Laced With Grace

(Matthew 14:36) “Going a little ahead, He fell to the ground and prayed for a way out: “Papa, Father, You can—can’t You?—get me out of this. Take this cup away from me. But please, not what I want—what do you want?” (The Message)

The other day I picked up a glass of what I thought was Sprite. It was clear and it appeared to be the same glass I had previously left on the table. Not giving it a whole lot of consideration, I took a big mouthful. At the moment that the drink hit my tiny little parched and salivating taste buds, shock ensued as something other than Sprite relished the nerve endings. Now a message was being sent to my brain making me quite aware of mass confusion.What I assumed was sprite, was not. In the moments that followed, I slowly and painfully was able to figure out the foreign taste to be that of— water. What a shock!Now had I been expecting water, I would have been fine. But I was not; therefore, I was knocked off course putting me onto what you might say a new path or journey of where I had been once traveling. Something so innocent as drinking Pop.Reminds me, us of life, doesn’t it? We are going along in our life expecting one thing and then suddenly we get a taste of something else. The shock can be just as abrupt, just as sudden.

The Cup of Life. Maybe the cup we carried in life was much sweeter but due to life’s circumstances now, it’s bitter. Or has no taste. We want what we had before. “Father, take this cup.” The initial shock has caught us off guard so we allow the bitter taste to roll off our tongue. It poisons our life but at least with the cup we had before, we knew what to expect.

Sorrows fill our life. We pray for a way out.
We are losing a loved one. We pray to hold on to someone.
We want vindication. We want to be right. Someone has done us wrong. We pray…“

Take this cup from me,” and we beg with all our might.

What separates us from our Lord?

“But please, not what I want—what do you want?” said our Lord…(Matt 14:36)
What would that look like in your life if you truly said this about an event you are dealing with?
Take this Cup Papa….That we may drink Your sweetness.

(Luke 24:23) “They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels…”

Today, I had a colossal revelation. While I was standing in front of the mirror waiting to jump into the shower, I thought I would do a modest work-out.

Well, actually my work-out consisted of two repetitions of arm lifts over my head, you know, to try and build up those biceps? I would bet that the total time invested in this petty, egotistical and maybe even humiliating venture was probably no more than 5.8 seconds.

I would like to say that what caught my attention and caused the abrupt stop to my calisthenics were a wonderful revelation, and not a fleeting image of horror but I’ll let you be the judge.

Alas, swaying to a rhythm of aerodynamics, not like a beautiful peaceful cadence that you would expect on a Caribbean cruise ship but more like a ripple effect caused by the physics of nature. So now, what I am seeing is real. I think. Ever seen the wave at a ballgame? Got it?

The additional growth behind my arms, flying in air, my angelic ways have landed me a new role in life with my Heavenly Father. I have arrived and I am finally in the process of getting the newest and most innovative model of budding angel wings. Yep, that is the only logical explanation I can really cipher out of what I am seeing.

I can’t believe that some people would be such skeptics to even think that, you know, it might be….fat. I’m so glad you guys know better!

With these wings, comes great responsibility.

Have we not, are we not, partakers of riches of the Kingdom of God? Are we now given tremendous trustworthiness to hear His gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:12) at His given moment that will bring glory to His Throne?

And so as a small bird learning to fly with their new wings, we will make many attempts. Meaning—we will fail, we will fall. Notice– even as a partaker, our Papa loves and trust us no matter how many times we do fall.  It reminds me of when my children were learning to walk, with each attempt, I clapped. And each time they fell, I encouraged them on. Never once did I love them any less. Do you think our Abba would ever love us less?

He calls us to be faithful, not successful. Otherwise, what did we need Jesus for? (Gal 2:21)

The day will come when we will receive our final wings, full and glorious. They will be handed over to us by our Heavenly Father as we stand before Him.

Until then, we can remain an accomplice to the life of an Angel and reep the blessings bestowed from the showers of the life lived from the Supernatural.

Thus, we are all Angels in training…..

Did I mention to you that I think I noticed something quite interesting the other day when I shot a look from a side view of my stomach? Oh my, maybe this is landing gear for when we….                    Happy day… Happy landing…

“When I awake in heaven, I will be fully satisfied, for I will see You face-to-face.”
(Psalm 17:15) 

Our son has always had wisdom beyond his young years. When he was around 5 years old, he did what he does best, started his rapid fire questions that made me think. This particular day he wanted to know about Heaven. “Well mom, how will you know me when I die and we get to Heaven, will we look the same?” “What if I die first?” (Things a parent definitely does not want to discuss). “Who will be there to meet me if I die first?”(Now, I really am squirming)

Years have passed; my son has grown older and his imagination remains well beyond his years. Just this week he once again shared his visions of Heaven. We had been talking about Granddaddy and what we thought Granddaddy was doing in Heaven. Hogan was using words to describe things of purity, love and telling me of flowing flawless pallid flowers with the aroma of sweet heavenly aromas. Whew, beyond my imagination or grasp, this little guy had me thinking.

Where does this beautiful childlike understanding of Heaven come from?

“Who will be there to meet us?” Cries a little boy.  

“Oh Papa that I will see You face-to-face.”

“Oh, the thought of having God all alone to myself, and to know that God has me all alone to Himself.”  “Seeing Him face-to-face. I will, no doubt, be beside myself. My heart will be racing and I’ll be nervous and awfully excited-all a-flutter.”

I wonder. . . . Or as the song says, I Can Only Imagine; will I drop to my knees, unable to speak?

As I have You all to myself now, will I have to share You in Heaven? You hold my every sorrow, my every tear and embrace me when I’m lonely.

Will our relationship be as sweet in Heaven?

It will be even sweeter, won’t it?

We will be face-to-face. As You greet me, my son and all those that have called on Your own Son’s name, Jesus.