the love of Jesus

O Father of Jesus,
Help me to approach You with deepest reverence,
not with presumption,
not with servile fear, but with holy boldness.
You are beyond the grasp of my understanding,
but not beyond that of my love.
You know that I love You supremely,
for You are supremely adorable, good perfect.

My heart melts at the love of Jesus,
my brother, bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh,
married to me, dead for me, risen for me;
He is mine and I am His,
given to me as well as for me;
I am never so much mine as when I am His,
or so much lost to myself until lost in Him;
then I find my true [womanhood].

But my love is frost and cold, ice and snow;
Let His love warm me,
lighten my burden,
be my heaven;
May it be more revealed to me in all its influences
that my love to Him may be more fervent and glowing;
Let the mighty tide of His everlasting love
cover the rocks of my sin and care;
Then let my spirit float above those things
which had else wrecked my life.

Make me fruitful by living to that love,
my character becoming more beautiful every day.
If traces of Christ’s love-artistry be upon me,
may He work on with His divine brush
until the [c o m p l e t e] image be obtained
and I be made a perfect copy of Him,
my Master.

O Lord Jesus, come to me,
O Divine Spirit, rest upon me,
O Holy Father, look on me in mercy
for the sake of the well-beloved. 

[a late-night prayer, read in turmoil, from The Valley of Vision.]

my dad sings like perry como

Saturday morning sunlight streamed through lace curtains as a 5-year-old early riser stretched and blinked the sleep from her eyes.  Instantly she heard singing - loud, wake-the-whole-house baritone singing.  That only meant one thing:  Dad was cooking breakfast that morning, and he was happy.  As she got closer, the girl, realized he was singing a love song to her mom: "Some enchanted eeveniinngg, you will see a straaangeeerr.  You will see a straangeerr across a crowded rooomm.  And somehow you'll knooww, you'll know even theenn, that somewhere you'll see her again and aaaggaaaiiiinnn..."

The 5 year old giggled.  Mom glowed.  

Later that afternoon: "Daddy, how did you and mom fall in looooovee?" 
"We didn't, Laura.  We stepped deliberately into it."

"Oh," disappointedly.  "Well that's no fun."  

"That's what you think."

~*~

I never get tired of my parents' incredible love story - how he wasn't really looking, but they met at work and my mom suggested lunch (or something).  How 4 months later my mom bought a simple dress at a department store (which still fits!), and they married in a small chapel with a few family and friends, and that was that - their married life began.  He provided, and she paid the bills, and he kept the house running when migraines hit, and they raised 2 girls and made each other laugh.

It's been 20 years, and still sometimes I catch them slow-dancing in the kitchen as dinner cooks.  

Happy 20^th anniversary, mom & dad. 

bride & groom

There he stands, watching her come towards him.  She’s so excited; she  has eyes for no one but him.  And he—well, just look at his face.  She is his bride.  As he places the ring on her finger, she laughs in incredulity: “Is this real? Are you really making this promise to me?”  Yes.  The rings are the sign.

I never understood the power of the Church as the Bride of Christ, the Groom, until this moment when I saw this human groom’s face.  Because instead of wondering whether a man would ever look at me in that way and place a symbol on my finger, I realized – one day, my Savior will gaze upon me with even greater love.  The seal of the promise is not a metal circle, but scarred wrists, bloody feet, a new heart.  And I shall see His face.  I am His bride.  He is my Groom.

I know that the Church collectively is the Bride, not mere individuals.  Christ, in His love, will see us as one.  But a groom doesn’t just love his bride as a whole being; he cherishes every part of her.  Her big, shining eyes.  Her soft, long hair.  Her dimples.  Her nose and the way it wrinkles when she laughs.  Her tiny hands and feet.  Her smile.  Her voice.  Everything that makes up who she is, he treasures.  He examines the details of each feature with delight.

And so, just as Christ will look upon His Bride, the Church, with unimaginable love, so He will gaze upon me.  So He will delight in you.  And we together shall see His face – distant now as we walk down this long aisle of the years, but coming closer, closer…

O Lord, haste the day.

(Thank you, Kristen & James, for inviting me to be part of your God-honoring wedding celebration.  May God bless your life together richly, and keep us all ever-focused on the eternal wedding feast.)

0052-0064: journey mercies and wedding bells

I never really understood the concept of “journey mercies” or the comfort in prayer for safe travels…until I took a road trip by myself.

0052: The semitruck miraculously saw us and did not run us into the wall on the George Washington Bridge. Accident averted.

0053: We never got hopelessly lost. Not even when Google directions were wrong and our maps were unhelpful. Not even when we missed a turn in Friday rush-hour New York City. Not even when we were driving around middle-of-nowhere New Hampshire.

0054: We never ran out of gas (…though I occasionally worried when we were stuck in traffic).

0055: Fresh fruit, soft-serve ice cream, and a friendly home at the end of a long driving day.

0056: The gracious hospitality of our friend’s family (especially their mother. Especially during a busy weekend.)

0057: Relaxing by the water.

0058: Driving past grave yards

0059: Blasting The Sound of Music cassette. Old School, I know.

0060: Patience and endurance for the long drive home. Even when we thought we would lose our minds from looking at so much traffic-filled highway.

0061-64: Her infectious joy. The way he treasures her. A wedding celebration that constantly proclaimed the Gospel and anticipated the wedding feast we will share in heaven with our faithful Groom. The spiritual reality that this image points me towards:

Lord of all, to Thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise.

one thousand gifts 1-14
one thousand gifts 14-30
one thousand gifts 31-51