Name: Linda
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Life Without the Son
Our normal temperature for this time of year is 62 degrees. Today is the first time in the past couple of days that it has gotten above freezing. It is 34 degrees this afternoon. It has also been raining/sleeting/snowing for much of that time. Everything here is literally shut down. We don't do "cold weather events" very well here. We simply aren't equipped. The safest and best advice has been - stay home if you possibly can.
I took this picture from the local newspaper. Our yard looks pretty much the same. The grass is covered with a very thick layer of ice. There are icicles hanging from the eaves of the house. The branches of the live oaks and the cedar trees are bent beneath the weight of the ice. Several large branches snapped off under the pressure of the added burden. The sky is gray. Everything looks so bleak and frozen.
As I stood looking out the window I wondered what the Lord would teach me. So often He uses nature to teach me things - to illustrate things He wants me to understand. I thought about what would happen if the sun were shining. Everything would look sparkly and beautiful. Eventually the warmth would melt the ice and the trees would be releived of their heavy burden; the grass and plants would be visible again, and the little critters would be able to find something to eat.
Then I thought how much like my life this is. Without the Son my life is stark and cold and bleak. There is no real warmth or beauty. I am bend low beneath the burden of sin and guilt - sometimes I am even broken. There is no sparkle or color; everything is gray and dull.
When Jesus comes there is light, and life, and warmth. Wherever He shines the light of His love hidden rainbows are brought to life - sparkling and radiant. The burden of sin and guilt is lifted, and there is freedom and new life. The cold, barren landscape is changed by the warmth and light of His presence.
I am so thankful that He lives in my heart. I am so thankful that He is my light and my salvation. He brings joy and hope and peace. He brings new life.
Blessings,
Linda
18 Comments:
Linda,
You always find such a wonderful lesson in the ordinary things. It's one of the things I love most about you.
Try to stay nice and warm and cozy!
hugs!
What a great analogy!
Brrrr it's cold there!
This is good reading, Linda. I don't know what I would do without the sun or the Son.
Dear Linda, I just love the way you can find a lesson in everything that goes on around you. You truly are an inspiration to me and make me more aware of what is going on around me. Gosh, the weather has certainly been so strange everywhere this year!! Please stay safe and warm! Hugs xoxo
Oh amen, this is beautiful. Amen, amen.
Wow, you guys are having some serious weather out there!
I love it when the Lord uses the events in our lives to show us more about him. I thought that this was a beautiful analogy.
This is beautiful, Linda...I love how God shows lessons through nature.
We saw some of the scenes of the ice storm on the news last night. I hope your area thaws soon.
Just with our snow this week, all of the public schools and events are closed. (We home school, so my 2nd grader doesn't think it's quite fair that we still did a little school work!) ;)
Stay nice and warm! :)
What a beautiful thpught and a great lesson. I think the snow/ice days are sent from God to remind us that He is in control and that it is time to just sit back, relax, and enjoy because there is nothing else you can do. Stay warm.
Oh, that is so lovely! Very eloquently put. Warms my heart!
My daughter's church has been closed for two Sundays now. Chrystal and Dave's restaurants have been closed too. Isn't that the perfect recipe for a baby boom! lol
Beautiful. Praise the Lord we have Him.
What a picture! You have the best choice of words for making a good comparison! I love that our Lord brings warmth and life to our world.
That is some amazing picture. Unbelievable. Great lesson, too.
Oh my goodness! The new look is beeuutiful!! I love it.
Oh Linda. What a gorgeous new look. It's so absolutely perfect for you. Isn't Susie amazing? I'm so excited for you. I love this!
And by the way, yes, this post is just beautiful, too. I love the analogy. Beautifully written.
Oh my, this is just lovely!
OOOooo. You have a new look. Beautiful!
I love when the Lord will drop something into my heart as a lesson that he illustrates through nature.
It looks mighty cold over there.
And can I say your new look is beautiful! Did you do the stitchwork yourself for the the header? Another great job by Susie!
Great post. I guess without the darkness we would never even see the light.
I can relate. It looks like that here, too, although we have had some melting today to go with the RAIN. We are not equipped either. Hopefully we are on the downside. I love snow, but we haven't had any of that,just ice, & it has been so very hard on so many people.
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