Today’s post is a repost from a couple of years ago that echoes what’s been on my mind lately. I hope you enjoy! ❤
What will I leave behind?
It’s a question that’s tugged at my attention for years. As I read the stories of eternal heroes with short lives and stared at the caskets of people I held dear, the question haunted my mind.
so small and
insignificant
one breath will
blow this life away, and
what
will be the proof that
it was here?
mangled lives
and broken hearts?
friendships
that were torn apart by
hands that now lie still and cold?
oh, no!
forbid it, Lord!
A month or so ago a friend and I were wandering through a beautiful cemetery that sprawls over several acres of hills. (You know you have loyal friends when they smilingly join you on strange expeditions.) There were so many old gravestones – some tipped and sinking deep into the soil. Several were ridiculously tall and ornate, but they were so old that wind and water and time had wiped the sentimental words right off of the marker. Their attempts to leave an echo of their greatness were in vain.
Of course I hope that I leave behind me a trail of words that can point others to Christ and to truth decades after I’m gone, but paper burns. Ink fades. Files become corrupted.
If words are all I leave, I’ve failed.
For even if my words could surpass the masterpieces of Dickens and Shakespeare,
If I sang with the voice of an angel,
If the world remembers my name until the world stops turning,
Goodness. In some ways I feel as though 2023 never existed, and in others I feel as though it lasted a lifetime. XD Maybe I’ll do a year wrap-up post in a week or so, but here’s December’s recap for now! Here’s a coffee for the ride.☕ 🙂
And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.
Psalm 39:7
Things worth remembering…
my dear aunt’s homegoing…only happy tears for her from now on. ❤
lots of cousin time
learning that thou shalt trust thy grandmother’s navigational advice and not thine own misgivings (I’m sorry I doubted you, Grandma.🙈)
minute-to-win-it games with friends (bonus points for not burning the house down)
crocheting a beanie that no one wants to wear
all of the Sunday School Christmas program practices
the Christmas program itself…everyone brought their best to the table and made it so special!
a very brown and green Christmas
surviving weeks of cold and flu bugs viciously crawling through the household
When we have an agenda for God, we can’t see the gifts from God.
How many of us acted and spoke out and fought for beliefs that we held because our environment told us to? As much as I wanted to blame my England, I knew the blame sat with me. I hadn’t trained myself to discern. To examine. To seek the source. That was about to change.
I wasn’t expecting the allegorical elements of this book, and I absolutely loved them. With its nods to history and the complex plot, I enjoyed it immensely! It’s a little on the bloody side, but such a good read if you don’t mind that.
“Just this morning the tastiest redfish in the lake swam up to me and said he was there to give himself up for the most honorable and noble Persian man of an approaching caravan. And here you are!”
Salamar laughed a loud laugh. “And for how much did this redfish say he would sell himself before being smoked and salted?”
The boy shrugged. “Oh, only a small token of, say, five measures of fine Persian tea.”
Listening to my dad read this in the evenings this month was definitely a highlight!
I am more sinful and flawed than I ever dared believe, more loved and welcomed than I ever dared hope.
elyse m. Fitzpatrick
From the journal…
Fill me with more of You and a blessed self-forgetfulness.
Lord, thank You for the gift of laughter…for the ability to hold things loosely and lightly because You are the one who truly holds it all.
*Remembering the character of our God will lead to a complete trust of Him with the future.*
The sinner must come to Jesus, not to works, ordinances, or doctrines, but to a personal Redeemer, who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree.
charles spurgeon
What are some of the memories/thoughts you’re carrying away from this past December?
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something through one of the links I share in this post, I receive a small commission…at no extra cost to you.:)
There’s not much to say to introduce this post, so I’ll stop trying to make an introduction and just get started.:)
God has no problems – just plans!
corrie ten boom
Things worth remembering…
my car’s first flat tire
demolition and cleanup adventures with the parents and sisters
spending a weekend with a friend
discovering the most amusing inscription I’ve ever seen inside an old book
spending time on the road with my brothers
picking up crocheting again
drinking coffee at 11 pm for a good cause and only half regretting it
seeing Annie for the first time on stage
raking cornstalks
trying my hand at more creative photo editing
attempting to shop on Thanksgiving day and finding that it couldn’t be done
a Walmart run with cousins
turning our uncle into a meme (several memes, actually) with aforementioned cousins
feeling like a new woman after the shop crew spiffed up the tractor I use
“In dark and loneliness they are strongest; they will not openly attack a house where there are lights and many people – not until they are desperate…”
aragorn in “THe fellowship of the ring” by J.R.R. Tolkien
“There comes an end to all things; the most capacious measure is filled at last; and this brief condescension to evil finally destroyed the balance of my soul.”
I think I need to stop ingesting the more intellectually/morally difficult books in audiobook form because I can’t process them as thoroughly as I can when I’m actually reading. It’s definitely a dark book, but I came away from it with a good and sobering reminder of the pervasive nature of sin…moral compromise isn’t a good idea, folks!
Pooh, who now knew what an Ambush was, said that a gorse-bush had sprung at him suddenly one day when he fell off a tree, and he had taken six days to get all the prickles out of himself.
“We are not talking about gorse-bushes,” said Owl a little crossly.
“I am,” said Pooh.
Sometimes you just need an easy yet quality read that will make you laugh. This book does so nicely.
Many lonesome people found a place with us, where there was music, humor, interesting conversations, and always room for one more at the oval dinner table. Oh, it’s true, the soup may have been a bit watery when too many unexpected guests came, but it didn’t really matter.
This is a reread! The manner in which this book is written is such a blessing: Corrie shares some of her family’s history, and often shares immediately afterwards about how that event or habit prepared them for the future that only God could see.
And I said, “This is my anguish; but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
Psalm 77:10
From the journal…
Life is far too fragile and precious to be lived haphazardly.
Lord, You satisfy me. You are enough even when my flesh begs for more…in my weakness You truly are strong.
May you know that you are small and fit well in the hands of God.
sarah Sparks
And that’s a wrap! What memories/lessons are you taking away from this November?
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something through one of the links I share in this post, I receive a small commission…at no extra cost to you.:)
I wrote this poem several months ago as my brother and I were teaching through Genesis in Sunday School. The account of Abraham’s complete trust in God’s ability and commitment to keep His promises struck me so much that I wrote a poem about it.:) This one is based in Genesis 15.
Sometimes it can feel as if the darkness in the world and within our flawed natures is so weighty, and nearly too heavy to bear. The shorter days and the gloomy skies can exacerbate the soul-weariness, and so I wanted to share with you some of my favorite lyrics/poems/quotes that acknowledge the ache and frustration without glossing it over, and yet point to the light so tangibly, giving an extra dose of courage to keep on standing against the darkness! I hope they can bless you as much as they’ve encouraged me. ❤
I’ve been waiting for the sun to come blazing up out of the night like a bullet from a gun till every shadow is scattered, every dragon’s on the run oh, I believe, I believe that the light is gonna come…
…you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
may you find Hope somewhere unexpected; may the Thing you’re dreading fade like mist & leave something Beautiful in its place; may your heart beat again; may you get warm in places that have been cold for far too long; may you shift your eyes from the perils before you & remember all the fair things you’ve seen, heard, tasted, touched, & made;
may Christ reach into the dusty corners of your soul, clear out the cobwebs, blow out the fog, open the shutters, & let in His healing light.
Do you have any favorite songs/poems/Scriptures/quotes you turn to when you need an extra dose of courage? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something through one of the links I share in this post, I receive a small commission…at no extra cost to you.:)
Today’s poem is actually from a few years ago…but I wanted to dig it out of the depths of the blog because I really enjoy the rhythm and the message it holds. Hope you enjoy!
I dug out some of my old poetry the other day and found so many poems I’d forgotten…I touched one up and decided to share it with you here. I hope it blesses you like it did me.❤
oh, My child…
I see the pain in the way
you hold your head so high –
stiff, afraid of being weak,
vulnerable, for you feel that
another scar would be a thousand too many.
I see you, love,
when you’ve crawled to a secret place
to let out the grief
when the sobs rise without bidding,
and you trap the muffled wails deep in your throat.
even when you weep, you’re guarded…
but I see you.
I want you to know that
you can stop tracing the scars,
running your fingers through the pains in your past
as if they were pearls.
I want you to look up…
see Me, love.
aren’t I more to you than your broken dreams?
will you risk it all just to sail with Me?
I need you to trust Me when I say
this does not need to be your last chapter.
I promise…one day you will smile again
without brushing the ghost of this sorrow.
I’m wanting to read some more cozy poetry this autumn…do you have any favorite poets/collections you would recommend? Please drop any ideas in the comments!
Laurel Luehmann 