Weekend Words

God's Blanket.

This morning on the beach I was walking in fog. I love walking in the fog. It's like being wrapped in a big blanket. There was no wind, and what I could see of the water was like glass. I seem to be able to centre my thoughts much more in the fog. Not so many external sights to distract me. My thoughts turn inward. And they were certainly in overdrive this morning.

I got to thinking about life and how often we can feel like we are walking in the fog...in the greyness of life. When we focus on our problems and trials, life can seem very grey and depressing, but it's then, that we need to lift our eyes.

As I walked, focusing on where I was stepping and the sand in front of me, I looked up to the eastern horizon and I could see a slight lifting and clearing of the fog over the water, and the brightness of a clear day shining through behind the line of hills on the other side of the bay. That lightness and brightness was there, but if I had not looked up, I would not have seen it.

God is there in our trials and 'greyness of life', but sometimes we get so bogged down in them, that we forget to lift our eyes and look to God (Psalm 121:1-2). He gives us times of brightness and joy even amidst the heaviest of burdens if we will lift our eyes to Him.

I always carry at least one plastic supermarket bag with me, and on my way back along the beach I pick up rubbish - metal, cans, plastic, glass, bottles, etc. - and when I get to the council rubbish bin back at the start of my beach walk I dump it all in there. We collect 'rubbish' and burdens – anger, bitterness, guilt, regret, sorrow, etc. - as we walk though life. Don't collect them all and carry them home with you. Dump them in God's rubbish bin of the past (Hebrews 8:12).

What I noticed as I walked back along the beach was that the lightness and brightness on the eastern horizon had gone and it was all greyness there again. But the fog in my immediate area seemed to have dispersed and I could see more of my closer surroundings of sand, sea and sandhills although further away was still greyness.

So, maybe in your foggy, grey day, or period in life, God is wrapping a big blanket of His love around you. Try snuggling down and resting in it awhile :) Then, as we go back into our world of commitments and difficult situations, after spending time wrapped in God's blanket, we can take some of that love with us.

Just as God lifted the heaviness and fog from my closer surroundings, may I be able to take some of His brightness and lighten some-one else's day. And although the past and future may still seem grey and foggy, we can live each day in the light of God's love (1 John 1:5).

(Lynda Helen Kay 2011) 

(written during my 2 year sojourn in Stanley)