Thursday, March 31, 2022

palm sunday

 Zechariah told Israel 

how their Messiah would come

riding in on

the foal of a donkey;

saving His people 

in conquering glory --

two mountain top moments,

millennia apart.


But Israel was so ready

for glory

they missed their Messiah

even as they sang hosanna

and cut branches for His way.


He taught them.

He cried over them.

He cleaned their temple.

He told them glory was coming.

He told them He would die first.


But Israel was so ready

for glory

they cut themselves off from

their hosannas and

their Messiah and 

they cried crucify --

two mountain top moments,

barely a week apart.


Imagine

the true vine

bringing out all the stops,

knowing they'd cut themselves off.

Imagine

his life hanging 

in the balance

when Israel tossed 

the balance out.

Imagine

knowing Israel's choice

before they made it.

Imagine

crying over them anyway.

Imagine.

Realize we're still

waiting for glory.

Imagine.

And remember 

our King.

Thursday, March 17, 2022

upon commencement

we are moving in less than a month. it will be my seventh move in eight years, my second with Tanner and our first with Arlo. how do we clean, pack, drive, unpack, settle in, etc. with a baby? thousands, maybe millions, of people have done it. it's possible for sure, but we've never done it before. how do we know we're doing it right?

updating our friends and family has not gotten easier for me since Arlo's birth. the days seem to pass in a twilight zone and I am lost in a flurry of paperwork, study, and preparation for the future. this morning I was encouraged by an elderly Brazilian missionary. he said, "the only thing you cannot do is give up...for the work God has ahead of you. it is not the work you will do that will count, but the work God does through you that will last for eternity." I share that because this flurry is blurring my vision. I'm struggling to see what I have to do and what will just be, does that make sense?

like, God is working through me, yes, but if I never fill out the paperwork that needs to be filled out, will we ever get where we need to go? probably not. so what are my responsibilities and where does God say, "no matter what you do, Vivian, I have ordained this to take place"?

that's where we are right now. 

moving forward and waiting for answers.