He Draws, I Move

It's been a bit of a dry spell here in the blog...

time to do something about that, I reckon.

First off, as I'm sitting on the loveseat and therefore looking right at this particular subject, I would like to celebrate the fact that I finally had pictures printed to fill the openings in our DVD cabinet. We've only had the thing since Christmas!

I think I would like to expand on some thoughts I've been considering lately. If you've read this post you know some of the challenges and darkness of my life over the past couple of years. Several months ago, I was literally flipping through my oldest Bible. I love this Bible, even though it was designed for a stage of life in which I no longer reside. It's a Student Bible, New International Version, complete with the original wave graphic on the front. All of the protective covering has peeled off the outside and the entire book of Matthew falls out when I open it up. It was the first one I actually owned, purchased at the Wal-Mart in Elkin, NC with my own money. I was 15.

One of our reading assignments my senior year of high school involved several different portions of the Bible: the first few chapters of Genesis, some of Matthew, and the entire book of Job. I read these out of my treasured Student Bible instead of the copied packets my teacher gave us, so those sections are replete with yellow highlighting that covers things that were important to me at the time. Every once in a while, I flip through the Bible and look at the things I've highlighted over the past 11 years. My life, of course, has changed a great deal since I was a nerdy little high school student living in my dorm room (it was a residential high school) and breaking in-room curfew sitting on my hall advisor's couch. More and more I am being drawn to those things I did not highlight the first time around, like this:

"He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food."--Job 36:16

Here is the picture painted in my mind by this verse. It comes with a little artistic liberty as well, but hey, it's my blog. I see myself standing in an open field. Actually, it's the outfield of the baseball field at the elementary school I attended, but that's randomness for another discussion. Behind me, there is darkness. It's not spooky, scary, demons-are-creeping-up-on-me kind of darkness--the trees are bare, the sky boils with charcoal-colored clouds, and the ground becomes dense and muddy. In front of me the picture is different, with full trees and an open sky. I see (actually, I sense more than see) the presence of God beyond the tree line. He is using his hand (which is HUGE...'cause He's God, right?) to draw me toward him, like a Jedi would use "the force". I am not walking. I am not deciding whether to go or not. He draws, I move...as though He was pulling a rope tied around my waist. You know, the Bible says God's mercies are new every morning and I think I may finally be in a place to see that as truth instead of some empty promise.

And now, some very upbeat, exciting music as you continue on your day...

I am not Forgotten

Glorious