a time to praise



“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” {L.M.Montgomery}

One of our adventures this fall - this one in our own Columbia Gorge!

The purple mornings, the pink sunsets, the vivid beauty in my little corner of the world with the crisp leaves crunching under my boots ~ it is one of my favorite things. This October is unlike all the others. Many things changed as summer ended and fall began.

I knew it was coming. I knew it when a dear friend of mine married her love in September.  I knew it when my niece matched me in height. I knew it when one of my best friends finally had a sweetheart. I knew it when we discussed moving from the Big House in the Little Wood to a smaller house closer to town. I knew it when Grandpa passed away a few weeks ago. I knew it when I said goodbye to one redhead as she went to Russia, and another as she went to California.
I knew it when God pulled everything away and made it clear: that precious thing of dreams and imaginations was here ~ we were all grown up.

a very happy celebration at Mika's wedding!


All of us kids at our annual Family Camp. 

There was a period this fall where everything and everybody seemed distant. As if, at the end of the day, everything I held dearly was going to leave. Permanently.
The only person left was my Constant, my Friend. I didn’t realize how much I had relied on, and even idolized the people and situation around me until it wasn’t there.
If I lost everything but God’s constancy ~ would I still praise Him?
If all I saw as beautiful was stripped away, leaving me raw and terrified ~ would I still rejoice in His perfect plan?
If all I could see was a twisted, topsy-turvy road ahead of me ~would I step toward it with joy?
If I saw a straight, never changing, shadowed path before my feet ~ would I embrace the knowledge that “He hath made everything beautiful in His time?” {Ecc.3:11}
He is praiseworthy of all the shadows {Ps.17:8}, the fires {1Pet.1:7}, the giving and taking of different pieces in my reality {Job.1:21}…all of it. Will I praise Him for His constancy, His goodness, and His unending faithfulness? Whatever their shape or form?

“O Lord, you are my God!
I will exalt You,
I will give thanks to Your name;
For You have worked wonders.
Plans formed long ago,
With perfect faithfulness.”
{Is.25:1}



Comments

  1. Wow, Kaytch. You put everything into words that I've been thinking about. Love and miss yah!

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  2. Lovely! This post left me feeling slightly melancholy the way you feel on a rainy fall day when you don't really want to DO anything and you realize that summer is over. May God's goodness carry you through the seasons of your life with great joy and peace!

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  3. Beautiful, beautiful post. I wasn't sure whether to cry or to laugh when I read " I knew it when God pulled everything away and made it clear: that precious thing of dreams and imaginations was here ~ we were all grown up." Perhaps it is what I call a "monkey's wedding"--when the rain pours and the sun shines at the same time. Love you!

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The Word of God I think of as a straight edge, which shows up our own crookedness. We can't really tell how crooked our thinking is until we line it up with the straight edge of Scripture. ~ E. Elliot

What we say affects our eternal destiny.

Please comment with these in mind, and I look forward to your encouraging and edifying comments!

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