one a.m.
another day wrapped up.
always checking in on your lives
and thoughts. anointed water...in
some way divine...running down my
back, my eyes, my soul. your honesty
haunts me. makes me yearn to be purer
and cleaner and more-unveiling to you,
my friends and readers.
i spoke tonight to about 20 women, in a
chinese restaurant 45 min. away. a small
church needing a speaker. would i come?
yes. yes, of course. my neighborhood.
i stood. 15 minutes.
trying to explain the simplicity and ease of sharing
Jesus in each of our world's. and ALWAYS confessing
that i am an addict in recovery. imperfect. human. flawed.
Jesus begins to breathe in us.
His love is like a torch in our darkest places.
you do not need to go door to door, shaking and terrified,
to share Jesus. just pray. ask Jesus to put
people in front of you today that you can touch. a word.
a smile. speaking the name of Jesus. a $5 bill tucked
into a little boy's hand. a song. then, Jesus does
the rest. it is that simple. and one by one, the world
around us is changed. you watch! you'll see!
tonight, may God's rest cover you. may His love
soak into your wounds, and heal them...and you...to
your core. just remember that we are all broken, and
we'll clean our slate of failures for today...and tomorrow,
somewhere, we'll probably mess up again. a thought of pride.
a moment of unkindness. it's not hard. we just slide right
off the road to the wrong side of good. in a second,
before we can catch ourselves. i sin every day somewhere.
lack of faith. worry. it is like a bad habit i can't overcome.
i love you. i carry your wounds with me.
we are shoulder to shoulder.
marching sort of lopsided along
the road. we'll get there. to the other side.
in His time.
If i wait until i am perfect in myself, i will never be ready to take the message of God's love to anybody. Sadly, i am always busy waiting...
ReplyDeleteJesus is not so interested in what i can do for Him, as in what He can do through me.
Thanks for the reminder: my willingness is all that is required.
i am certain you were an encouragement to those women.
What beauty are you seeing Ann? Describe for us the beauty you see in the ordinary...that is one of your gifts too.
"His love is like a torch in our darkest places."
ReplyDeleteAmen. Simply beautiful Ann!
So glad to look for your thoughts and find them.
ReplyDeleteYesterday in prayer it became clear to me that He has us,our hand,and will never let go and that we should visualize this,His hand holding ours.What comfort.
thank you for your words. i always look forward to seeing what you write and am thankful to have found your website. it is an encouragement to me and scary at the same time. i am afraid to be found so tight in my finances and alone as i grow older, but you inspire me. and i especially appreciate how honest you are with your addiction. the sufferings you have gone through have given you much more to say to the real people here. blessings.
ReplyDeleteAnn, it is so good to connect with you after so many years. I must say, selfishly, that though I hate what you have suffered, I love what you have become in Christ.
ReplyDelete