Reflections

It's weird how sometimes a very normal and obvious thing will strike you as absolutely odd or amazing.
I was just eating a yummy chocolate chip cookie and drinking a small glass of milk, and looked out the kitchen window at the cold, dark, snowy world beyond. Then my gaze went to my reflection and I was shocked. I looked older. Like a young woman, not a child. And I remembered looking at my reflection years ago when I was much less mature-looking and it struck me as odd. It made me wonder if five years from now when I'm in another place, and 24 years old, if perhaps the same feeling of oddness will come again.

It's an odd thing, growing up.

--MovingGirl

Vulnerable

It's very surprising when you realize how vulnerable you are to yourself and the yuck of the world.
You do something that compromises what you believe in and then it's like, now what? Did I really do that? How do I return to the joy of God's presence?
But God is amazingly forgiving (He sent his only SON to die for our sins so we could be forgiven!) and when we screw up in a major way, he is loving and patient, and although there are always consequences and pain and lessons to be learned, he doesn't stop loving you. And his rebukes are designed to build you up, not tear you down. Don't listen to the voice that says you are a failure and can't ever get back...that's not God talking. God would have you know that he says in his word that if anyone believes in his son, he shall have eternal life. That's referring to our life here on earth now. LIFE. You can't live if your dying in your own shame and unforgiveness. So reach out, touch the face of the one who is standing there offering his love, mercy, and grace, and ACCEPT the gift he is giving. After all, that is what Christmas is all about.
Don't let shame and terror and self-punishment keep you from living eternally right now.

God loves you!

--MovingGirl

Waking Up With Company

Waking Up With Company
--A Call to Repentance...
Forgive yourself and take that hand offered to you

You woke up this morning with regret
It really is hard to get back
After a fall
But then you know that staying where you are
Is not any better
And for some reason
You can't anyway
So how to get back?
What steps do you take
When you can't even see the path
You feel too blinded to see
Too seared to care
And hungry...we won't even start
It's hard to get back
After a fall
Life seems to go on
Without you, with you
Over you
Everywhere seems dangerous
Everyone seems like an arrow
Aimed at the back of your head
So cautious you reach out
Ready to pull back
But even there
You can't find your way
Nothing is as it seems anymore
So you sit there waiting
And waiting for someone
To come along and tell you
It's hard to get back
After a fall
But he'll help you along the way
He'll pull off that blindfold
Teach your eyes to see the light again
And hold onto you when you let go
So you wait for this person
Not realizing you're waiting
Hungry, blind, lost and alone
Your conscious is seared
You heart is hard
And the life that you once knew
Is gone
It's hard to get back
After a fall
But then there's a light
And the blindfold comes off
And you look up but cringe at brightness
He tells you his name
He holds out his hand
He lifts you up
And you cry
So long, so long
Has the wait for him been
But now he is here
And he's holding on to you
He leans down and whispers
The air tickles your ear
"It's hard to get back
After a fall
But I'm here for you now"
And you get up out of bed
Open the blinds
Blink at the light
Smile at the world
And take the hand of your Savior
Because it's only hard to get back
After a fall
If you are doing it
All alone.

--MovingGirl