Walking on the Balance Beam

I just came from an artist's fellowship at my church. It is late now and I have to go to bed soon so that I can get up to go to work in the morning. I cannot sleep yet, though. I have to write. The screen beckons me with an urgency that I haven't figured out if it is from my own ego or a prompting from the Lord. I suppose I will just have to step out in faith and take a chance walking on the balance beam of deciding whether or not to yield. Yes, I have questions about my motivation to write. Sometimes it seems clear that the Lord has a purpose behind what He allows me to produce. Other times I am not able to see that clearly and feel as if I am indeed mentally walking on a balance beam;with choices and questions floating around my head. I adore my husband and my children;but the pull to create is more than magnetic. I am convinced that the Lord put it on my heart to write in part because it comes so easily. I am also passionate about writing down my thoughts in order to share them;especially these days. Writing is an effective tool for making sense of the journey that is life. God does amazing things when He is allowed to show us what is in our hearts. I admit that I don't always enjoy looking at what is in my heart. It is like a train wreck though in the sense that you just have to look.

Good night and have a cup o'joy...
Lynne

Lost in the Sea of Forgetfulness...

I have to break it to you: this is not a post about Alzheimer's,short-term memory loss(feel free to skip that business...no fun),or forgetting why you walked into a particular room of your house(been there,done that,bought the t-shirt...). I am talking about the habit we as Christians have of going fishing in the sea of forgetfulness that the scriptures talk about...You know: the place where God tosses our sins once we confess and forsake them? The circular file for our screw ups and sins...are you with me? Good. Now I can continue...

I have a suspicion that we all have fishing poles handy to go fishing in the sea of forgetfulness. I have mine ready at a moment's notice. I know just where to go to find my pole at a moment's notice. The line has the perfect tension(if it is possible for tension to be perfect),a sharp hook(gee...can't risk not actually dredging up those old sins that smell like dead fish,can we?),and plenty of bait. I think that we use our guilt as an excuse to go fishing and find a fresh reason(or an old one)to whack ourselves over the head. Nevermind the headache that ensues after we have been fishing for a while. The stench of dead fish doesn't seem to deter us a bit.

In closing,I propose a solution for the problem of fishing for dead fish in the sea of forgetfulness...forgiveness. If the Lord is gracious enough to cast our sins as far as the east is from the west(His words,mind you...),then the least we can do is to honor Him by leaving them there. This is easier said than done. Those memories of past experiences can be hard to let go of. In a way, they are actually boundaries for our self-image and can define us without us having to do the hard work of seeking out our identity in Christ. Maybe I am off-base on this last point,but it has seemed to work this way with me through the years. I am praying that I can learn how to stop fishing for those dead fish and return to the land of the living through the Word and the blood of Jesus. If anyone out there feels moved to do so,let me hear a hearty "Amen".

Thanks for coming today,and I hope you come again.
Have a cup o'joy with me once more soon...

Peace.
Lynne