My prayer

Lord,
You have blessed me so much. Please, help me be a blessing to others.

In the car or walking down the highway . . .

For some reason, this song often comes to my mind, and I find myself singing and trying hard not to close my eyes or let go of the steering wheel (when I'm walking, only the eyes closed part is a potential problem):

I love you Lord,
And I lift my voice
To worship you,
O my soul rejoice.

Take joy my King
In what You hear.
Let it be a sweet, sweet sound
In Your ear.

'Tis a great song . . .

Snow & Ivy

Leaning in the doorway tall,
We glance out on the lilies fair,
Moving through the ivy thick,
We brush the red stems without care.
Pushing past the willows wide,
Our fingers we catch thorns between.

Sitting in the cold stream’s rush,
Our sores are cleansed, unseen.

I know a place where love is space,
Hate, prison bars encompassing,
I’ve seen a time where every chime
Calls steady for a reckoning
Of truth in love, of purity,
Of evanescent lasting light!

How can I say it, still a friend?
I’ll speak it true tonight.

But then we rise, we drip and dry,
We fall onto the luscious grass,
The willows cannot reach us here,
The ivy’s poison has all passed.
My love, you are my love you see,
I have not, though, said so before,

I pray to God this heart I bear
Finds rest upon your shore.

'Mongst the lilies leave me not,
These coffin flowers holding me,
I’ll perish to the world of hope,
I’ll die to you, my true, my sweet.
Oh take us, take me with you now,
Now take us further to the heights!

Where water turns to frozen white,
Bright in the moonlit nights.

Please hold me near, we need to stay
Together ever, or apart
Merely myself will I remain,
Alone with my dark human heart.
I sense your burdens, secrets, fears,
My share, my knight, let me bear too.

And standing in Salvation, we
Will last this dark world through.

Completely overwhelmed by . . . something . . .

And I'm not exactly sure what. It is something wonderful . . . something that lifts me up higher and draws me in deeper. I am completely enveloped in its warmth, suffocated in its sweetness, and freed in its vast expanse. I am humbled by its goodness, awed by its glory, and brought to tears by its beauty. I am utterly amazed. My Father is doing something wholly new in me, and I am eager to witness the result, provided I don't crack under the glorious strain in the process.

A Love Song

You are Lord, Lord of my life.
Every day I lift you up high.
I praise to you Lord. My God and my King.
You reign in me for eternity.

This is a love song to you.
A song of praise to you lord.
I kneel before your glorious throne.
To show that I am yours alone.

You are Lord, Lord of my life.
Every day I lift you up high.
I praise to you Lord. My God and my King.
You reign in me for eternity.

'Cause this is a love song to you.
A song of praise to you Lord.
I kneel before your glorious throne.
To show that I am yours alone.

Hallelujah, I love you.
Hallelujah, I love you.
Hallelujah, I love you.
Hallelujah, I love you.

This is a love song to you.
A song of praise to you lord.
I kneel before your glorious throne.
This is a love song to you.
A song of praise to you lord.
And I kneel before your glorious throne.
To show that I am yours alone.

L'amour est Patient

In other, more familiar words, love is patient. Our modern culture is constantly cheapening the meaning of those qualities we hold so dear: honor, courage, selflessness, love. Self-seeking, impulsive behavior is accepted and even glamorized. Graciousness is portrayed as archaic, and the multifaceted, beautiful nature of love is reduced to mere romantic attraction. Love between friends or family is often considered unexciting or uninteresting. And romantic love is reduced to a selfish emotion, often synonymous with lust, lacking any kind of sacrifice, nurturing, or patience. Ah yes, patience. That is a virtue almost lost in our culture all by itself. But patience in love is a concept almost as alien as . . . aliens! (and there goes my string of good metaphors)

In society in general, and even in much of "Christian society," the concept of love as patient is remarkably uncommon. Browsing books on the subject in Barnes & Noble or Berean, the volume of "find the one for you NOW!" self-help books is astounding, whereas comparatively little can be found on surrendering your life--including your romantic life--entirely to God. As is reflected by the dating lifestyle so rampant today, love has been turned into a "feeling on demand," to be indulged whenever one is inclined, by whomever best fills the need at the time. The beautiful dream of one love for life and the desire to wait for God's perfect timing in bringing that about has become little more than a fairytale. In today's self-serve/fast-service dominated world, matters must be taken into one's own hands if they're to happen how and when one wants.

Sure, we may seek God's will in career choices, college questions, or other weighty matters. But we seem unwilling to seek God, to surrender to God, in matters of the heart. Like babies with candy, we are remarkably unwilling to hand it over to our parents to wait for the perfect time to enjoy it. Love is kind, unselfish, forgiving, never jealous, always faithful . . . and patient. And part of that patience is trusting everything, including the schedule, to God.