On The Brink of His Beauty

Smack dab in the middle. Yesterday was Good Friday, where we stop to fall on our knees before the cross, to recognize the great love and the great sacrifice. Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, the day we rejoice in that our Savior has overcome death. But what about the Saturday in between? No one ever talks about that day. But for some reason this little day that has been caught in the middle, has also caught my attention.

Yesterday as I was walking, and praying, through the "stations of the cross" at my church I kept thinking about what it would be like if I was there. If I had seen my Father, my Friend, my Beloved, my Son (in Mary's case) up on the cross. But more importantly, what about after that? What the heck are you supposed do after you had just seen Jesus Christ crucified?! Talk about an intensely emotional day.

Looking back on it, we see that those that were there on this day were caught somewhere in between the pain of the cross, and the joy of the Resurrection. I can't begin to imagine how long that Saturday must have felt.

I feel like the instinct reaction for this day would be to weep, mourn, cry out. But right before Jesus is hung on the cross he gently says to the daughters of Israel "Do not weep for me" -Luke 23:28. If he had said that to me in that moment I feel sure that I would be speechless. And if I COULD have said something it probably would have been  a little like "Jesus, What the heck?" Which is a question I ask him a lot. 

Those that were there were on the brink of the most joyous day in history, yet they were mourning in their pain. I can't help but believe that this is so much like how we are today.

one of my best friends favorite bible verses is 
 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. -2 Corinthians 2:14.

Its striking how true this is. The day stuck in the middle is the most triumphal procession of all time! It was all leading up, yet they couldn't fathom the joy that would come in the morning. This seems perfectly parallel to what is happening right now in my life.

I look back on things that happened in middle school, and realize that God did those things for a reason. Its crazy how that works, mind blowing how things that were happening 7 years ago as I was entering middle school have prepared me for what is happening in my life NOW! as I'm about to enter college! and it is STILL a triumphal procession, things that happened last week have been preparing me for tomorrow! Easter! The Resurrection! I wish there was a key on this keyboard that could express my excitement right now! (Even exclamation marks can't even cut it) But this is no coincidence, these small, medium, and biggy sized, things in my life have all been orchestrated by a great composer to show me the great love that he has. That I feel full of. That I can never comprehend.


Currently I'm in a stuck-in-the-middle sorta position. Kinda like this Saturday is. I have applied for a position to be able to serve God, and high schoolers coming to know Christ, all summer. After 3 months, I have yet to hear back from the organization and currently have no clue what I will be doing this summer. While God is definitely teaching me patience with this situation, what he has taught me more is that I MUST serve. I have to. There is no telling him no. And although I do not know how, what, when, or where I will do this. I know He has STILL prepared a way for me to do so. I'm stuck in the middle and on the brink of his unknown greatness.

 I cannot help but believe we are all in this same position in some way or another and that he is

"Preparing God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up." Ephesians 4:12


So as the beauty of the resurrection approaches and we become caught in his love and wonder, I am encouraged to fall on my knees before the cross and wholly surrender to his timing whether it takes him 3 days or 3 months to reveal his plan, or despite the fact that I may want to say to him "Jesus, what the heck?" As he gently comforted the daughters of Israel in Luke 23, he does the same to us, knowing of the joy he has prepared for us. And in that, All I know to do is rejoice.

such.a.good.song. feast your ears.

HAPPY EASTER EVE!
in Christ's Love,
Em 

Always Forever

I've been having trouble with words lately. I can't quite say what I want to say. Not regularly, just when I describe God. How do you describe Him, the great, the powerful, the perfect, the sinless, the beautiful, the everything? It can't be done. As the song says "Indescribable, Uncontainable". And it's SO true.

In my walk with Christ he always finds a way to amaze me at how indescribable he is. It's like someones holding my tongue while I try to talk, I cant ever get out what I'm feeling inside. The only words I can find to describe this beautiful thing that I seem to feel all around me is Always Forever. two words that really can't be described in the first place.

As humans we live our lives centered around time. What time we need to get up in the morning, what homework we need to have done by Monday, what I need to do before I leave for college...those are just a few in my life right now. It all revolves around one thing. Time. Our minds can't even comprehend the idea of their being an Always, OR Forever. But that's what God calls us to, he calls us to set our eyes upon that which is eternal. To focus on that which we cannot even comprehend. and that's where the uncontainable part comes in....

While God keeps pouring out his love to me, I have become a tad bit full, I'm beginning to overflow. I can't keep it in, its ALMOST like the way you felt when you were in middle school and you had your first kiss and you went in your room and shut the door and jumped all around and thought you were the coolest kid on the planet even though both of you  had braces and didn't know what you were doing so it was actually just really awkward.....okay maybe I'm the only one that had an experience like that, and it may be a TEENY bit of a stretch, but not really. It's been a few years since those days, but even though a first kiss doesn't send me jumping on my bed anymore, feeling God pour out his love for me does. It's Uncontainable. It does things in me that I didn't even know I could do, or want to do...small example: having a blog.

And so here I am, typing without even thinking about what I'm saying. I'm totally just speaking, or i guess writing, out of feeling. Something i usually try to avoid, but for some reason it just feels right. I never thought about blogging. Actually my brain just laid an idea egg today and a blog hatched out. (excuse my Easter spirit) So, like how it always seems with God, I don't really know what's going on, which I've begun to get used to with Him. But what I do know is that this is about Him, not me, so I guess we'll see where the Always Forever leads this.

You are the hand that catches my fall
You are the friend that answers my call
You are my day, You are my night
You are my love and all of my life

You are the love I need
You are the air I breathe
You are my love my life always forever
I would lay down my life
Just to be by Your side
You are my love my life always forever

You are the grace that covers my sin
You’re everything the beginning and end
You have my soul, my heart and my mind
You have my love and all of my life

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, forever

until next time,
In Christ's Love
Em