I just spent a week at the beach with my family. It was wonderful. Bike riding to the ice cream shop, board games in the evening, sand wars on the beach (complete with well-fortified barricades). But, what sticks out the most in my mind is the time with the Lord on the beach, when He spoke to me words that I will carry with me always.
Let me digress for just a moment. A miraculous thing has happened in the life of Amy since I've begun this new journey with the Lord. At some point in my conversations with Him, I realized that my "quiet time" was getting pushed around by appointments, kids waking up unexpectedly early, or dishes that piled up in my sink. I confessed that there was no way I would hold on to this discipline at the rate I was going, so I asked the Lord (hold on here, my friends, this is a big one) - I asked Him to make me a MORNING PERSON! The horror! I knew that our time would have to happen somewhere around 5:00 or 5:30 if it was going to happen consistently. I also knew that it would be nothing short of a miracle if Amy Miller was to wake up before a cup of coffee was placed in her hands by her sweet, morning-person husband. Well, friends, it is happening. It has been a few weeks now and while I was at the beach, I woke up most mornings at 5:30. No alarm. No diligent husband. Just the Lord. I experienced some of the most precious times sitting on the beach early in the morning with just me and the Lord and a few sea gulls.
On the first morning that I ventured out to the shore before the sun came up, I unrolled my beach mat, sat down, closed my eyes and bowed my head to pray. Immediately, the Lord urged me to open my eyes. He wanted me to see all that was around me. He had created this beauty and it was mine to enjoy. I could see the clouds far out that would be rolling in later that day; I could see the sea gulls waiting in the sky for their morning feast; I could see an ocean so strangely calm that it reminded me of reading about Jesus walking beside lake Gennesaret. I don't remember all that was said during that time, but I remember praying and seeing a man far down the beach. He was limping and walking with a cane. I tried to continue talking to the Lord, but He kept showing me this man. I knew I had to pray for him. I told the Lord that I would approach him as he got closer, but when he was about 25 feet away, he turned back to the direction from which he came. I gave the typical "ughhh" and put my Bible down and walked after him. To make a long story short, I prayed over his knee, ankle, and another issue. Turns out, the man is from the South Congaree area. Anyway, the point of this is not about chasing down a man to pray for him. It certainly is not about my obedience, because only a short time after this incident, I failed to reach out to another person.
It is about praying with my eyes open.
Most of the time, I close my eyes in worship or prayer so that I can stay focused. I have a tendency to be easily distracted. But, sometimes, the Lord wants to show me something beautiful. Sometimes, he wants to show me the broken people. Sometimes, those things are one in the same. He loves these people, and while, to us, they may limp or appear broken beyond repair, to Him, they are a beautiful creation. If I want to experience the Father's heart, it will require me to, sometimes, pray with my eyes wide open and see the broken, beautiful people that His heart longs to heal.
Hi Amy, my husband Wes just finished reading your blog, (probably from a Facebook update? He's on there a lot), then told me about it. First, Congratulations on your graduation-- these surely are exciting times! It is truly awesome to see how God works. I believe He will (continue) to use you in mighty ways to glorify Him and to bring healing to the brokenhearted. Your words throughout this blog remind me of Isaiah 61, one of my favorites,
ReplyDeleteThe Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
We will pray with you- and the roots group!! as it is formed too, and look forward to following you closely through this journey.
In Him,
Christy and Wes Hertz -Friends of James A., we were baptized by Matt! :) at your pool July 2010.
Thank you so much for your prayers and kind words. Funny you should bring up this scripture. It has been on my heart lately and reminds me of a word that was given to Matt almost a year ago.
ReplyDelete