Oiling the Hinges
Living as a human being is a symphony comprised of a yearning melody punctuated by powerful collisions of musical caprice. The consequences are universal. We learn as we walk, we dream as we sleep, and we plead as we turn our beautiful faces toward the Father. The mirror on our wall shows us a version of ourselves, but the real reflection of who we are is the one that we see in His eyes.
How does He see us? Many will suggest He sees us as undeserving mooches, bent on being idiots. Many will be wrong.
I suggest He sees you as the Perfect Parent would. His view filters through a robust, immovable beam of parental love, pride, and protection. He made you. He is pleased with Himself, as He should be. You are wonderfully and fearfully made.
Whatever you do, He loves you. Wherever you have swerved, He was there. In every moment, He stayed. Trust is the gift we are always unwrapping, as we learn to lean on Him in those increments of impact and to recognize the fruit of that trust in the notes of the enduring, yearning melody.
Have you ever helplessly drifted away from everything you knew only to wander in a strange land full of foreign insects, jolting sirens, and unpredictable winds? As you traveled unknown roads alone, you discovered and swayed with the rhythms of a journey you did not choose.
Rest assured, my sweet friend, when and if that happens, it is because the favour of God rests upon you. This is a series of nudging to MOVE FORWARD.
If those words scare you, and of course they do, welcome to two wonderful things;
1.) The art of being human. 2.) The Artist of the human being
Let's grasp His hand and together paint a portrait of the meadow and the lark. You will use this to steady your gaze when the ground is frozen and unyielding, and the sky is vacant, lost in itself above you. An idle sky that appears to go on forever is usually the crest of the wave you have endured. It is then that your wiser eyes begin to see. Take heart and breathe. The door is open, even if just a little sliver and the light peaks through.
As your time in this wilderness draws near its end, you will feel your weary bones being sifted one by one onto the landscape of your "new" life in front of a new door. There you lie; a rattling pile of skeleton waiting for new soft tissue, a new face, a new everything. Stunned and shattered, you sit up a bit and squint at the fresh light of a new day. It's time to rebuild. We must remember that.
If you are in pieces, you are just where you must be to experience the Artist and His work. He is capable of nothing but a masterpiece. If you have lived in grief, fear, loss, or ruin, this is all the better to display His handiwork with a new set of eyes and ears. In your beautiful new form you are ready to become sturdy and focused.
As we approach this door of the beckoning light, we might need to be slow. Perhaps we practice just resting our fingers gently on the doorknob. Maybe in our authenticity of hope, we genuinely require a practice run. We grip with our hand and push the door a bit. It squeaks and creaks as it moves. Startled, we pull our hand back sharply. This door has lain in wait for a long time.
Yes. The door squeaks. It sounds worse than it is, but it doesn't seem safe. What does that squeak mean? Why would this irritant to my ears interrupt the trajectory of the success I finally thought I was on?
Perhaps this frightful, creepy sound is the reminder we need to call upon our Father to lead the way. He hears that squeak. He arrives with the oil can and all the strength you need at that moment, for that task.
You thought the squeak interrupted the symphony. It did not. It was the beacon demonstrating your readiness to proceed. It's the quiver of your life moving forward toward hope and newness. It might be the "shofar" of the broken ones, if you will. At that door squeak, you know more than ever that while you were broken, now your bones are assembled and mobile. You are on the move. He is there.
Place your hand again on the door, my friend. He will oil the hinges with His joy, and the joy of the Lord will be your strength. Push. Smooth and trusting, we walk through.
Keep going. Move forward. You can do it. We are all in this together.
God loves you.
