To Know and Be Filled

A red winged blackbird is perched on the top of the pine tree. Small feet, created to be able to grasp the flexing top branch, are strong and steady as the chest fills with air, and a song emerges. I listen to the birds, this one soloist and others, seeming to show me a flying choir. The sky is reflecting the sunset sky and slowly the blue of the day is put away again, as shimmers of gray clouds reflect the remaining orange warmth of the sun. It is a moment to reflect, to think and be quiet.

It always seems to take me a while to quiet my mind enough to listen to the “still, small voice,” that I so love to hear. But, as the day fades away, my thoughts slow just a breadth of a pace and I am better able to listen instead. These words, from Ephesians 3 were on my mind tonight.   

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,  may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Oh how these rich words fill my heart; I let them sink in, just like that bird’s song. These words in particular, “to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God,” these stand out in my mind. Know and be filled. To know of something that passes knowledge, to take it on faith. Well, that is an adventure isn’t it! Sort of like landing on that small branch, trusting it to hold you securely and serve as a stage for the song. This is an inner core of knowing, the kind of knowing that expects seasons in their turn to bring warmth and cool. It is a knowing that is so deep that I can stand and walk on it, using it daily as a road to move about on, a coat to be warmed by, reaching out for a hand that I know will be there. I can, we all can, take this on faith because He is indeed secure.

And be filled, the second portion, and not only filled with some random thing – but with all the fullness of God! The fullness of God, the one who is truly complete in all things, perfect in all things, always faithful, always present, and forever loving of His children. What a beautiful thing to be filled with, like a cool glass of water on a hot summer day, you can feel the temperature within your core dropping as the water moves down with the swallow. I am filled with the fullness of God, the fullness – the completeness of what He is. I am sure I cannot truly comprehend what that means, it is a completion that is beyond this world.

Long Winter and Welcome Spring

 I’m sitting in the garden, enjoying the feel of sun on my back and dirt on my knees.  I know the feeling of early spring, it is when my bare feet feel grass damp and chill with dew, and when you stand in one spot for a moment the warming soil feels lovely.

Temperatures dropped and then stayed below freezing in the Midwest over the winter.  What is of course expected to be a cold season; stayed sub-zero for a longer time than normal.  The permafrost crept further through the soil as the snow and ice continued to accumulate on top; making nothing quite as welcoming as a fire in the stove and a bracing cup of hot coffee.  Small talk conversations everywhere centered on cold weather and wondering when spring would come.

February came and not surprisingly passed in winter’s chill.  March promised a thaw as the sun showed itself more, but plunged back into freezing temperatures again.  April is purported to bring showers, but I think I remember snow instead!  May has arrived though, bringing the long sought spring.

Waiting through winter’s reluctant change to spring’s entry, the green of new leaves, bright daffodil blooms, and the bright purple of the redbud trees are doubly welcome.  I find myself examining each plant to see if it has survived the prolonged cold, surveying for buds and promise of leaves.  Nothing is exempt in my search for new spring life, from tall trees to the newly planted seeds.  Waiting impatiently for blooms to appear, I expect the warmth of the sun and the moisture of the rains to have encouraged spring to occur in each plant, large and small.

Life has seasons of winter as well, sometimes seeming everlasting frigid cold without the hint of a spring has arrived to stay.  It’s those days of cold darkness (though it may be 100 degrees outside), that we are tasting bitter hurts. How do we keep our eyes toward the spring to come instead of the frozen temperatures we are currently in? Sitting in the garden this past weekend, putting seeds in the ground and anticipating seeing the new sprouts soon reminded me of how we look for heart winters to pass as well.

Winters of the heart, be it from stress, hurt, anger, grief, or a combination of them all, can chill our world as much as that accumulative snow and deepening permafrost.  We tend to pull back, hibernating in our hurts and hope for the sun to come back out.  But, in the midst of the deep winter, it is time to look at garden catalogues!  Dream of summer days, plan for gardens, and get that soil ready for new seeds.  It isn’t ignoring the winter, but it is planning ahead – looking ahead – hoping ahead – for the thaw to come.  Seeds of friendship, good changes to come, familial support, and leaning on Jesus are to be planted in a soil rich in hope, love, and the faithfulness of God. Keep watering, keep waiting and watching with anticipation and when spring comes, so do new plants of great good. 

I am looking forward to being out in the garden.  

My sun hat is ready; the seedlings are beautifully green and growing every day.  Bring on the spring!