living from the river

It feels like we've already lived a few lifetimes.  From sitting on the shores of the Pacific, to the slums of the Sub-Saharan, through the cities of North America, Jobin and I marvel at how Love brought us together from opposite ends of the earth and continues to carry us to the corners of the earth. Our hearts often feel stretched thin, spread across every continent with all the souls we hold dear. Through every trial and triumph, times of great despair to even greater rejoicing, we are held together by grace that is closer than our skin. Sometimes we find ourselves between two worlds- between where we are and where we long to be, lovesick for our Saviour and homesick for a place we've never been . But in that tension we are filled with wonder and hope for the season we're in and the seasons to come- as Love calls us to rise and come alive. After many tears, prayers and years in waiting, we have our one-way tickets to Uganda booked from our knees....

There's a new song rising, burning new mercies like the sun that arises every morning- it's name is Victory, and it's washing over every bit of defeat in me.  My feet glide weightlessly as I dance across the room, and in every bend of every joint, I am praising Him. I create because He first created. I dance because He first danced. I sing because He's always been singing over me.  The way the sunlight shimmers on the water of the lake and the way its current never stops moving. The way the grass tosses to the left and right as a gentle wind carries itself through my hair and the trees. It's a still, small Voice- a quiet Yes. The way I can dig my toes into the earth beneath me. It's this incomprehensible grace that wakes me up and teaches me how to rest. There's an awakening happening. Victory's song is light that overcomes the deepest and darkest of places, where no person or circumstance is beyond the reach of it...

"And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."  Jesus in Luke 22:19 "This is my body, given for you. BROKEN for YOU." As these precious words reach my ears, they quickly sink deep into my heart, rush through my veins, and down into my bones. I take the bread and cup in one hand and my dearest in the other, and the tears start to come. It has always been all for Love. I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine. "You are restricted in your own affections. Open wide your hearts..." I've been mourning and working over something that's already been paid for. All of the scorekeeping of wrongdoings, all of the self-righteous law-abiding, trapped by fear, bound by insecurity, and distracted by complacency.... Hungry and thirsty, I've been longing for something that's already been free...

A new day rises on a dark sky and a layer of gold covers everything in sight. As I look at the bare, leafless trees, glowing and radiating light, I see myself - stripped of all my masks and defenses; disarmed by a Love that is so much more powerful than the sun. There's something so honest about those branches that hang bare in the balance. To know You and be known by You; to love You and be loved by You is the greatest treasure of all. Sometimes it all feels like a dream within a dream. Time passes quickly by, and suddenly, it's like you wake up from a lifelong sleep to discover that things are not as they seem. Reality starts to spin and the tension increases. Every wall is brought to the ground and every paradigm shattered to pieces. The most real things in this life are in the unseen, and all of our souls are crying out to be caught up in this redemptive whirlwind. Every moment is an invitation from the Father to enter into life in all its fullness....