God's Answers...

Simply put, I had a rough weekend. My Dad and I had planned to go to Canterbury Shaker Village on Saturday for a good meal and a tour of the village. We had gone once before, but we didn't have the opportunity to take a tour so we self-guided our way through the beautiful grounds and admired the gardens and village atmosphere before enjoying a delicious meal. This time, the meal was limited (due to my Veg-head diet and their having just run out of vegan burgers). Little did I know that this would be for the best later on....

Dad and I really enjoyed the tour. We learned a lot about the history of the village and the Shaker movement as a whole. I've always felt a sense of admiration for the Shakers and in an idealistic sense, I've always felt that such communal living would be optimal given the right set of people with beliefs founded upon the same principles and more importantly, God. The day started out muggy and hot, with the sun aflame on our shoulders. The headache that I had woken up with began to worsen halfway through the tour, but I ignored it and enjoyed soaking up knowledge of the villagers' many inventions and their demonstrable, albeit simple, resourcefulness.

An ominous sky signaled Dad and I back to the car once the tour was over, and we headed towards the looming gray to make our way back home. I had a Sunday School lesson to finish and I wanted to spend the evening relaxing in prayer. It wasn't long into our drive that fat, sporadic droplets of rain gave way to torrential downpours. It hard to believe that Dad could see the road through what looked like the Magic School Bus's Underwater Adventure. My headache peaked at what I would classify as a Category 4 Migraine (just short of the worst). I was very uncomfortable and then suddenly, a wave of nausea passed over me like a thick blanket of tar. It hit me so suddenly that I felt panicked when I realized that a.) there was a torrential downpour outside, accompanied by thunder and massive bolts of lightning, and b.) there was no visible shoulder for Dad to pull over onto and forget about a shoulder, I couldn't even see the road!

I searched around for a bag, a tissue... SOMETHING to catch my sick. But unfortunately, I had my first horrendous experience of riding home in a puddle of my own.... "lunch." Thankfully, my "lunch" was mostly confined to the floor, but that didn't make the ride any more pleasant for my trembling stomach and my poor Dad who gracefully drove on. As it happened, I picked up some kind of a flu bug which has traveled through my office and turned many of us inside out. My Mom unfortunately picked it up just after I did... and as a result, we had an upchucky kind of a weekend and a trip to the ER to get some meds to stop the reflexes at last. My family and I, we have trampoline stomachs... once they start to spring, they won't stop until you medicate them. So my Mom and I spent far too long being unattended in a hospital room with IV fluids and anti-nausea meds as our only company.

I missed Church on Sunday, which I very rarely EVER do. Missing Church to me is like being told that I cannot eat for three days. I love food. And I mean, I really LOVE food (thankfully I also love to exercise or my true love for food would be apparent enough without words). But I love Church much more than I love food, and to miss it is a very sad thing for me. It is the highlight of my week... and teaching Sunday School adds to the Joy of it all. But this weekend, there was nothing that could have gotten me out of bed. I was driftwood on the flurious seas.

And then came Monday... Monday, Monday. So good to me. Well, I woke up this morning hoping for a fresh start and renewed vitality. But I wasn't so thrilled to discover that I was still rather woozy and worse, I had left my car keys in my father's car over the weekend, which meant that he had to drive all the way over to my house and drop them off in order for me to get to work, which also meant that I was going to be LATE! Woozy, late and feeling like a wrung-out rag. That was not a good start to the week... and I was cranky from lack of sleep.

After my Dad graciously brought my keys over, I grumpily drove off to work and admittedly, I was upset. I asked God why I couldn't seem to catch a break and I cried out my frustrations to Him. I sighed. I huffed. I paused. And I asked God "Would you please just show me that you are with me today? I am feeling really overwhelmed and all of these fiery darts are wearing on me... Please just show me your Love." I took a deep breath, and I looked up at the sky... All at once, my heart calmed and a spirit of thankfulness came over me. I was touched. Humbled. Awestruck. There above me, in the great morning sky, God had hand-written my name in the clouds to remind me that He is with me, that He loves me very much, and that I need only keep my eyes focused on the Heavens and I will remain in His Presence and continue to abide in His Love.

God pulled me out of the muck and mire, as He so readily does when I fully surrender and take my eyes off of my circumstances, and He brought me into a place of Peace.

And, of course, me being me, I grabbed my cell phone and snapped a few reminder shots for me to capture this most touching display of God's Faithful Love that blessed me so deeply today. Here are the pictures that I took:

My heart felt such Peace and the Spirit pulled at me with tinges of conviction for having allowed myself to set my eyes on my frustrations with circumstance rather than on God who is much greater. And so I drove the rest of the way to work, eyes glazed over with humility, gratitude and the best feeling a human could possibly experience: the immeasurable Love of a God who paints the skies just so to show us that we are His and that in His great bounty, in all of His glory, He loves each one of us so specially that He will rearrange the clouds just to tell us.

God's Peace, Comfort, and Love are only a prayer away. His Love is grander and more beautiful than anything we could possibly hope or dream for. We need only life our eyes...

In Christ Alone,
-M