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The following writings are journeys of lamenting is necessary AND finding peace on the other side.
a ‘feitheamh (Anticipation) The battle raged for most of the day and on through the night. Cries, screams, metal clanging against metal. Fires sprang up in the night but winked out before dawn. The sounds drifted through the trees and reached the village that waited for daylight. When it came, the stronger women wandered through the now-silent battlefield, steam rising from carrion they would rather not see. The mothers, sisters, brides, now wailing banshees for their men who would never come home to them. One woman, Máirίn, skirting the edge of the field, came upon a tartan that she knew all too well. It was the woven pattern of her husband’s ancient family. She ran towards him, shoving the body of the enemy soldier off the legs of her beloved. Conor lay there unmoving and for one moment she thought her life had ended too. But as she watched, she saw the rise and fall of his chest. Hope spurred her to touch his cheek and she felt warm skin through the ginger beard. His eyes flickered at her touch and his dry throat croaked her name, “Máirίn”. As she fell over his body, kissing his unbloodied face, serenity flowed through her like a quiet mountain stream in the shade of a willow tree. He would live! God had answered her night-long prayers. Susan Stedman The phone rang at 3 a.m. and my heart descended into an abyss. My soul felt as empty as a deserted well when I received the devastating news of my mother’s passing. It wasn’t as if it wasn’t expected. I just didn’t know how I was going to process it. I felt completely drained and my heart was as parched as my tear ducts. Then, a song began to fill my spirit as God watered my weariness with a new stream of living water. “All my life You have been faithful. All my life You have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God”. My mother always declared how blessed and thankful she was at the youthful age of 99. I recalled the glow of shalom on her face in her final days. At that moment, my soul was a green meadow of tranquility because I knew that she was now face to face with all His goodness. By Donna Butler
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The following writings are journeys of lamenting is necessary AND finding peace on the other side.
Her sadness was as deep as the sea. As she prayed and poured out her heart to the Lord, His shalom filled her heart. His shalom is like a warm breeze in the springtime. Turning her sorrow into joy. Her quieted heart is stable. By Cathy Gardner My sorrow is hopeless! The Lord brings me peace in the midst of my trials. Being restful is like an absence of anguish. He is my source of calm. By Chris Gardner Martha regretted getting that beautiful two-story house because it was next to Highway 74. She could hear all the crazy traffic all through the night while trying to sleep. After a few months of desperately searching, she finally stumbled upon this small abode outside the city noise and distractions. Martha enjoyably moved from that two-story echo chamber and found a decent ranch home with a serene backyard which included a mini fancy garden within the greenhouse. By Jenna Guthrie The crowd expressed their anguish in unison with one voice. The roar of their voices continued in protest for what felt like hours. It was late. I could not sleep. The thunder of the crowd’s rumble seemed as if they were right outside my window instead of blocks away. Sleep eluded me. Tired, I fell to my knees in prayer asking God for calm to prevail and the disturbance would end. I asked why He allows such hatred and injustice to continue. Haven’t we seen enough? I was feeling much like Habakkuk when he asked how long we must tolerate violence and injustice. Hab 1:1-2. I grew weary of the clamor and commotion. The protestors now irritated me. I agree we have a right to have our voices heard, but not at the expense of so many others like me who were in much need of rest. I began to have a conversation with myself wishing for the authorities to intervene. I knew in my heart that could mean folk might get hurt. Innocent folk. In that fleeting moment, remorse engulfed me. I was sorrowful about my lack of empathy. Returning to prayer I confessed my thoughts to the Father; now I asked Him for love to abound among the people. I prayed I would be more loving in this situation, to understand there were hurting people needing a resolution to their pain. Ephesians 4:2 took on new meaning for me this night. “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love”. I was not out there with the crowd, but my heart turned to loving them in prayer. Petitioning God for peace to flood over everyone, that His love would enter the hearts of everyone. It seemed I prayed a long time when suddenly, as if the spirit of the Lord poured over me, I heard nothing. The discontented voices had quieted. The wailing had ended. Quiet had returned. I thanked God for the stillness. The night once again was as restful as a tranquil sea. I guess my lesson during this incident was to not allow what seems to disturb the peace to distract us from our focus on the God of Peace! Shalom! By Brenda Johnson by Susan Stedman
For the first five decades of my life, I fought childhood fears of falling asleep. I have finally made peace with bedtime and it has become the most joyful part of my day. Turning off the chaos in my head used to be hard but talking to Godin the quiet darkness fills me with serenity, knowing that He is watching me while I am dreaming. I can look back over my day with the satisfaction of knowing I did the best I could in every circumstance. When all my muscles begin to relax and I close my eyes while burrowing into the soft, clean sheets, I snuggle up behind my warm husband and let the drone of the ceiling fan waft me away. My last thought is to thank God for my tranquility. |
About Rays of Light:Whereas most blogs are from one writer, these posts are from a variety of authors and styles. These scribes all attend our Kingdom Writers group. We pray our passion to share God's love through writing will encourage you today!
kingdom WritersOur writers group meets every 4th Tuesday Night at 7PM in person and/or via zoom. Let us know if you would like to join us. Archives
April 2024
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