A Bit of Honey for the heart....

I haven't posted anything for a while--not because I haven't been swimming, but because life has been so busy. I didn't quite hit my swimming goal for 2010, but that's ok...this is a new year, with new possibilities as well as new challenges. So far this year, I've done a mile in the pool five times--and considering how busy things have been, I'm ok with that. I remember when I could only go 10 laps before I felt "done in." I remember when the idea of lap swimming seemed ridiculous to me. So I'm grateful for where I am at with this, because I know it is because of God's graciousness that I'm able to do these laps at all...

We all need a bit of honey for the heart. And thinking about victories won, progress made, even though it is very small and incremental is good---thinking about the goodness of God and His faithfulness is a real help. Right now, we are dealing with a number of situations that are hard and heartbreaking, but the Lord's Word continues to be sweet, and is providing honey for our hearts in a time that could make our spirits sour if we allowed it. But by the grace of God, we are continuing to swim through these waters together with peace from Him, which is not of our doing, but our Messiah's.

Sweet Sleep of a child

Here's one for the true confessions department. This is a stealth photo. I took it while I was in my local Trader Joe's trying to get a little shopping in. The store was CROWDED with people, who had the same idea at the same time. It wasn't quite a madhouse, mind you, but it did take some fancy driving, as I negotiated my way down the crowded isles (my son would have been impressed!). But I saw something so lovely, so beautiful, that it stopped me in my tracks. In the middle of all that cacophony, I saw this little guy in his stroller, with his eyes closed, sleeping deeply. There was even a little whiffle I could hear, not quite a snore, as he breathed in and out, totally oblivious to the noisy adults all around him.

So I pulled out my i-phone, and as quickly as I could (and as close as I dared to get) I snapped a few shots. This was the best of the lot, which shows you how much of a Chicken Little I am by nature. The body attitude of this little guy reminded me of a Psalm that has become so precious to me in recent days, Psalm 131:

Psalm 131

Childlike Trust in the LORD.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

¹O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
²Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
³O Israel, hope in the LORD
From this time forth and forever.

This is just three little verses, but they are packed with meaning. These verses reveal how we can be at rest--even when our worlds are coming apart at the seams. We can rest in Him, lay back on Him, and in realizing how weak we are, rest in His strength alone.

I think of all the times my heart has been stirred up, and I realize as I read this Psalm that I must never forget that the Sovereign God of the universe is working all out for the good of His people, and for the glory of His Name, no matter how messy life is. He redeems us--and that work needs to go deep within our hearts, so we produce the kind of rest that Y'shua demonstrated as He walked on the earth, experiencing what we do, yet without sin. He was always at rest with the Father, even when his life was full of activity.

This Psalm has become my friend. When my heart is a mess, I'm going to this Psalm and taking the medicine. Do I need to jettison my pride? Do I need to give something too big for me to the One who can really handle it best? I do, and then I can rest, just like this little fellow, in the midst of the cacophony around me.