Five kids. One old beat up minivan on the way to school. Some days, it is chaos but many other days, it is a holy place.
“What do you think about God?” I ask them. “Proverbs 24 says that if we falter in the face of adversity, our strength is small. Yesterday, my strength was small. You know what I did? I agreed with God about it. There was no point in pretending to be strong because God sees our hearts. So, I said, ‘My God, my strength is small today. Will you please give me some of yours?”
“What do you think about God?” I repeat. “Do you think He looks down in disgust at us when we tell Him we are weak and need His strength? No. He smiles and says, ‘I’m so glad you asked! I am happy to give you some of my strength. I am (in the words of The Shack) especially fond of you.'”
I look into the rearview mirror to see a sea of small faces smiling at the thought.
What do you think of God? Do you believe he is tender? Do you believe that there are times he sprinkles special blessing into your life just to say, “I love you?”
I know my front porch swing is one of those kisses from God. It is the quiet place where He sings over me. The sun on the back of my neck is His favor. The cool breeze rustling in the Tulip Magnolia is His breath. The shade overhead is the shadow of His wing.
I come here every morning with a cup of tea, my journal, and God’s love letter to me. I have no agenda. I don’t direct the conversation. I just enjoy communion with The Father.
Inside the house, dirty dishes fill the sink and dust bunnies rule the floors. The laundry room I worked so obsessively to clear over the weekend is piled with smelly, wet sheets. There is always something to do, somewhere to be, some task that has awaited my attention far too long.
And so I steal away to the porch swing to hear the voice of God. I let Him sing over me for awhile.
What do you think of God?
I think…. no I KNOW that God is asking me to press into Him, even in the middle of my time of strife. All day, every day, my heart whispers, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for thou art with me…” and then I can get through another minute, another hour.
I drifted away from Him, and I know that when I turned around to come back, He was right there beside me; He never left.
Thanks for this post. Your writings always ALWAYS speak to me.
I love that line “I let Him sing over me…”. Those are words that never cease to amaze me and they are words that He reminds me often about lately….I think He’s trying to tell me something…Hillsong Worship says it too “Your faithfulness sings over me, and Your love is the light of my life” May we all take that precious time to let Him sing over us…thanks for sharing Shari…