Set Apart

When I began my blog, I felt it would be a venue for sharing my thoughts in writing. I planned to keep it separate from another thread of my writing life. Now, I have been rethinking that decision and want to share more fully with you!

Since December of 2008, I have been a volunteer online staff writer for Rest Ministries (RM). For years before that, I was encouraged by this Christian site and what it has to offer. RM was founded by Lisa Copen as a means to support those who live with chronic pain and/or chronic illness. The web site is a resource of many dimensions but one resource is its posting of daily devotionals. These are available to be read online, via subscription, or via download to one’s Kindle. All the devotional writers live with chronic health challenges and write from the perspective of their own journeys through the maze of pain and trials.

Rest Ministries’ main web site:

http://restministries.com

Today’s posting of one of my devotionals:

http://restministries.com/2012/07/31/set-apart/ 

If you or any friend live with chronic pain, illness, or challenges, I highly recommend the site and pray you will find encouragement there.

I am posting my devotional text as a blog entry. May you be blessed by its message.

Allowing Jesus to Woo Me When I Am Set Apart in the  Desert 

“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor, [bitterness] a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt” 

(Hosea 2:14-15).

None of us like being set apart as a result of health challenges. When this journey takes us into a true wilderness experience, apart with only the Lord, persevering becomes a deep priority.

I am reminded that after Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, and God the Father’s anointing approval for His Son to begin His public ministry, that the Holy Spirit led Jesus immediately into the desert where He was taunted and tempted.

The Father allowed it. He knew that He could trust His Son. He knew that there would be more taunting during the ensuing three years and unto the Cross where His death reconciled each of us to the Father.

When I find myself set apart in the desert, what if my perspective could take notice of the One who is with me rather than the potential struggling in the wasteland? God knows that He can trust me. I choose to trust Him. He also wants to entrust me with gifts–love notes that only He can convey in this place set apart.

Jesus came against his desert temptations with the Word of God. “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’” (Matthew 4:10). I have not only the Word [Scripture], but the Word Himself within me helping me to hold steady in His care. Is it hard? Yes, the enemy is near attempting to taunt me.

Does God help me? Yes, if I refuse to wiggle off the Vine where I will lose my focus and His nourishment. The riches that God wants to reveal to me are where He is dwelling. His abundance does not run out in the desert because He is the abundance. Remembering this is how my hope is strengthened and where we will remain until such time I have received what He wants to convey.

Prayer: Lord, I choose to be where You lead me. When in the desert and set apart, hold me steady within the grace-filled wellspring of your Presence. Amen.

Lynn's photo - near Galway, Ireland -  1979

Fourth of July Nostalgia

The impetus for this blog post came unexpectedly on July 1. I was pulling a favorite sweat shirt over my head, the one with the word, PHILADELPHIA, in medium-sized print across its front. It was a drizzly Pacific Northwest day, perfect for staying cozy inside. As I zipped up my jeans, I was mentally back in Philadelphia during the summer of July, 1990 and in the store where I had purchased the shirt. The days of that 8 week trip began to resurface. There were many who made the steps I took -- steps amidst the landmarks that were the origin of our United States of America -- among the most memorable of my life.

It was not my first time to be on the east coast of the United States. I had lived there at different times during my growing up years. I had also worked in Washington, D.C. as a young adult. I love the history prevalent in those areas and my own history that makes them a part of me.

That journey began when I was awarded a scholarship to travel for the purpose of writing curriculum for my students -- curriculum based on the history of our beloved country. What a God ordained gift this was to me.

In my reverie moments, I recalled other Fourth of Julys spent in these surroundings. When I was a child, my family [along with many others] would sit on the lawn of the Washington monument to watch the fireworks display. That was before the current holiday concerts and television coverage in D.C. marking the date -- all fine -- but I also loved the simpler times of celebration. During my trip in 1990, I spent the evening of the Fourth of July on the grounds of Williamsburg in a small cottage, sitting with a woman and graduate students she was mentoring that summer. As the drum and fife corps marched down the pavement and past her window, we went out to the front yard and watched the fireworks beautifully displayed in this breathtaking setting.

My memories stretched on over this time frame of which I write and American history’s timeline from 1607 through the Civil War and on into the present day landmarks of our nation’s capital: Jamestown, Williamsburg, Monticello, Gettysburg, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Plymouth, Massachusetts. I was steeped in our country’s past, each stop and stay as a candle burning brightly, illuminating growth and struggles.

I felt deep appreciation for those who took it upon themselves, for various reasons, to build “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. Not all were free during those years and some still fight for freedoms but we have a blueprint and goals. If we are wise, we can learn from our history as we reach towards the skies with our red, white, and blue hopes for a stronger nation.

I look at the dedication and dreams of those who set foot here over four hundred years ago and those who followed. Each carried a light and gifts to contribute, as do each of us. What better time to ponder what we can give than on this celebration day as we thank God for, and ask Him to bless America!

 Sing with the Wind 

Here. . .where the ageless hills reach upward

to the ageless stars. . .here where a century

is measured as a day. . .I hold these numbered

years called life within my trembling hands

. . .these fragile years touched with wonder

and with mystery. . .

               there seems to be so little time

in which to learn the purpose for our living

. . .and yet. . .in the changeless pattern of

things that are to be. . .there must be both

meaning and purpose. . .or we would be insen-

sitive to the healing power of beauty . . .

and the sustaining power of love. . .

                         perhaps I am here to touch but 

a single heart. . .or to fill a single need. . .

or to share my strength with one who needs 

a shield against a hostile world. . .

                        I do not know. . . perhaps it is 

destined that I should not know. . .but. . .

another may know. . .

                            and understand. . .

                                                  and be grateful.

---Winston O. Abbott

                                     

Here, in song, is a tribute to those whose labors formed our nation and a reminder to each of us to keep the flame of freedom’s hope burning brightly for each other and for our country.

Candle in the Window

performed by Linda Eder

Birthday Reflections

My birthday directs me into reflection. There is gratefulness for life - God’s gift of days to me that today number sixty-nine years. I’ve received a wonderful outpouring of care, yet one gift took me by surprise and it is via its offering that I share my reflections with you.

As one who has entered the world of social media, I have been blessed to meet people online who have become friends, enriching my days. Through my writings for Rest Ministries, there are those who share in the challenges of living with chronic pain and/or illness. Other support sites have become places where understanding is given and received.

But Facebook crosses all spectrums of my life experiences: friends from over the years, work colleagues who remain friends, my former students, and those in the groups mentioned above. Additionally, a whole new community of friends on Facebook “find each other” because of shared interests.

 I dedicate this blog post to one such friend, Owen, in thanksgiving for the gift he brought to my page  -  birthday greetings with a song. We met online because of our mutual admiration for the trumpeter, Chris Botti. I had not expected greetings from Owen which made the ones he sent most exceptional. I could not contain my tears. As I told Owen, “Chris and Christ brought us together!” How could it be otherwise when I live near Seattle, Washington and Owen lives in the Philippines.

Though the song he shared is most known for its being sung at weddings, it mirrors the relationship that Christ longs to have with us. Here are its lyrics  intertwined with my birthday reflections for this year.

I Will Be Here

(composer and lyricist: Steven Curtis Chapman)

Tomorrow morning if you wake up
and the sun does not appear
I will be here

Sixty-nine years ago, at six months gestation, I was born as a wee preemie.The words that greeted my mother were, “There is no way your daughter will survive. There is hope for your son [my twin], but not for her.”

Four complete blood transfusions later + one incubator + a God with plans had me resting in His care for two months before being released to go home.

“You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed” 

(Psalm 139:15-16 NLT).

If in the dark, we lose sight of love
Hold my hand, and have no fear
'Cause I will be here

Baptized at birth, a conscious awareness of Jesus all my life, and an adult commitment to Christ as my Lord and Savior have equalled ensuring years filled with joys and challenges and always God’s faithfulness.

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10a NLT)!

I will be here
When you feel like being quiet
When you need to speak your mind
I will listen

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” 

( Hebrews 4:16 NLT).

And I will be here
When the laughter turns to cryin'
Through the winning, losing and trying
We'll be together
I will be here

“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:7 NLT).

Tomorrow morning, if you wake up
And the future is unclear
I will be here
Just as sure as seasons were made for change
Our lifetimes were made for these years
So I will be here

Twenty years ago this month, it became necessary for me to take an early retirement from my beloved teaching career. God brought His peace to what would have been a gut wrenching decision without it. June is a natural time to reflect on those priceless years and young faces. My students are grown now, many with children of their own. In my daily prayers for them I turn to this gift from God’s Word - words that  held me steady during my teaching years.

“He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young”

 (Isaiah 40:11 ESV).

I will be here
And you can cry on my shoulder
When the mirror tells us we're older
I will hold you
And I will be here
To watch you grow in beauty
And tell you all the things you are to me
I will be here

True, the mirror of life reveals changes as I have grown older. Yet the gift of years is to be treasured if I have followed the One leading me and helping me learn life’s lessons along the way - lessons that keep me close to Him and to those who are gifts in my life.

“Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you” (Psalm 35:4-5 NLT).

I will be true to the promise I have made
To you and to the One who gave you to me

With God the Father’s plan in place, Jesus lived out his earthly days and, as promised, reconciled me [us] to my [our] Creator. In turn, being true to Him is being true to the One who sent Him to model on earth the life I am to lead.

“I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me” 

(John 17:6-8 NLT).

Tomorrow morning, if you wake up
And the sun does not appear
I will be here
Oh, I will be here.

Birthdays are special celebrations. Yet a new day is birthed within me each morning and with it comes the Lord’s glory and presence uniquely greeting me. May I be faithful to carry that gift to others for more years to come.

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” (Isaiah 60:1 ESV).

Thank you, Owen for the gift of this song as recored by Gary Valenciano

I Will Be Here

(composer and lyricist: Steven Curtis Chapman)

"The Masterpiece" print by Bette Myers

Photo taken by Lynn - scene in her apartment

What Are My Real Needs?

During these past few weeks I have been in touch with so many people who are facing down various crisis in their lives. If you are not in crisis at this time, praise God. It is inevitable that such times do arrive and could be around any corner when we least expect them. 

One common thread with those I have written to and responded to as they have cried out  for help is how they have "lost their identity" -  they are grieving the person they once were or the person that was able to be more active ( chronic illness hit )  There are those in marriage and/or  relationship crisis and a whole new identity is having to be faced either because of divorce or because the relationship is having to be rebuilt. There is struggle in letting go of the  "old" to make way for the "new". There is despair in wondering if any beauty can rise out of ashes. Unfortunately, it is necessary for a fire to burn the old so that there are any ashes from which beauty can arise.

I am facing decisions about a new medical treatment that is needed but which has the potential for side effects I'd prefer not to have and so I am clutching at my faith in believing that God brings the new because He has a plan - a plan to prosper and not to tear down. When we are in the midst of the questions, the pain, the depression, the wondering, and the unknown,  it is hard to focus on what we know as the "feelings" are so intense.

It is a time to draw close to the ultimate Comforter - the Holy Spirit. His light has not dimmed. Our view has dimmed as we are being crushed under the cares that are upon us. We are called to rest in different ways, seeking Him and waiting until the roar of the cares calm down enough so we can receive His counsel.

I have felt impressed to post to my blog a devotional I wrote some years ago in hopes that it will encourage any readers who are struggling. I am struggling and it is good for me to return to "my own words"! I needed them then and I need them now. This original posting  was for Rest Ministries - an online web site resource for those who live with chronic pain and/or illness (http://restministries.com/). I am a staff writer, along with other writers, who contribute to one of their resources - daily devotionals. 

This piece is written in first person but you can transpose it to your own needs. The core message is that each day we are given enough provisions from God's basket of care to meet our needs. It takes choosing to go to Him and the basket and reach in and trust what we pull out is enough - that He is enough  - for there is none who cares about each of us more than He does.

Bless you as you read!

What Are My Real Needs?

“If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.” His disciples answered, "But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?" “How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked. "Seven," they replied 

(Mark 8:3-5).

Jesus’ teachings nourished the spirits of those gathered to listen to him. During this event recorded in Mark, their need for food was also met. A miracle occurred as Jesus broke the bread, had his disciples distribute it to more than four thousand and leftovers remained -- enough to fill seven baskets! 

In kind, God cares about my every need. He knows how undernourished I can become in all areas of my life. As someone who lives alone and with chronic illness, how can I evaluate what I am truly needing as each day dawns? 

Are my feelings on edge, my hopes on hold, or my spirit in need of some freshening? What is in Jesus’ basket for me? I’ll find prayers to be offered, strength from his Word, encouragement to relax and to cease from striving. Yet in this account I see something else. Jesus asks his disciples to distribute the food to the crowds. I am designed for a relationship both with him and with others.

Do I isolate myself from nourishment that friends could bring? Can I risk letting others know of my need for them? Am I willing to wait for their yes if their lives are busy? Chronic illness does not make me exempt from the desire for human connection. It is most important that I have enough. If I become drained, my own opportunity to bring nourishment to others is weakened. 

This Scripture passage reminds me that the answer to all I need has its foundation in God. He asks others to contribute as they come alongside me. Together, relationship is formed. The Lord wants no one to collapse on the way Home from lack of care.

Prayer: Lord, your basket of provisions holds bread blessed and broken. Your basket is always full. Help me to receive from you and from others the gift of relationship. Thank you that you meet every one of my needs in abundance. Amen.

from Lynn's manuscript: "Choosing Comfort: Words of Encouragement During Times of Life Challenges"

A Song to Start the Day!

Breadbasket photo by Lynn 

A Garden in the Bus

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden” 

----Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

I had not expected a garden to show up in a bus. I was hoping I’d be able to physically handle the ride via DART to downtown Seattle, usually a thirty minute drive during non-rush hour traffic. Stops and starts, unexpected turns, wide scopes of peripheral vision compromise my vestibular system pretty fast if I am not grounded driving my car. But a dear friend had invited me out to lunch and wanted to try out the DART bus. She had signed up for this service should she need it.

The hospital where she is currently undergoing extensive chemotherapy treatments after her ovarian cancer surgery, was featuring an offer -- an offer too good to refuse. Professional photographers donated their time and talents over the course of  two days. It was a time to pamper cancer patients  (current and survivors). They’d experience the joy of an attentive team for a portrait sitting. The outcome would be a treasured image to cherish.

I have accompanied my friend to some of her treatments, but this was to be a day of fun. I took my camera to photograph her through the process leading up to her completed portrait. First, we had to get there via the DART bus ride! 

There were others to pick up and bus drivers who patiently offered help to those needing assistance getting onto the bus and settled inside. After many twists, turns, speed bumps bumped and others taken to their destinations, we arrived at ours.

So why do I mention a garden?  It emerged with each stop we made, with each soul who brought her self and some of her life story into the vehicle. On this particular day only women were on our route.  

S. came on her scooter, unable to walk even a few steps without her oxygen. She was going to town to shop at some bargain stores. 

D. arrived in her wheelchair, sporting an artificial leg, an outgoing and cheerful spirit, and was able to transfer to a regular seat on the bus. She was grateful and bubbled over sharing with us her anticipation getting to a specialized yoga class that helps her stay limber. She lives with MS and other neurological challenges.

The bus ( still bumping and twisting along ) was filled with the chatter of these women, wanting to know what we were up to and where we were going. One by one, after stories were shared, each got dropped off at her destination. Later, we  were delighted to have S. and D. both get back on the bus during our return trip. Joys were expressed. S. showed us the special bargain outfit she got for summer wear. D. was so appreciative of the relaxation and care she had received at her yoga class.

The bus navigated around corners arriving at a church in north Seattle where N. was transferred via her wheelchair on board. She had come about as far geographically as my friend and I had to attend a social support group. She was abuzz telling of the fun her group had experienced. Blind since birth and dealing with cerebral palsy, N. had a smile that lit up the already sunny day. She told me that she lived in an adult home. I asked her if she had made close friends there. She said only one as the other residents were unable to communicate clearly. I realized she had come to where some joy was present, where support and friendship was a given. I hugged her as she went to the transfer bus, wondering if she ever got hugs and knowing that she could not see me beaming at her and her tenacity.

I had not expected a garden to show up in a bus. But the fruits of the Holy Spirit unfolded right before my eyes: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) 

The garden emerged as I saw women choosing to thrive where they found themselves, using the means they could to get out, to socialize, to meet their challenges with a gusto that left me -  less encumbered - humbly inspired. Bus drivers were patient with the logistics of getting the riders onto the bus. I observe my friend, courageously confronting cancer with faith and fervor - S. taking in breaths with the help of an oxygen tank and exhaling an acceptance of where life had brought her -  N. having never seen a sunny sky giving off beams via her beautiful smile that would rival any sunflower - D., apologizing that she was not good with names yet remembering what had been said in the morning ride and wanting to know all about our individual experiences of the day. This garden was alive!

Eugene Peterson, in his paraphrase of the Bible, describes my experience this way.

“God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. . . Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits” (1 Corinthians 12: 4-11 The Message).

I had not expected a garden to show up in a bus. but it showed up nonetheless and its fragrance lingers. 

Photo by Lynn 

Just A Feather Will Do

Some years ago a friend sent me a music CD. A short phrase in one verse caught my imagination --  just a feather will do. I do not have a collection of feathers but I have a few that hold significance because of when I discovered them.

Feathers -- some so light that they are wisps -- some heavy to help eagles take flight. For those of us who embraced the film,“Forrest Gump” , there is a remembrance of the opening scenes as a feather winds its way to Forrest’s feet. His acceptance of it becomes the metaphor of his taking flight into the adventures that became the fabric of his life. 

I ponder the heavier wonderments of my life and its meanings. These are not negative times but there is potential in missing the immediate moments with their wisps of grace God has before my eyes. I want to remember that He is taking care of the future and wants me to rest in the moments, to be more intentional in seeking what they hold.They are step-builders to his ordained future.

All parts of God’s creation are significant. I want just a feather to do: a teardrop, a raindrop that bring the fruits of restoration and nurture; the rests that are part of a larger musical score making it complete because they are there; a smile that lifts, a hug that comforts, a friend who understands.

I asked my cousin, Teri, if I could share about the feathers that God brought to her life and to our family’s lives through her. I will weave my comments in among her story.

Jan. 5^th 2011, I received a call at work from John [her husband] who was very distraught and said there had been a bad accident and I must come to the hospital. I was at the Express Lane at work with customers and he said, “Come quick, it isn’t good.”

Aaron [ their 28 year old son ] had called me the night before and asked me if I could take Ashley [Aaron's wife] to work the next day. He needed the truck she usually drove to work. So, of course, I said, “Yes”,  and he responded with the most emotion I had ever heard in his voice, “THANKS MAMA, I LOVE YOU!” Those would be the last words I ever heard from him.

[The family runs a tree service business in a rural area. Aaron was high up on a crane, all safety measures in place, preparing a tree to be felled, high enough to see the eagles swooping by in the freedom they have, as if owning the skies.]

What must go through a mother’s heart at such a time? What must have gone through Aaron’s young wife’s mind as Teri swooped her up with the urgency in the call and they took to the road. Surely, she and Aaron’s one-year old daughter, Abigail, filled some of her thoughts. Feathers of grace fell into place without hesitation.

We cried and prayed the whole way to the hospital. We drove not knowing if Aaron was alive or dead. We held hands and prayed and prayed and prayed. We reached the road near where John was raised. At that moment, and on that particular spot in the highway, a large eagle actually swooped over our windshield and flew over the bay and towards the horizon upward. I knew within my mother’s heart that at that very moment, Aaron was being lifted to heaven on eagles wings. To me an eagle has always represented God! I knew that God was lifting Aaron Home. When we finally arrived at the hospital, we found that the moment the eagle had swooped our car was the exact minute that they had declared Aaron dead on arrival. I choose to declare him resurrected!

When I received the news later that day from Teri’s brother, as I sat in disbelief of the accident and all that it may have entailed, feathered thoughts were upon me -- a mantle of God’s presence. In my mind’s eye I saw Aaron falling from his spot high above the road, but as he fell, God swooped in. Cradling Aaron in his arms to soften the fall, holding him close, He whispered, “It is okay, son. I’ve got you. I am taking you Home.” It was months later that I found out that the place where Aaron came to rest was softened as I had seen. He lie as if in sleep, no evidence of what one would think the scene could be. His father and brother rushed to administer CPR as they awaited the paramedics. Moments of unbelief, pain, horror coexisting with God’s hand of grace to help them.

Life became a blur for the week or two before Aaron’s life celebration. The day before the service, I felt led to speak for our family to those who gathered. I went up to the 100 year old homestead where Aaron and Ashley had been married. I wanted to hear the words from God that  I was to share. It was 8p.m. and already dark. As I turned on the  porch light at the house where I would write God’s message, there on the doorstep of the old farmhouse was a young eagle feather -- God’s signature to me that He was with us in all of this. Aaron was secure with Him. He had lived his ordained earthly days. 

Teri came to know, as others of us have experienced too, that God wants to gift us with signs and wonders, assurances of what can bring us comfort in the deepest days of despair. It will not be literal feathers for everyone, although young Abigail now knows that her Daddy may wing some feathers down from above, signs that he walks alongside her as she steps into the days and adventures of her life. For some it could be the promise seen in the appearance of an unexpected rainbow or a timely word in a note or phone call. I often am blessed hearing  a song that brings tears of recognition that God understands the depths of what I am feeling, notes of grace for me. Such signs will always be of personal encouragement as that is how God loves us. His Word is filled with exhortations of how He wants us to rest in the shelter of his wings. It is where He can give us the gift of himself and the assurance that He, who is mighty, can honor us with a feather of help pulled from his abundance. Such a feather will do just fine.

I Find Your Love
Composer: Patrick Doyle
Lyrics: Beth Nielsen Chapman
Performed by Beth Nielsen Chapman

Lynn's photo of feathers she holds close in heart

Perhaps Love . . .

My mother told the story of my toddler days and nap times. I’d never awaken crying but lie or sit contentedly singing until she came to get me. One song, popular to her generation in the 40s, poured out of my young lungs. “I don’t know why I love you like I do. . . I don’t know why, I just do.”

Through my mother’s influence, all kinds of music were an important part of my growing up years. When my brothers and I reached our teen’s, she flowed with interest into the music we loved and other music over the ensuring years. 

In my late 20s, I learned to play the guitar. What a great instrument to use in my classroom. I passed on to my students many notes from my songbook. Among these were some songs by John Denver, a favorite of mine from the era of folk singers.

He knew his way with many a song that mirrored the human condition and the need to honor the creation that we were given by God to tend. How far we have roamed from the original Garden, yet we have gardens to tend as we wend our way back Home. Our gardens include the dimensions and blooms of love. 

“Perhaps Love”  ranks high on my list of John Denver’s hits. To listen to its lyrics one gets the impression that he was confused about love. Well, aren’t we all? 

It leads me to another John, the Apostle who walked with Christ and wrote Gospel accounts of that time.  In John 17, we read a communion of words that Christ offers to his Father. In the chapter’s context it is placed prior to the day leading to Christ’s Crucifixion, the completion of his earthly mission, and his return Home. He prays from his heart on our behalf. 

I compiled a duet between the words of the two men named, John, and within lie some answers about love.  

Introduction 

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone” (John 1: 1-4 NLT).

Perhaps love is like a resting place

A shelter from the storm

It exists to give you comfort

It is there to keep you warm

And in those times of trouble

When you are most alone

The memory of love will bring you home

“Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began” (John 17: 24 NLT).

Perhaps love is like a window

Perhaps an open door

It invites you to come closer

It wants to show you more

And even if you lose yourself 

And don't know what to do

The memory of love will see you thru

“O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them” (verses 25-26 ).

O love to some is like a cloud

To some as strong as steel

For some a way of living

For some a way to feel

And some say love is holding on

And some say letting go

And some say love is everything

Some say they don't know

“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me” ( verses 22-23).

Perhaps love is like the ocean

Full of conflict full of change 

Like a fire when it's cold outside

A thunder when it rains

If I should live forever

And all my dreams come true

My memories of love will be of you

"Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth” ( verses 17-19).

If I should live forever

And all my dreams come true

My memories of love will be of you

Bridge

And what of that toddler in her crib, singing, “I don’t know why I love you like I do. . . I don’t know why, I just do”? That song remains deep in my heart of memories and was pulled out a bit over a decade ago. I sat on the bed in a hospice room where my Mom lie in a deep sleep, a nap of a kind, one from which she would awaken and know the perfection of Love -- choruses of love --promised because of the Love the Father sent, not a “perhaps love”.  I sang to her. I sang my toddler song but I was able to add on “the whys”. During this rendition of the song, tears flowed with the words falling out of my heart. 

Perhaps love is simply that -- all the pieces in our hearts that cannot be contained but need to flow out and become known. It  is the “why of God “ poured into us, his defining of us, his gift to us to extravagantly lavish on those we meet. In following His lead, we come to understand many of the whys and the ways that love becomes real.

If I should live forever

And all my dreams come true

My memories of love will be of you

“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15: 12-13 NLT).

Lynn’s guitar,

“Perhaps Love” sheet music,

rocking chair where years of love were 

poured out, sitting, sharing, and singing
Listen to the song! 
Perhaps Love