Sunday, October 17, 2010

Dear God,

How do you change the human heart? How do you take the leavings, poor remnants of a life and make it into something new?

As I reflect on a single human life (most often my own), many times I am bewildered by the giant leap one has to take to be converted or transformed. As I consider the process of being one way and then another, change seems almost impossible. It's nearly like imagining jumping from the top of one mountain to another.

Yet, you have taught me how an extra hand can make all this possible. You have revealed the process from heaven's point of view. You literally offer us your hand and make a promise to be with us as we sojourn in a foreign land. What I discovered in my own pilgrimage is that this kind of trust when we say yes allows us to see things along the way, much like vacationing in a unfamiliar place, seeing the sights never before seen. Our view slowly changes; a revolution of the soul takes place.

As I look back remembering this process, I am left breathless, amazed. Not only is change possible, but probable, easier and meaningful. As you bring to my mind some of the dramatic change in my own life, I can see out the window of my soul some of the scenes that I saw along my journey of change, scenes that brought hope, comfort, insight, calm, and sometimes even laughter. I wonder to myself sometimes why I resist.

When I examine my life, who I am and who I have become, I see the countless times you lead me, guided me in the change process. I remember looking into your face, feeling my hand in yours and sensing that I was walking in steps already charted, like stepping barefoot into footprints in the sand that lead to quiet pools of peace. I know who is responsible for such radical movements. While I know my life journey is not over and that I will frequently be called to steady myself for yet another change, I am positive whose hand will reach out to me. I can only pray I will swiftly take hold, lift my right foot and move...with you.

Loving God,
you are
the reason
I move
and breathe
and have
my being.
You are truly
my life's
greatest joy!
Thank you
for changing me;
only you know
the change
I have needed
and will need.
Only you know
how to
transform me
when I
am stuck
in the potholes
of life.
Train me
to grab hold
more quickly,
to be
less resistant,
and more desirous
of your will,
I pray.

Love, Andrea