Grounded

"That you being rooted and grounded in love..." Ephesians 3:17
"More than Conquerors through Him that loved us..." Romans 8:37
"Live Loved." Lysa TerKeurst

When you join a prayer mentor group, you start thinking about prayer a lot more for some reason! ;) Anyway, in the midst of Henri Noewen thoughts on prayer, I'm inspired, challenged and blessed with the idea of centering my whole life on His Love and to live like a beloved daughter of His, instead of grasping for love in lesser things. What does it look like to pray as the Beloved?

Sometimes it feels like He is far away and uninvolved, but even in the midst of the hard, I sense that He was there all along.

Maybe you identify more with pulverized pulp as your heart like I have already, or even started understanding the kids that can't pay attention when you feel your brain going on a mental ADHD strike because there are so many stressors that you can't figure out which one to figure out first. Fortunately, I had the capability to control my external actions enough most people didn't catch on. The poor kids don't have enough mature restraint to keep it under control. And thank God, it didn't last. The aftermath of the "Flood" paired with a volcano, windstorm, and a backhanded slap can cause drastic inner turmoil. Still some of us think it's just life and we need to just take it in stride. We guilt trip ourselves for not taking it all better. Seriously. I hope you have someone who tells you that you have a lot of things to grieve and that it's ok to cry. You aren't crazy. In the midst of all the messy, I didn't see His hands moving. Didn't feel the transformation. And yet, I look back and say during the whole destruction process, an amazing amount of healing happened. I know, it's a paradox, but that's God. He uses messy to make beautiful. He isn't scared, surprised or confused by anything, and in fact, He uses broken crayons to color fabulous pictures.

In the restructuring, I hope that I can stay abiding in His love. Grounded in Love. And I hope that you are able to do the same. So how do we lean into this new mindset more? How do we lean into relationships from a place of being loved? How do we lean into God and pray from a place of knowing we are deeply loved?

It's not the absence of trouble that we find God, and grow exponentially. It's in the storms we find our anchor. It's not found in calm waters, so don't flee to the safe harbors. Stay in it. Feel the loneliness, and all the rest of the hard stuff. It's all these things that pierces us to the point of turning towards Him.

Rest. It's an invitation to come and hear from Him.

Meditate on Scripture, instead of letting our minds run wild. I was gifted a beautifully scripted set of verses, and setting those around my house has given me food for thought.

Community. If you have been through enough, it's enough. Take a break, but don't become a hermit.:) I value friendships more then ever. There's a few people who are worth staying up till after midnight to talk with. :)

"Hope anchors the soul." Hebrews 6:19 I'm still contemplating the different ways that Hope enters in, but I know we need it on the darkest days. We will eventually be free on the other side of life, if peace doesn't come before that.

If we are going to weather all the storms that life brings our way, and keep ourselves going, we may have to take a moment to recover, but we are going to have to go deeper and deeper with Him. We need to be Rooted. Grounded. Deeply in Love.

I fully expect to one day look back at all these dramas and think that was nothing compared to what I'm facing then. And whatever those future things are, I believe that I'll get through because God will still be walking with me. And I hope that I'll shake less, trust more, and continue in confidence because He is faithful. I wish the same for all the rest of you sojourners. Till then, let's go deeper!