Engrossed in the books lining the shelves of my favorite book store, I didn’t see  her standing there. Truthfully, if I had, I may have timidly turned and gone the other way before she spotted me.   The leader of our very large Bible Study group, she is  a woman I deeply respect and admire.  The depth of her wisdom and her ability to communicate it have  ministered to me in ways that can’t be measured. Our eyes met. She smiled, “Hi Linda. How are you?”  My dumbfounded response was, “I can’t believe you remember my name.”

I believe there  is a yearning in every heart to be known – a recognition of our worth. How else to account for this counting of comments and followers, the posting of videos and pictures, the recording of even the smallest of events in our daily lives. A simple record of our family’s history can suddenly take on a life of its own – a competition with huge numbers the reward.

See me; notice me; approve of me. It is the cry of the human heart. We fret when we think we have somehow failed; when we feel small and less than everyone else. We try harder.  It is a game we cannot seem to win.

The great Creator sees the longing in our hearts and whispers the ancient words. “You are mine. I love you. I love everything about you. You are perfect in my sight because I see you through Him. You don’t have to do one single thing to win my approval. You already have it. ”

Who can take it in? This One, who placed the stars in the heavens and knows each one by name. This One who spoke and the worlds came into being. This One who holds all things in His hands – hands that span the galaxies. This One who is greater, higher, wiser, more powerful than our minds can take in – He knows your name.

There is a song by Tommy Walker that speaks about this miraculous love:

He Knows My Name

I have a maker, He formed my heart

Before even time began, my life was in His hands.

I have a Father, He calls me His own

He’ll never leave me, no matter where I go.

He knows my name; He knows my every thought.

He sees each tear that falls, and He hears me when I call.

 “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear His voice, and He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”

John 10:3 NASB

Blessings,

Linda

He began his sermon with those words, and I knew it was an answer to the cry of my heart.

If life is divided into seasons, I am in the winter of my life. The nest is empty. My days look very different from the days when three children filled the rooms with noise and things and love. I don’t have nearly the time I imagined I would – for the days seem to fill of their own accord. But I do have more hours to call my own.

I pray and look back and wonder if I’ve followed the course He set for me long before I drew my first breath. Did I find the place He created me to fill or did I somehow miss it? And what of this season? What is it I’m supposed to be doing? Don’t let me miss it Lord.

My tendency is to wander back into the past and pick up a burden of guilt and regret. The gentle words of my Pastor came like a gift. The Lord knows exactly where I am, and He will faithfully bring me to the place He has for me. Perhaps it will mean staying right where I am, or it may mean a new door will open. My part is to faithfully walk with Him right where He has me now and trust that He is in control.

I think of Jonah. The Father had a plan, but it wasn’t to Jonah’s liking. He did his best to run from the Lord. It was futile. Even if it takes a terrible storm and a huge whale, He will get us where He wants us to be.

I am thankful and filled with wonder that He would love me enough to have a plan and purpose for my life – in every season. He has one for you too. Even when we accidentally step off the path or determinedly go our own way – He will get us to where He wants us to be.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11

Blessings,

Linda

Photo: courtesy of  photobucket

They grow silently as the days warm toward Spring, and we are unaware. Then one day while driving through the neighborhood we spy them, beautiful lavender blooms against a green backdrop. It seems they have appeared overnight.

Days pass in a slow stroll, and the branches hang heavy with flowers. The winds blow through, and the air is filled with their fragrance. It smells like grape. Imagine grape flavor in perfume form. It is beautifully subtle. I walk by and it fills my heart with an inexplicable joy.

I long to slow time because I know their season is a very short one. Their beauty fades almost as quickly as it begins. All too soon they are gone.

The Psalmist likens our lives to the brief lives of these beautiful flowers:

“As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.” Psalm 103: 15,16

Time passes so quickly. It seems we turn around and our children our grown. Another turn, and they have children of their own. It is true. Life is brief.

It is not a reason to mourn, however. Like the beautiful Mountain Laurel flowers our lives have the potential for great beauty. As we live our lives filled with His Spirit,  we bless others with the sweet fragrance of Christ. He has given us everything we need. Just as He provides the sunshine and rain, He gives us every good and perfect gift in Jesus.

The fragrance of such a life not only blesses those around them, it rises to heaven and touches the heart of Him who loves us with an unending love:

“In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, He brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation – an aroma redolent with life…” II Cor. 2: 14 -16

The best news, for those whose hearts are hidden in His, is that this brief life is only the beginning. It is merely a stepping stone into eternal life in heaven. We have only to invite Him in.

Blessings,

Linda