Dove's Eyes

I sit down with my coffee in hand and there is a stillness that wraps me. This is the part of the morning that I love. I slip into the place my family calls “my nest”. It is that place where bibles, devotionals, composition books some full and some waiting to be filled, pencils, highlighters and pens reside. I love being surrounded by paper and books! In my nest I sit, I pray, I listen and read. This morning I sat in the silence trying to drink it up along with the hot black stuff that I cradled in my hands. Then I heard her, just outside my bedroom window, singing her song, cooing to me as I listened. A dove had landed on the window sill. Her song of gentleness was so soothing. I had asked the Lord to still me this morning as I walked to my nest, anticipating what He would say. Still me, He did. I didn’t move for almost ten minutes as she continued to be His instrument to serenade my soul to a place where it was ready to listen. I wondered how many times He has tried this before and I have rushed on and never noticed? After she flew away, I thought about the truth that I had tucked in my heart about doves. I turned to the Song of Solomon. (This is the place that if either one of my children are reading they have gasped and said, “No, mom you’re not going to talk about sex!" No, I’m not...maybe some other time though!) In chapter one verse fifteen, of this book that is a beautiful love story of two very real people and an amazing metaphor of my love relationship with the Lover of my soul, the Beloved is speaking and he says to her, “How beautiful you are, my darling, how beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves” As with so many comparisons in the book, like, “your hair is like a flock of goats” this statement about eyes being like doves seems strange to us women walking around in 2012! The fact is, dove have no peripheral vision. The only thing they see is what is right in front of them. I lived in West Texas for almost four years where dove are plentiful. Many times I would see a dove as I was driving down a street and think that it was not going to get out of the way. It would wait until I was right upon it before it would move. Whatever is front of them is what captures their vision and they can’t see anything else. I know He was reminding me how easy it is for me to allow other people and other situations to consume my vision. I am so easily distracted! Oh how I pray for dove’s eyes, so that my Beloved is the only One who captures my vision.

Be Thou My Vision….

Kim
(Song of Solomon 1:15, 4:1, Hebrews 12:2)

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all

Love Is In The Air

Valentines are everywhere! I have been working in a florist shop for this biggest of all seasons for flowers. It has been fun to be surrounded by red roses, pink roses, carnations, tulips, chocolates and gifts wrapped in red and white paper. I have helped husbands and boyfriends as they struggle to send just the right thing to the one they love. The best part is when I ask, “and how would you like your card to read, sir?” Most are very sweet; some are direct and to the point and some I must admit are a little steamy! The steamy ones usually are over the phone, if they were face to face, I would be the reddest thing in the room!! The cards have the usual “Happy Valentines Day” or a beautifully written “Love” at the top. There is one that says, “Be Mine”; I like that one the best. Somehow the words, Be Mine communicate much more to me; they say “I want you”, “we are together”, “we belong with each other”.

God’s valentines are all around us and run through His word like a brightly colored scarlet thread. He is always expressing His love to us. One of those red ribbon verses is Isaiah 43:1; I drop my name within its rich content. I have the verse written on a 3x5 card and like a little girl preparing valentines; I took my red sharpie and put red hearts all around it. This valentine, these words of belonging, sit propped on my kitchen window sill. It is His valentine to me. I read it every morning….and can’t help but smile! It reads;

“But now, Kimberly, the Lord who created you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name; you are MINE.”

His valentine….
His love…..
His redemption…

I am relishing in the reality of relationship. Even with all my faults and prone to wander ways, He looks at me and says, “Mine”!

How deep…how wide…how great…is the love of God?

Overwhelmed,
Kim

Ephesians 3:17-19 NLT

“And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in Him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how big, and how deep His love really is.”

Rock Climbing

Have you ever been asked to go someplace or to do something that you thought utterly impossible or didn’t make sense? Or maybe you find yourself in a place that isn’t comfortable and you’re searching for a way out. I’ve been there!

One summer we took our kids and our then future son-in-law to Yellowstone and the area that surrounds it. We love going there and find much to do as we like to watch nature, hike and white water raft. My family likes to rock climb so we searched for some kind of rock face that they could climb. We stopped at the ranger station and a kind ranger directed us to a place that we could climb that was off the beaten path. He was careful to tell us that a grizzly bear had been in the area and that we would need to make a lot of noise going up, that was to keep bears away…I guess? We found the place, it was one of those places that has a sign-in and sign-out sheet at the entry point of the trail, just in case you sign in and don’t sign out they will come looking for you or what remains of you! Off we went on a narrow trail that snaked up the side of the mountain. The trail was only wide enough for one, so we looked like a parade going up the mountain. Every once in a while someone would recognize that we were being too quiet as we navigated the trail. They had obviously had a thought of a grizzly bear; they would break out in a song like This Is The Day and clap their hands loudly. We would all laugh hilariously and sing along. When we arrived at the face, the kids noticed that the face was loose and they would have to climb without ropes or tying in. They would take three steps up and then slide down a bit, regroup and go again. Jim didn’t think I should try it, which made me laugh because I don’t think that thought ever entered into my mind! So off they all went three lunges forward and then slide down. I was standing on a narrow ledge with a drop off of about twenty feet below me, a raging river at the bottom of the ravine and a mountain face on the other side that my family was creeping upward on. It then hit me, I was alone and what about the bears!!! Great, Jim really wasn’t thinking about me having a hard time climbing, he was using me as bear bait!! I sang, clapped my hands, watched my family and prayed for them as they struggled to navigate the rock face. All of a sudden my family froze, a mountain goat had scampered out on this face that literally had very little angle to it. I know he had to be thinking what are these things clinging to my mountain?! That goat must have been stunned, because he stood there long enough for me to get my camera out and take a picture, then he scampered away effortlessly. I was delighted and couldn’t believe how wonderful it was. My family continued to struggle to get their footing and made it to the top. I realized that they were able to see things from the top that I was never going to see from the semi-safe ledge below. Although the climb was difficult, as proof by the torn clothing, dirt covered, scraped and bleeding family that returned to me…it was all worth it!

High places are not easy places to get to usually. They require determination and wisdom to navigate. Sometimes there are scrapes, bruises and blood accompanying the climb. The high places in our lives are the places that the Lord desires to take us. And although difficult, it is usually in the climb that we know Him more intimately as He teaches us things that would not otherwise be learned. My high places are not your high places. The difficult things that have come in and out of my life probably don’t look the same as yours, but we all have them. His promise to us is to be with us, to guide us, and to equip us for the climb. Even when my climbing looks like taking three steps forward and sliding backwards or just hanging on, digging my fingernails into the dirt to cling and keep my footing. He knows the way I take! Never thought I would pray, make me like a goat…give me hind’s feet!

Ever climbing,
Kim

Habakkuk 3:19 The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places.

Job 23:10 He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.