It's mid-autumn although it really feels like late autumn....and...we have more than another month to go before the calender says it is officially Winter. I like the fact that we had to set the clocks back on Saturday evening. Not only did it give my family an extra hour of sleep, but I woke up my regular time only to discover that it wasn't dawn yet. Now, don't get me wrong. I much prefer the longer days and brighter mornings of spring and summer .....once October gets here in our part of NYS, the mornings are DARK when our alarms ring at 5:30. But, the one good thing about "falling back" with the time change, is that the mornings are light again by the time I get out of bed to hit the alarm.....(hey...I only hit the snooze button once!).
On Sunday morning, I arose at 6 a.m. and realized how deeply everyone else in the house was sleeping.
I loved it! I took my Bible, my journal, and the novel I had started the day before, and padded downstairs to get the coffee brewing. I knew my hubby would be up soon because he had an early meeting at church. I savored the first steaming mug of coffee while sitting with my Bible on the couch in our family room.
I looked out at trees almost bare, to see the dawn just breaking. How pretty! It was going to be a sunny, chilly day. We had no hard frost yet (although as I write this, we are getting our first snowfall of the season.....a weird storm with rain, sleet and a wintry mix leaving us with about a half inch of snow on the roads!)
Anyways....I looked out and most of my yard was in darkness. Long shadows. It was hard to make out the bird feeder in the far back by the bush. I just barely saw the blue jay swoop down to grab some sunflower seeds...in fact, I heard his saucy cry before I actually saw him.
I was in Hebrews 11. The "faith" chapter! The first verse is one I memorized as a child:
And wow...what truth there is in that verse! It's our reality as Christians!
We know and believe in God whom we have never seen with our physical eyes.
We have a hope.....and a faith.....
Here is a quote I like from the devotional that went with my reading:
"Hope on its own has no power. I can hope to wake up one morning and be three inches taller than the night before, but that hope would not serve me well. Hope depends on what it is linked to. Our hope in Christ is surer than anything we can see and experience on this earth, and we arrive at that place through faith. Faith is a living thing. It is our lifestyle." (Sheila Walsh)
We might not know what lies ahead but we can have the assurance that Christ goes with us. And yes...sometimes we have to walk through some darkness.....with shadows all around......but like the dawn that broke over the tops of the trees in my backyard and the surrounding yards, the Light of Christ breaks over us just when we feel like it might never be bright again. Maybe we feel abandoned at times...maybe we feel lonely, or overwhelmed with situations that seem impossible.....
keep pressing on...keep walking with Jesus....
He lights the way and turns our darkness into dawn......
Anyways....I looked out and most of my yard was in darkness. Long shadows. It was hard to make out the bird feeder in the far back by the bush. I just barely saw the blue jay swoop down to grab some sunflower seeds...in fact, I heard his saucy cry before I actually saw him.
I was in Hebrews 11. The "faith" chapter! The first verse is one I memorized as a child:
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen." Hebrews 11:1
And wow...what truth there is in that verse! It's our reality as Christians!
We know and believe in God whom we have never seen with our physical eyes.
We have a hope.....and a faith.....
Here is a quote I like from the devotional that went with my reading:
"Hope on its own has no power. I can hope to wake up one morning and be three inches taller than the night before, but that hope would not serve me well. Hope depends on what it is linked to. Our hope in Christ is surer than anything we can see and experience on this earth, and we arrive at that place through faith. Faith is a living thing. It is our lifestyle." (Sheila Walsh)
We might not know what lies ahead but we can have the assurance that Christ goes with us. And yes...sometimes we have to walk through some darkness.....with shadows all around......but like the dawn that broke over the tops of the trees in my backyard and the surrounding yards, the Light of Christ breaks over us just when we feel like it might never be bright again. Maybe we feel abandoned at times...maybe we feel lonely, or overwhelmed with situations that seem impossible.....
keep pressing on...keep walking with Jesus....
He lights the way and turns our darkness into dawn......
4 comments:
I like the line in the quote where she says "Faith is a living thing". I never thought of it quite in those words before.
Great post! An awesome verse that Hebrews 11:1!
I love when we set the clocks back, we are so busy during the summer's long days that I cherish the break from all the farm work that comes with the fall, it's hard to get used to but once we do get used to the darker earlier days I enjoy it the family has more time together because we are all in early and still have a couple hours together before the bedtime routines start. But I enjoy the brighter mornings. Have a blessed day!
I like that... the things we have faith about are like the pre-dawn darkness... they have substance, but they're yet unseen. A brilliant analogy Faith!
Post a Comment