ECHOES OF GRACE: Volcanos and Lions and Easter

Questions, thoughts spew like lava from an active volcano,

   Why?
   Not fair!
   How can this be good?
   So, so hard!

All around grey, hot suffocating ash,
   gasping for breath.

Tears turn to sobs, chest-heaving sobs ...

   I . DON'T . GET . IT!

I'm not mad, really ... but confused,
     and so very, very sad.

It's been said,

March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. The words referring to weather. (BTW, not so in Colorado!)

It's like life this year. I would amend it - 2016 came in like a lion, a dangerous, stalking lion.

In the Old Testament, David's testimony is that the Lord delivered him from the paw of the lion.
I Samuel 17:34-37.

I can list the hards, the dangerous lion-like moments.
The list is long.
I can list the I don't get its, this doesn't seem right.
The list is long.

Each item on the list is real.
AND
Then there is Easter! The excruciating cross. The resurrection.

The hards intersecting with hope and the reality of resurrection.

"And David said, "'The LORD who delivered me from the paw of he lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.'"

I Samuel 17:37

David knew and trusted the character of God. God is a delivering, rescuing God.

My lions were the hards that swept through my life. Those things that could have devoured, could have killed.

But the LORD is delivering, the LORD is rescuing and redeeming. There is Easter!

Re-covering, Redeeming,

Lord, please let it count.

Sue, don't force, don't pretend.

Slowly light is dawning,

creeping in,

warming,

shining on Truth, resurrection truth.

I Peter 2:9 says, I am God's possession.
I think, I belong to God. God loves his people. God cares for his people.
Each of these hards, another trust opportunity.
They just don't match how I understand good.
But I am God's possession. He loves me. He cares about me and for me.
And I know there is Easter.

C.S. Lewis, a much wiser man than I got this.


https://amyspaintings.wordpress.com/2016/01/22/aslan/

(Thank you to my friend Amy Kozlarek for her painting of Aslan.)

My neighbor and I stopped to talk yesterday. How are you? she queried. I told her of the many 2016 hards. Her counsel, be good to yourself. Get a massage.

Now, I love massages, but recovery is more than physical. Last September I penned these words. For me beauty and quiet are key. But my prescription also includes ...

Being with Jesus, enjoying his presence.
Reviewing and reminding myself of the character of God.
Listening for the voice of God.
Journaling and praying.
Remembering Easter.

As I practiced these disciplines, I Peter 2:9 led me to Psalm 34:8, "O taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!"

I might not get it, but I will trust it. I am going to take refuge in God. I want to taste and see his goodness. Thank you God for Easter.

I wonder, what is for you that refreshes and restores you after the hards of life? What does tasting and seeing look like for you?