Skip to main content

the Center

"Oh Christ, be the center of our lives
Be the place we fix our eyes
Be the center of our lives."

The word CENTER has echoed in my heart and in my head this week through many different situations and circumstances.  It has been my cry.  Oh God, please, be the CENTER.  Because when God is the center, my fear and anxiety...my failures...my insufficiencies...my insecurities...my uncertainties are superlative details that no longer hold weight.  When I gaze at the CENTER, the reason, the rhyme, everything that seems to be broken finds its place.  When I remove myself and place the Lord where He belongs - in the CENTER of it all, I regain my hope.  I find my purpose.  Thank goodness I was not created to be the star of this show, because this show would have been cancelled long ago.  The Vine is the center.  The Heart is the center.  The Son is the center.  My God is the CENTER.  Thank God in Heaven that He is the CENTER of everything and can touch anything with His remarkable healing power and love.  And if you are ever having trouble remembering this like I do, I can't think of any more "center"ing situations than when you love without return, you give without appreciation, you sing without harmony, you speak without being heard...basically, the trenches of parenting - in its many forms and shapes.  And because you must go on and because you still care deeply, you must turn your eyes once again to the CENTER of all things.  And everything that is broken finds its place.

"We lift our eyes to Heaven
We wrap our lives around your life
We lift our eyes to Heaven, to you."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Twenty Ways to Love a Foster Family Well

The tears slid down my cheek as I typed out the email just a few short weeks ago that would officially close our home and end our season as foster parents.  We may have another season before we hit the nursing home, but after a lot of prayer and confirmation....we know this season right now? It is about the family God has formed inside our home.  We will be focusing on meeting the needs of each of the amazing forever children we have the privilege of parenting. We will also do all we can to provide intentional support to those fostering around us.  ( Hint: If you are local and maybe "not having enough support and/or respite" has kept you from fostering, holla at ya girl! ) I wanted to mark this moment in some way, which is why I am here.  I want to share with YOU all of the amazing ways people - our family, our friends, our community, our church, our village...so many of you - made this season possible for us. I want to highlight all the ways God showed up for us in ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rhythms

Maybe because the anniversary of   “the big change”…             when I slowed my own rhythms down…             when the rhythm of our family slowed down…             when we began a dance to a simpler, slower, but just as meaningful melody… Maybe because the anniversary of that time is slowly approaching or maybe because, since that time I’ve tried to rev up and hit “accelerate” again only to have found myself intrinsically changed and unable to “rev” as I used to… Or maybe because as we approached this small-ish, one-room, home-reno project this spring break, we approached it as different people and in a different way and I’m only realizing it at the end of spring break with only one of three phases complete? Or maybe it’s been the freedom-seeking with the ladies on those Thursday evenings slowing ...
Post a Comment
Read more

organic mercies

"For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry , in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah." 1 Kings 17:16 Today is a day of new beginnings and also endings, and I'm swimming in the emotion of it all.  This sweet summer, my favorite one probably ever, has officially come to an end and with it, a new layer for me of settling into a new life.  During summer, we are all just passers-by - here today, gone tomorrow. But now, the return of normal for all is swarming around me as I adjust again to my new normal. Sending our baby off to preschool.  Sending my best friend off to teach Geometry, Pre-Calc, and a new football season. And we used to do it all just in the blur.  Last summer, it was me who had never stopped for summer...it was me inviting them back to normal along with me.  Back to the races. Not this year. The rain is falling outside the window, and the quiet is loud, and I am grateful as I reflect on the story of our...
Post a Comment
Read more