Exhale. It's over. It's been two days. The day has passed.
Mother's Day.
So bittersweet.
Layers of joy and pain intertwined. Joy and sorrow blurred.
This is what it means to be human. Living and praying our way through the pages of our lives.
We live this day and every day in sweet tension between rejoicing with those who rejoice and mourning with those who mourn.
I couldn't speak to you on Mother's Day.
There was nothing I could say to take your pain away.
How I wanted to. Yet I know it is not mine to take.
So today. I want to let you know...that I still see you.
I see you. You, who comes to church every Sunday..but this.
I see you. You, who came to church with a heavy heart.
I see you. You, who who's arms might seem 'full' yet feel the devastating emptiness of the one you've lost.
I see you. You, who feels invisible. Or wished to be.
I see you. You, who feels disqualified. Lacking the qualifications.
I see you. You, who feels less than. Without.
I see you. You, who feels left out. A bit behind.
I see you. You, who sit's with a barren womb. Exposed.
I see you. You, who sits next to an empty cradle. Memories not yet made.
I see you. You, who sits at the gravesite. Laying love to rest.
I see you. You, who's heart is so vulnerable I can't even touch.
I see you. You, who's cried your heart out. You cry no more.
Broken. Injured. Beaten. Interrupted. Discouraged. Shattered. Unsettled. Disjointed.
You might feel like you haven't been chosen.Like you've been a bit forgotten. Possibly a little bit abandoned, set aside. Rejected. Walked out on. Unused. Out of place. Broken.
I want to tell you something...
You HAVE a place. In God's story. Just as you are.
You belong. You are seen. You are more than enough.
My hope for you is that you find comfort in this prayer and truth..
*** God brings death and God brings life.
The weak are infused with fresh strength.
He rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope.
Restoring dignity and respect to their lives.
He protectively cares for his faithful friends, step by step.
God will set things right all over the earth.
God is bedrock under my feet.
I find myself safe and saved.
The waves of death crashed over me.
The deep waters rushed over me.
I called out to God. To my God I cried out.
He stood me up on a wide-open field;
I stood there saved- surprised to be loved!
From his place he heard me call.
My call brought me right into his presence- a private audience!
God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him.
God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.
***
May you not just read of this way of life and think it's for someone else.
This invitation to live into this IS for YOU.
I hope your cry for help, prayers full of questions, your heart seeking answers...brings you in the presence of God. The best place to be. A private audience of the One. In the presence of the One who truly sees and hears you.
