Good morning…
Many related to yesterday’s post, “Assembly required.” Do we not all have moments when we feel disjointed, disconnect, disassembled, pulled apart by life’s pressures, life’s deadlines, life’s have-to-s and musts? I remember a quote from Sue Bender’s book Plain and Simple, “Between all the givens, there is freedom.”
Parting like the Red Sea my normal givens, God focused me for a day on the freedom in between. I chiseled out six hours to wallow in wordlessness, resting in God’s sturdy arms, taking an Ash Wednesday retreat to a place of heaven on earth. The word “retreat” is the act of stepping back or withdrawing from the battle, separating oneself from life’s normal stresses and strains, getting away to a nurturing space for prayer, meditation, study, or instruction.
God met me. God held me. God organized my scattered thoughts. Many of you prayed for my day away. Thank you. One thoughtful friend made our family chili and cornbread so I would not need to rush home to put on my cooking hat. Thank you also. In so many caring ways God held me close, tangibly, lovingly. After we enjoyed our generous dinner, I opened my email to receive from a friend this fitting, inspirational video, drawing to a close my sacred day. The images of nature collected in this video remind me of today’s private, afternoon walk, God leading me along a winding, well-lit path beside a roaring stream.
Casting Crowns – Just Be Held (Official Lyric Video)
This Ash Wednesday, God certainly painted beauty from my anxious ashes, exposing my need for time, for connective screws, for God’s assembly instruction: “Just be held.”
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor…
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve…
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair, Isaiah 61:1-3a (NIV),
Sue
