Of Chains and Wings...

I have been pondering the mercy of God these days. I tend to ponder and brood as I travel through my days in my attempt to classify and make sense out of it all...hoping at this stage of my life to neatly file each experience and thought into its'proper place in my inner filing system.

How I long for life to be that neat. In fact, it is not. I am hedged in but not left for dead; held by the Father yet not smothered. I am thinking that the title of this piece says much about the different seasons of the walk of faith. Let me take a little of your time and share from my present perceptions...

Circumstances, self-image, and stale vision all seem to conspire to chain us to old wineskins that have seen their share of scratches and leaks. Those chains are sometimes loose, and sometimes they are tight enough to force flesh to grow over them as they are incorporated into the body. Images of these prisons and stop signs cloud our vision to the mercy of God.

I think God has His ways of cutting those chains and giving us wings to soar with the eagles. Perhaps it is in experiencing community in the body of Christ. The chains of marred lenses come off as our perceptions are questioned; freeing us to move towards the identity in Christ that is waiting for us at the feet of Jesus. Perhaps freedom is found in a new direction taken as a result of having our lenses cleaned in this way.

I will explore this theme in the days to come. Thanks for hanging out with me in the Land of Lynne.

Peace and a cup o'joy,
Lynne