the entryway. My prayers have been: God, HeLP! What is this supposed to look like? Where is your priority? Can you hold the wicked witch of no sleep at bay? God has answered every prayer…seriously. Astonishment.

When we built our family, we knew they were God’s, too. There have been a few questions…Why? When? Will you?  He seems to answer many of those with ‘Wait’. In the meantime, his faithfulness, his counsel to help us navigate, has been evident EVERY DAY. I don’t know anyone else who can sustain EVERY DAY like God can. There was evening, there was morning, there is a sun and dawn…

The Blossoming of Extraordinary Capability. It amazes me to watch God take the wraps off someone, and let their talents, gifts, capability explode. Or just blossom quietly in the nutrient rich soil of being true to who one is and what one believes and values. Our oldest daughter got married this summer. She and her husband value community, and so they planned a wedding that invited people into the process, sometimes letting go of their own expectations more than they imagined, to let someone else contribute a gift. The week looked really different than I had imagined, but there was a whole lot of blooming going on.

The wedding is just one example. Time after time, I have watched someone really young pull off something amazing with hundreds of details. How do they make these things happen??? At church this morning, our young pastor told us that from Genesis, God was purposing for us to be makers with the stuff of his earth. Hmmmm…

The Art of Orchestrating. As a mother of youngsters, on a household budget, I used to pride myself on being able to ‘make something out of nothing.’ I could put real food on the table, out of bits of this and that, and not have anyone say, ‘Yuk.’ Although I do remember suggesting that if my children didn’t like what was being served at home, perhaps they should check the menu at the neighbors (my husband said I couldn’t offer that…)

That is nothing, however, compared to what I see God miraculously putting together out of bits of dust. How does this Triune God orchestrate just the right word, for just the right soul, at just the right moment out of 11 billion moving people? He does it way too often for it to be coincidental that the chapters of 2 persons’ stories collide with meaning and hope. Or that nano-bytes of information drop into the correct diverse palm with split second timing. Does it surprise you, that in an individualized society, capable of fiercely guarding one’s own ideas and opinions, God can with a word, change that same one’s perspective? “Way too often,” is part of what is astonishing. Is there anything that his glance cannot touch? I think I will close with the following exclamation:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“Romans 8:1 (ESV) – There is therefore now no.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 30 Dec, 2018. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/rom/8/1/p1/s_1054001&gt;.

Nothing can get in the way of God showing up – faithful. May the God of hope astonish you with the depths and precision of his life-changing love. May his faithfulness to show up midst the challenges, along the twists and turns of your journey to trust, give you an ever-deepening knowledge of who he is, and what he does, and perhaps, what he does not do. May you be amazed, to dine at his table, and find him good company. May your mourning turn to comfort, your despair to hope, as you trust in him. Amen

jfig   12/18