Well, life here at the Raj Mahal has been a bit lulled this past week. It has taken us nearly a full week to recover from our travels.
Naptimes are not what they were (will they ever be restored?? Oh how I hope so;)
This body, rounded with a 29 week old life, has been sore and weary.
Yet the Sabbath was full of rest and here we meet again.
As this mama continues on her journey of seeking contentment in her Father in Heaven (that spotless King who collided with our muck in a feeding trough amidst livestock and hay)
She continues to find that communion with Him is the only true path
Fellowship with Him:
One, but Three
God, yet man
Perfect, yet a friend of sinners
And as we walk this earth, that is singing of Hope, with all its natural order, beauty, and splendor
We also walk an earth raw with pain, disease, and heartache
But we are not left alone as we walk
For remember?
He went to the Father so that we could “do even greater things” (john 14.12)
So though we often walk thru what feels like the valley of the shadow of death
We are to fear no evil
For He is with us
And He created a way for us to call to Him
Nothing we can bring to Him is too much
Nothing we bring to Him is too small
For as Newton said
“Though art coming to a King
Large petitions with thee bring
For His grace and power are such
None can ever ask too much”
For me, this mama, in this season
This journey in contentment, thru prayer,
Is full of learning
But I am not alone, nor are you
For the 12 who walked closest with Him on earth…
They were learning too
“Lord, TEACH us to pray” they asked
So as I am learning, I am sharing with you
Adam, my son with a diagnosis and, what man deems as, a fragile life
This week, I am sharing my map for how I pray for my Elliot
He is certainly our wild man with eyes full brazen wonder, and he has a fierce strand of compassion in him
And though his body is vigorous and strong and there is no evidence of physical sickness
What I learned a few years ago I try to hold close to my heart,
Both of my boys’ lives are fragile, for both are temporary (in the flesh)
As is mine and yours.
We are all dying, for outwardly we are wasting away
But take heart, for inwardly, we are being renewed day by day
I am not guaranteed tomorrow for myself nor either of them
Therefore, I want to see in them a longing for things, everlasting, not temporal
I don’t want to point them to things of earth, where moth and rust destroy
I want to point them to Heaven
I long for them to have hearts “set on the pilgrimage”
And a longing for the Divine rather than the interim, that is this life and all the false hopes it offers
And actually, this journey in prayer really began one day outside with my boy Elliot
Watching his fascination with nature
He has opened up childlike eyes in me again
To see each ant navigating a sidewalk crowded with stones and the feet of passerbys
To see the changing bloom of the flowers outside our house
He has taught me to count the birds in the sky, which speckle the horizon, calling to me
“He is faithful…He feeds us…He will feed you!…Take heart! Do not fear”
Elliot, he doesn’t even understand all the depth that his eyes have taught me to see
Yet oh how my heart is softening and wanting to sing with Creation’s song each morning
The birds and all of this glory, this creation
They are teaching me, as I watch them leave my son awestruck in wonder
I love how Luther captured it here:
“you see, He is making the birds our schoolmasters and teachers….
Their living example is an embarrassment to us…whenever you listen to a nightingale, Therefore, you are listening to an excellent preacher…
It is as if he were saying ‘I prefer to be in the Lord’s kitchen…
He has made heaven and earth,
And He Himself is the cook and the host every day.
He feeds and nourishes innumerable little birds out of his hands”
Life with Elliot has ushered me onto a new echelon of glory
He shadows me until we get outdoors, where he runs free and points to every little thing he can find
And as he does it, I find myself hearing the messages of these bird preachers;)
And they quiet my anxious heart
And remind me who our God is
And as I see Him clothe the grass of the field in splendor
And as I see Him raise birds of glories to glide along the currents of air above
It leaves me in silent wonder
And it is teaching me to pray and trust and find contentment in Him amidst all of the moods of the day and changes of life
So, here I will share with you my guide in praying for my wild, wonder eyed child
I hope it guides you in praying for little wild, wonder struck ones in your own life;)
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>May his love for the outdoors, creatures great and small, and each detail of nature point him to you, the image of the invisible God (this is my main verse over Elliot right now…it fits him in this season so very well). Fill his little imagination with a craving for the Maker of all this glory.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1.15-17)
>Abba, be his strength and refuge. There will surely be so many other paths to search for strength and refuge on this earthly terrain. But let him find it in You.
“So he said to me, ‘this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Zechariah 4.6) (also see: Judges 6.12, Colossians 1.11, Isaiah 57.13, Psalm 32.6-7, Psalm 18.28-32)
>Lord, may he know that he is never out of your reach. You are always near.
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139.7-10) (also see: Psalm 18.16-19)
> Lord, let him see what you see. Even in his young age, may a Divine Love be at work within his little body and exploring mind. Let his eyes not see as the world sees, let them see how you see…beyond what meets the eye.
“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16. 7)
>Father, let him go to sleep knowing that a new day is always coming. And that it will be beautiful and that you will be there to meet him.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3.22-23) (Also see: Psalm 30.5)
>As he learns of you at a young age in the routine ways of devotions and church gatherings, may you open his eyes to create a yearning to know the meaning behind it. I pray against legalism or an empty sense of duty. May the same wonder he has for your creative splendor outdoors, transcend into his time learning the Words of you.
“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your Law” (Psalm 119.18) (also see: Isaiah 65.1)
>Father, protect his tender heart from fear and anxiety.
“But Jesus immediately said to them, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.'” (Matthew 14.27) (also see: Deuteronomy 31.8, Psalm 118.6)
>May his wonder and love of creation lead him to worship
“…you will go out in JOY and be led forth in PEACE; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands…” (excerpt from Isaiah 55.10-14) (also see:Job 26.7-14)
> Father, may he know that he is fearfully and wonderfully made by You, and that your works are wonderful!
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 119.113)
>Lord, guide Elliot and comfort him all the days of his life.
“I have seen his ways, but I will HEAL him; I will GUIDE him and restore comfort to him.” (Isaiah 57.18) (see also: Isaiah 51.3)
