Feb 1, 2021 | Permission Granted, Trust |
I thought things
were under control –
until they weren’t
and I am still unsure
exactly where it all
unraveled,
how I came to
the end of myself.
And yet that’s
where I ended up.
At the end of myself.
It would
seem that
at one’s end
There
Would
Be
Nothing.
But you were there.
You caught me.
You held me.
And you taught me
about who you are
and who I am.
You made it known
to me that I am
not the sum of
what goes right
in my world.
In fact, I am
more than that
I am
glory,
grace,
and eternity
is within me
because you
are in me.
These mysteries
are out of my control.
and somehow
that’s okay with me.
The end of myself
is no longer
a place that I fear.
It’s the place
where I rest.
Where I am the
most empty
and yet
every need is met.
A wonder.
I am amazed
at what you
revealed to me;
honored by the
way you showed
me who you are
in the midst of
swirling
circumstances.
#PermissionGranted
#EmbracePermissionGranted
Oct 14, 2020 | hope, Permission Granted, Trust |
hope
is present in
upheaval
hope
makes
itself
known
hope can’t be
shut out
covered up
quieted
the signposts of hope
will surprise you and
you will find
hope
in places
you don’t
anticipate
stay expectant
watch for it
when hope
shows up
don’t discount it
don’t argue with it
follow its lead
it will feed your soul
#PermissionGranted
What are some practices that keep you expectant? Where do you see hope?
Oct 1, 2020 | Becoming, Encouragement, Faith, Trust |
The pieces don’t fit.
I want to finish
this puzzle so that
it makes sense.
It’s a mess and there are
pieces missing
so I am not sure
why I keep going.
I am losing hope
that I will ever see
the complete picture.
I am missing pieces.
I am not where I
thought I would be
or maybe who
I thought I would be.
Nothing feels complete and
I don’t have hope that
this puzzle, this life
can be redeemed.
I sift through pieces,
I look for hope,
I get out a magnifying glass
to aid my search.
Tears of frustration
make it difficult to see as
I try to match things up.
I sense someone beside me.
He shifts the magnifying glass
so that I can see
the strong
thread holding the
pieces together
where there’s a piece missing.
Hope fills in the gap.
He shows me
that beauty exists
where I see only chaos.
He sees what I cannot.
He shows me that hope
touches each piece
of the puzzle –
even though I can’t
see a picture coming
together at all.
He asks me to trust
that my story
will have
beauty and glory –
hope has made a way.
#PermissionGranted
May 13, 2020 | Faith, Grow, Trust |
It belongs –
but it doesn’t.
Wrong temperatures,
wrong soil,
incorrect amount of precipitation
and yet…
the pineapple
seems to be quite
happy here
in Georgia soil.
It’s wrong, but it is right.
It’s unexpected,
shocking,
and sweet at the
same time.
Sometimes,
well, perhaps,
more than I would like,
I find myself in the
midst of unexpected.
It feels wrong all
the way around.
I can’t make
any sense out of it.
It makes as much sense
as a pineapple
growing in
Georgia clay.
I have to let go of
the desire for
all to make sense to me.
There are things
I do not know and
I can’t see what’s ahead.
When I let go of
what I expect,
when I embrace
what is,
somehow,
a
tinge
of
sweet
meets me there.
I’ll give myself
permission to
look for it.
#PermissionGranted
Apr 16, 2020 | Becoming, Do The Hard Thing, Grow, Trust |
Somehow,
someway,
something grew.
I don’t remember
planting, watering
or fertilizing the
fruit I am holding.
At some point
something
found good soil,
put down roots,
grew green shoots,
blossomed and now
I have fruit.
I am astounded
to be holding fruit.
When did this germinate?
I trace back the
origin of the gift
of sweet harvest
and discover it was
planted during
one of the hardest,
driest, most challenging
seasons I’ve ever experienced.
I am baffled and I weep
due to the friction of the
joy scraping against
grief and pain.
I was unaware
there would be
a harvest.
There’s no way to know
what will be sown
in the unknown.
#PermissionGranted
Friends, there will be growth, even in the middle of a pandemic, stay present and try to have an open heart and mind. Be prepared to be surprised by a harvest.
Mar 11, 2020 | Faith, Grow, Trust |
The sun shines on my back
while the moon’s glow
lights up my face.
It is still daytime
but the moon
arrived early.
I love it when
the moon appears
in the sky at the same
time as the sun.
It’s two miracles at once.
The sun to grow life.
the moon to
light up the
darkness.
There is light
no matter which
way I am facing.
I am covered
no matter
which way I
orient myself.
I am surrounded by
care and provision
and I am
overwhelmed by love.
And this,
this is the
third miracle.
#PermissionGranted
