Thursday, January 26, 2017

Breath of God




My breath is taken away by the beauty of my Lord's earth. The way the sun can swiftly break through on a foggy, gray day. Or the way the ice crackles and shifts after a January thawing. And my heart, that felt so hard only moments ago, is just as swiftly thawed into a tenderness of honoring the Creator of all these things.


It is week 4 for the Book Discussion group over at Michele Morin's site, Living Our Days, where Michele is leading a wonderful study on  C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces.  I have so enjoyed the great questions that she poses for us to consider, and all of the incredible responses offered by those who are joining in the study. It is serving to stir my heart to new depths of searching into the ways that God writes His Story into our lives.

This week, Orual has faced an awful, bottomless pit of despair, and has begun the process of living again. Her way of coping, however, was to harden her heart in order to numb the pain and confusion at life that could not be answered by anyone near to her.  


Don't we all choose that numbing at some point in our lives?

When she is offered to be taught a new, deeply physical skill, her response shows the level of coping that she had chosen when she tells us, 

"He kept me at it for a full half-hour. It was the hardest work I'd ever done, and, while it lasted, one could think of nothing else. I said not long before that that work and weakness (or sleep) are comforters. But sweat is the kindest creature of the three--far better than philosophy, as a cure for ill thoughts."  

And I pitied her, but nodded my head in agreement, as I recognized my own self in her statements.  Working up a sweat out in the garden, or a long arduous hike, were the best ways of coping that I chose for many long years when the events of my days were more than I could bear. 


But what happens, when all of your own coping methods 
are stripped away?

Is there a way to find true comfort?

Or will the heart become harder still
and find new ways to push 
through the pain?

Orual eventually finds herself on a journey to recover at least a small portion of her own and her family's honor. She and the Chief Guard for the King's Army, Bardia, set off to climb the Grey Mountain, and reclaim her sister Psyche's bones for burial,  and thus to bring a closure to her broken heart.

But on the journey, she and Bardia cross beyond any previously known exploration of the mountain, and enter a scene of indescribable beauty. C.S. Lewis shines at his description of nature for us. And almost, Orual's heart begins to soften. As she is overwhelmed by the beauty, she hears a question stirring within her: 

"Why should your heart not dance?"

But once again, Orual reveals the true hardness that lurks within her, when she fights against that urge:

"I was not a fool . . . The gods never send us this invitation to delight so readily or so strongly as when they are preparing some new agony. We are their bubbles; they blow us big before they prick us . . .  I ruled myself. Did they think I was nothing but a pipe to be played on as their moment's fancy chose?"


My heart was saddened by her choice.  I wished that she could have known the true God of Compassion whose heart for His children is all filled with Love.


But haven't I betrayed that very Heart, myself,
when I have mistrusted
the work
that my Lord is doing
within me? 


Throughout this first month of the year, with my #OneWord of Stillness coloring my days, there is a benefit to Stillness that cannot be received through any kinds of numbing or coping methods. If my heart truly wants to see God's Compassion, and His longing for intimacy with me, a pause and a softening towards stillness is what is required. His voice cannot be acknowledged in a heart that has hardened itself with its own way of speaking.

So, open my ears,
to hear the pulse of your hearbeat
my Lord.

And still my hearbeat
to match the rythmn
of your very own.

Where my bones have felt
dry and dead,
breathe your life into the damaged ones.

And soften those rigid slopes
where my mind has
resisted your working.

Breathe on me, O breath of God,
and call that Faith to life.



  I came across an old song this week, that I must have listened to again and again when I was a young wife. I had no memory of it, even, until the music started, and then I knew each word before he sang it. Has music ever stirred your heart that way? Brought an openness that you weren't even aware that you needed?



"This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life."


Is there a place of hardness in your heart,
my friend?
My prayer for you is to feel that breath of God
and choose to ask Him

for that wind to blow across those
hardened bones,
and find HIS New Life again.



If you are interested in reading all of the posts pertaining to the book study on C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, you can find an index by clicking here.



I am linking today over at 
#LiveFreeThursday, Suzie Eller 

 




 





8 comments:

  1. Bettie, that phrase, "Why should your heart not dance?" comes up again in next week's reading, and I'm so happy that it caught your attention this week! It's heartbreaking to see how Orual drowns her sorrow in work, but, in all honesty, I remember during one of the hardest summers of my life, my garden was absolutely weed-free and beautiful because I was in it all the time trying to work off my huge sadness.
    I'm so glad that you are along for the journey, Bettie. Thanks for sharing the link to this great post!

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    1. Dear Michele, I am so grateful for your sharing this study! You are such a great teacher, and you are so encouraging in all of your responses. Yes, I am sad to see Orual's hardness of heart, but I'm thankful that God would use those words to help bring softness to my own. It's so easy (and sometimes a very necessary way of coping) to keep on working, until God sees that we are ready to find His Healing in the tender places. Blessings to you this week!

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  2. Dear Bettie, This is so beautiful. Your words are full of grace and invite me to let go the hardness and just let the breath of God wash over me. I need this. I so often find my own ways to cope rather than just rest in His arms, but it is in Him that perfect rest is found. Many blessings to you, dear Bettie.

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    Replies
    1. Dear Gayl, Oh I am so thankful that the Lord brought help to you through these words. Yes, I need to let go and "just rest in His arms" also. I think that He is so gentle with us though, and He knows when those coping methods are ready to be lifted away! Praying for your continued healing tonight. Many blessings to year, dear friend. xoxo

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    2. I meant to say, blessings to "you" not "year" :-)

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    3. Thanks for your prayers, dear Bettie! <3 xoxo

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  3. Dear Bettie, I am stirred by the music in your words and their lyrical beauty. The deeply poignant prayer gives me pause for thought. Sometimes there is a kind of hardening when I choose to hide within writing, reading and resting but neglect to see or sense God's presence there. It's when I try to pray but words wander away and I lose the thread.
    I remember times past when chronic illness didn't circumscribe my days so much, and I lost myself in busyness instead of laying my cares and concerns at Jesus'feet. Stillness of body is enforced by necessity but stillness of mind and heart are far harder to achieve for this naturally restless soul! So I am grateful for the way your words remind me of the need to calm my heart and come aside more willingly, especially now when life is extra challenging. Thank you, sweet friend. You're an inspiration! Blessings and love. xoxo

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    1. Dear Joy, Yes, I am learning that very thing: "stillness of mind and heart are far harder to achieve for this restless soul." Oh, what a Dear Savior we have who understands us so well! He finds such ways to steal into our moments, and call us into His calm. I am also thankful for the words of inspiration that you bring--God is sending help to each of us, across the miles! Blessings and Love to you! xoxo

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