Scattering Seeds: More about Mountains and Valleys

Scattering Seeds...

SCATTERING SEEDS.

Settling into a comfortable chair, I took a small sip from a cup of steaming aromatic tea. It comforted me as I gazed out the window of the little tea shop. Only minutes ago the sun illuminated the landscape, brightening the rain soaked places that sparkled in the sun. All too soon, however, the accumulation of rain clouds rolled across the sky and closed it up again and the earth darkened.

This was a pensive morning. I had just left a friend who shared deep sorrow -- sorrow so deep that she was still wrapped in the raw pangs of it and unable to accept comfort. I thought about her shattered life and continued looking out the window with thoughts about sorrow and suffering and what we do with it as it shapes our lives. That's when I decided to create this blog. It's a combination of various stories of heartbreak and sorrow in my own life and how I got through each day, each moment, and every second of those wounded times now healed. And so the title, Scattering Seeds. I scatter little seeds of hope and pray that you will be encouraged in your own journey as you read my writings.

One thought comforts me. It's in the lowest valley of humility where we find God's comfort; in the darkest shadow of the mountain where we experience His peace; in climbing the dusty journey up the mountain where we know His power and His strength. Then we are given His vision for that which we can become in His design.

Photo description: A sun-break after the rain.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

More about Mountains and Valleys

I settled into the chair and took that first small sip from the warm cup of steaming aromatic tea. It comforted me as I gazed out the window of the little tea shop. Only minutes ago the sun illuminated the landscape, brightening the rain soaked places that sparkled in the sun. All too soon, however, the accumulation of rain clouds rolled across the sky and closed it up again and the earth darkened. I'm forever thankful for the sun-breaks that frequently happen during the day. They help brighten up the earth when the gloom gets too heavy.

This was a pensive morning. I had just left a friend who shared deep sorrow -- sorrow so deep that she was still wrapped in the raw pangs of it and unable to accept comfort. I thought about her shattered life and continued looking out the window with thoughts about sorrow and suffering. There is so much pain in the world. Everyone hurts. This, I suppose, is my day to think about pain and why it happens. Sorrow and suffering happens to everyone. There's no escaping it. It's part of life. It comes and it goes. It comes again, and it goes again -- like the ebb and flow of the ocean tide.

One thought, the thought that comforts me, is that pain and suffering is the only way our faith can grow. It's in the lowest valley of humility where we find God's comfort; it’s in the darkest shadow of the mountain where we experience His peace; and it’s in climbing the dusty journey up the mountain where we know His power and His strength. Grace comes as we completely surrender to God's will. It's in this time of submission that we are given His vision for that which we can become, and it's where we hear His voice as He guides us into becoming all that we can become in His design.

I've traveled with sorrow and suffering all of my life and I consider myself most blessed. You see, I've had many Son breaks during those dark days and I discovered that there is joy in the midst of suffering. I pray this joy for my friend -- frequent Son breaks as she heals. She will see that at the end of her journey there will be peace and she will look back and see how much she has grown.