Acts 22.30-23.22-But on the night immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, "Take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also."
Judges 19-"Sustain yourself with a piece of bread, and afterward you may go."
Psalm 44-Rise up, be our help. and redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness.
Revelation 21.15-22-I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
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And My Spirit moves over the water. Moves behind, before, around, and within you, bringing My presence, My Comfort, My direction, My Peace.
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I said good-bye last night in a dream. I said good-bye to my friend Arlene.
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Dreams are strange. They seem to combine recent memory with memory of the past. They seem to combine little snippets of information into a picture or an emotion. Last evening the combination included, Word from Genesis, Word from this past Sunday sermon from my Pastor. Gifts from God. A balloon ride from a couple of years ago. An emotion from Sarah while in Christ Hospital.
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My dream was simple but the meaning left me in a peaceful, comforting pondering state. I remember the peacefulness of a balloon ride I took a couple of years ago. I remember how the gentle breeze provided the direction. I remember the peaceful sounds from below. How the hustle and bustle of life below was slowed down and made beautiful. How all of God's creation became awesome in all it's glory. Then I saw Arlene in her balloon near-by mine. She floated away into the Light. Disappeared into the Light. It was peaceful and calm and comforting. It was a good-bye. It was beautiful in a way I can't describe with words.
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Then with the dream came all the associations that follow. Somehow wrapped in comfort and peace. I recalled the words of our Pastor this past Sunday. How do you say good-bye to someone? I recalled the words of Jesus from the Gospel lesson. How he leaves but He doesn't leave. How he will leave us the Comforter and Peace. I recalled the sense of the Holy Spirit. Then I recalled the Word from Genesis. How the Spirit moved over the waters. Then God created Light. Wind in the Spirit. That gentle breeze. That gentle guiding breeze taking me along in my balloon of life. That gentle, peaceful, comfortable breeze that is behind me, before me, around me and within me. That breeze that connects Genesis with Revelation. That breeze that connects all of us throughout time. That Breeze that has blown throughout all time. That Breeze that ascended my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to heaven. That Breeze that blows Arlene to the Light of Christ. That Breeze that will take me someday to that Light. That Breeze, that Comforter, that Breath of God, that Holy Spirit.
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This Breeze gifts us in unique ways. One of the ways this Breeze gifted Arlene was with her talents as a artist. Arlene could look at ugly and see the beauty in it. She could create beauty out of ugly. She could see the Beauty of God in all creation. She could see beauty in and through things that most of us ignore. She could see a combination of color that brought forth Beauty in this world. Arlene could see beauty in each person. This was a gift the Spirit gave her. And she used it. I think God looks down on creation like I could see from my balloon and makes it beautiful. I think Arlene could see this from her balloon too. I began to see it once I realized and saw the artistic gift God gave Arlene. Arlene taught me how to see God's beauty in the ugly. She saw the beauty in me in my ugly. What a wonderful gift she gave me. I can now see the beauty in the ugly. The beauty of God in all creation. I thank Arlene for teaching me this gift. As I float along in my balloon of life, I now see the beauty in the ugly. I know God sees us this way too. Sometimes when we see ugly, God has a way of lovingly looking past that, and highlights the beauty. Beauty in visuals, in music, in life. Beauty all around and ultimate Beauty in the Light He gave us. Beauty in that Breeze He gave us. Beauty in that Comforter and Peace freely given.
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Finally I recalled in that dream the words from Sarah last evening. Sarah is in Christ Hospital. She broke into tears stating that she didn't want to be there. It wrenched my heart out to see my child in pain. But I also saw the beauty of a smile only moments later. As I float in my balloon of life, I see the ugly of pain and illness. The suffering. But I also see the beauty of the suffering that was done once for all of us in Jesus. Sarah is in Christ as we teased last evening. How safe can you be. The Breeze of God takes us through the downs and the ups. The Breeze of God will make this separation connect with our reunions. This Breeze will connect me with Sarah, with Arlene, with Christ. This Comforter, this Breeze brings Peace throughout space and time. We all want to be in union with that Light I saw Arlene drift into. We are all already in union with that Light and connected together by this Breeze, leading us, guiding us, blowing behind us, blowing before us, blowing within us, giving us the artistic gifts of God and providing direction in our individual lives.
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So there you have it. A dream. A good-bye. A connection. A Breeze. An Ascended Christ. A Love beyond understanding. A blessing from God. Thanks be to God!
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Lord, thank You for good-byes---thank You for Your Breeze---thank You for connecting us together---thank You! ---Amen
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