Trial of Fire - Revisited

One of my favorite morning rituals is to stand out on the front deck, coffee cup in hand, and soak in the morning before the sun has had time to make an appearance. 'Morning' means different things to different people but one meaning I hold dear is that still quiet time in the darkness before the stars fade from sight, listening to the coyotes in the distance, wondering what triggers the local roosters use as their songs to wake the sleeping and, of course, time alone with God before the world and her busyness has time to get in the way.

This morning, star sightings were limited by the fog and overcast winter sky. Those I could see in the break of clouds were shining brightly and boldly against the blackness of night. Country living has its perks and dark nights without harsh glare from electric lights is one of them. We are but three days from Christmas morning and my thoughts traveled to people generations ago that sat in the darkness staring at the stars while their charges, sheep and goats, lay in the grass all around them. I imagine they were bedazzled by the beauty in the sky just as I. We are not so different from those people of long ago. They were waiting for their Messiah. We are blessed to have Him! Stars in the sky may come and go but The Morning Star remains forever.

May your nights and mornings be filled with stars as we move closer to Christmas.

Lynn

Trail of Fire - Revisited
Recently, I was blessed to see a shooting star. How cool is that?! I ask myself why we get excited to see one. For me, it's one of the many signs that our universe, in all its glory, is bigger than we can even begin to comprehend. Rather like God and eternity. Our finite little minds can not fully wrap themselves around the vastness.

A shooting star has a magical quality, and like magic, it's over almost before you realize what is happening. Your eye sees it as a tiny stream of light as it zips into darkness but there is nothing tiny about it. Think how large it really must be for us to even see it in the first place. Think how much energy is expended in that fire trail that propels it across the sky. Think of the happenstance that had you right there at the exact moment, to see the final dance of the star before it's gone.

In our lifetime, we are a lot like that shooting star. In God's big picture we are but a fleeting streak. Our energy comes not from a trail of fire but from the fire of the Holy Spirit in us. The Lord gave us the gift of the Spirit as a comforter, a guiding source of knowledge, that tiny voice within that tells us when we're headed down the wrong path or steers us toward the right one. The power of the Holy Spirit is greater than the burst of energy the shooting star burned in it's final flight. You and I contain all that resource in us. Makes you wonder why we wallow in the muck and mire when we have that power, doesn't it? We have a choice, the shooting star didn't.

We can learn to acknowledge the Holy Spirit power or refuse to recognize the power and authority He gave, maintaining status quo. As for me, I'd like to burn bright with the power of the Spirit. I still have too much 'human flesh thinking' and am my own dimming factor but I'm working on it. I'm praying about it, seeking the Lord and asking for help in ridding myself of the 'stinking thinking'.

When my time is over and I get to head on home to the Lord, I pray I will have lived that others may see my Holy Spirit fire trail and want one of their own.