"Living Labyrinth"

My friend Ann came to see the labyrinth the other day and one of the things she said has stuck with me since. She called it a “living labyrinth”…I just love that! Nothing stagnant about this place, there’s always something going on from new bamboo growth to weeds! Everyday there is something different. Maybe not big and grand, but there’s stuff going on, you may just have to look closely for it. Weeds always need pulling and scale needs spaying ~ you know, the maintenance stuff.

It’s just like The Word...Jesus is living and active in us every moment. We can choose to cultivate the Good He plants into us, or just let the weeds grow.

This got me to thinking about that phrase, "Living & active" ~ He is doing a work, His work, in the paths of His children, everyday. The key would be that we are always trying to look for Him in our path…in my case, to slow down and seek Him out in the midst of all the busy-ness. 

He is shooting up in places we never expected (Who would have thought we’d have a labyrinth by the side of our house?), because His ways truly are not our ways. That’s not just a saying or over used, misunderstood Scripture, that is the reality we walk in whether we are aware or not.

In other words, He is always there, walking with us every step of the way…to be “aware”, is to accept His hand in the journey, His grace for each moment of living.

 Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about.

So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep.

All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them.

But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture.

A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy.

I came so they can have real and eternal life,

more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

John 10:10 ~ The Message

Bow in the Rain

I sat and watched the rain this afternoon! What a wonderful surprise when this thunderstorm blew through. We really need the rain here!!!

It was refreshing to sit and just enjoy it all ~ the sound of the rain on the roof, watching the butterflies all flit to the underside of the leaves and eaves and the birds under every bush imaginable! There was a lot of scurrying in the flurry of rain drops (we got about 2 inches in an hour) and then I looked out at the labyrinth…oh, my.

That beautiful timber bamboo was brushing the ground, bowing and sweeping a little more with each gust of rain. The rain was rushing down each leaf and filling the paths of the labyrinth with water. What a gorgeous juxtaposition in the yielding of the bamboo to the power of the rain.

That’s the way of Grace, isn’t it? There is unimaginable beauty when we yield to Christ, as He comes to reign in us. Bowing and receiving what He brings to feed our soul and to move through our lives on to others. As I watched the tips of the bamboo bowing over today, they touched the center, as do we when we yield to His will for us.

He is in all things, never leaves us, Christ is faithfully with us in every step – thru every storm. We shouldn’t have to know if a storm is coming, or if the day will be clear blue skies and then decide to trust Him with the day.

An excerpt today from my devotional said, “Your weakness, My child, is my gift to you. Your strength is the rejection of that gift.” (Echoes of Eternity by Hal M. Helms) I know it is hard, natural even, for us to try to walk in our own strength, our own plans. Our habits, our steps, our routines are important to us, after all. Well, they also tell us where our focus is, just what our heart is bowing to. Think I will be taking a look at some “habits” that may have me standing tall in the reign, as His Grace pours out.

Bow, receive and live in His reign, my friends!

 He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn’t slip. He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God. More and more people are seeing this:

they enter the mystery, abandoning themselves to God.

Psalm 40:2-3 ~ The Message

A Morning Prayer....

Held, Not Holding On

Forgive me Lord for my graspings. Those things clung to in habit, the debris of the days, they clutter my heart.

Speak afresh to my soul, that Your Word would revive and clear my path. Lift this life from the litter of distractions and restore to me the joy of Your salvation.

May the steps of this life be made by The Shepherd.

“...be their shepherd and carry them forever.”

Psalm 28:9b

Tilling

 So many choices! Ya know, plants are just like people. Really! First, they are God’s creation and they do all serve a purpose. Shade, seeds or shelter they go thru their cycle of life all fit together in Creation’s purpose.

Where we live the soil isn’t acidic enough, so for a Hibiscus plant all you have to do is add a few coffee grounds and they are super happy! Just start blooming away. 

Some plants need lots of water, others not so much…same with sun levels, fertilizers, etc. If a plant is placed next to an incompatible plant “friend”, it dies.

You see where this is going, don’t ya?!?!

Our key to growing with God is to always be learning about how He made us. What feeds your soul? It may not be the same as your best friend, but hey it isn’t supposed to be. We all fit in His plan, with His purpose. 

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,

and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33

See? God gives us the order right there…seek first. Till that soil, feed your soul and then see what God has to bloom in your life. I think too many times in life we cut that short (limit the work of God in our lives) because we’re living it backward. Like coming at a circumstance with our preconceived idea and then tilling towards only that.  

He makes our paths straight. He always desires the best for us. His plans are waaaayyyy cooler than we can ask or imagine! One of the worst traps to fall into is to compare ourselves with the other flowers in the garden.

Work your garden ~ 

till the soil of your mind, 

feed your soul on His word and 

Bloom away!

 It’s not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God’s field in which we are working.

I Corinthians 3:7-9 (The Message)