Hiking in Pearls

Tag: christianity

  • I No Longer Chase The Presence of God

    I No Longer Chase The Presence of God

    A few months ago, I found myself in a critical place needing to hear God’s voice.

    So, I did the most reasonable thing I could think of and I packed my bags and booked a last-minute Airbnb five hours away.

    The expectations for my weekend alone with the Lord gained strength with each passing mile.

    Soon, my imagination began to unfold with images of the off the wall restaurant I would find to eat at. I could see me sitting at a table. Alone, yet not alone. I heard the clatter of silverware against the plates…I considered what treasures I might find as I poured over the scriptures locked away with my Saviour over the next few days.

    When I finally made it, I first noticed the gentle waves that brought life to the lake that lay directly in front of the guest house. The fading sunlight tiptoed a ballet on top of the ripples while a deer watched from the woods that ran alongside the lake.

    As the weekend progressed invisible darts hit every balloon of anticipation I had created. In tears I ended the trip holding hands with Sorrow and Self-Pity. I never heard His voice. I never received the answers I so desperately sought.

    Not eager to get home I made various stops along the way. Pausing to take pictures from the side of the road, but the miles could only be stretched so far before I found myself pulling into the driveway.

    I was home.

    My hands were in my pockets, and I was standing behind the car looking over my property when I heard Him. His still small voice beckoning me to walk with Him. So, I meandered towards the backlot and all the answers I had driven hours away for poured in like a flood.

    They had been here all along.

    His presence is with me. Right here. Right now. I don’t have to hunt for Him. He has made His home with me.

    He is, where I am.

    Just as Moses found Him in the burning bush in the desert where he kept his flock (Exodus 3) and Elijah in the cave (1 Kings 19). God was found exactly where they were.

    God is with us. All around us. Living inside of us.

    What freedom there is that He has made Himself available right where we are. How wonderful it is that we don’t have to chase Him.

    I want to encourage you reader, He’s right here.

    Find your rest.

    In grace and peace,

    Sharon Rose

  • Three Word Story Challenge – Part 7

    Three Word Story Challenge – Part 7

    Faith – Love – Storage

    Words are so much more than a mark on paper or a part of speech to me. Each one is alive and is cloaked with an image. A picture I see in my mind. When they are strung together as a sentence a private film begins to play in my psyche.  

    It was no different when he prayed for me.

    I bowed my head as he talked to our Heavenly Father on my behalf. “Lord, I just ask that you would increase her faith.”

    Yes, faith is good. In the perception of my mind, I held out my open hand and received the package containing faith. I had a fly-fishing creel hanging on my shoulder, and I placed the box into the rectangular basket that rested at my side. It easily fell into the cavity.

    “Give her courage,” he continued.

    Yes! I need courage. With my hand extended a parchment that had been rolled up with a gold ribbon around it was placed on my palm. My fingers circled around it, and I put it in the bag. Even with these items it looked empty. There was vast storage for more.

    “And help her to understand Your love.”

    Love. A moment went by and my empty hand still hadn’t been filled so I looked up. That’s when I saw the back of a dump truck. With the gate open it began to lift, and love poured out slowly and then completely. I couldn’t contain it all! A mountain of love was formed around me. Covering me on all sides!

    I haven’t left that spot since. I am still surrounded by the love of my Heavenly Father.

    Reader, my prayer for you today is Ephesians 3:17-19 KJV. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith: that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height: And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with the fulness of God.

    In grace and peace,

    Sharon Rose

  • Three Word Story Challenge – Part 4

    Three Word Story Challenge – Part 4

    Thankful – Stillness – Finished

    Blooms on the mimosa tree filled the air with a soft, sweet fragrance. The wispy, white, and pink puffs were radiant against the green fern shaped leaves. Like opening a gift, the scent brought my grandmother to mind and the smell of the delicate powder she once wore.

    I sat under the tree and drank the memory in while the sun lowered in the sky. The heat of the day was forced to concede. Giving way to the cool night air that was sent to refresh man and beast.

    Dusk lured the fireflies out for their evening dance. A sprinkling of fluorescent green dots peppered the air just above the lawn. They invited me to rest in the stillness that had begun to settle over the day.

    I accepted the offer and lifted a steaming cup of coffee to my lips. The warmth of the liquid left an easy trail to follow. Crashing over my tongue it gathered at the back of my mouth. Next, it took a slow and easy descent down my throat and towards my stomach.

    Muscles in my chest tightened as my lungs filled with air. This is why I drink coffee.

    To remember.

    For comfort that comes from relationship. Bonds that were strengthened over conversations shared while enjoying the juice of the java bean.

    The voices of my parents’ echo through my thoughts as an old reel begins to play. I can hear their laughter. The dogs barking as one of my siblings comes through the door. This was home.

    Coffee is home.

    I swirl the last sip in the mug before drinking it down.

    Staring at the bottom of the cup I wasn’t ready for it to be finished.

    I wasn’t ready to let them go.

    Averting my eyes to the sky the stars speak of the promises of God. I am thankful that I belong to a much bigger family now.

    I only have yet to meet them all.

  • The Pace of a Child

    The Pace of a Child

    If you opened my refrigerator right now, you wouldn’t notice the litter of condiments and leftovers. Your eyes would settle on the pencil.

    Ground to the last inch of its life. It was left by one of my beautiful children…three weeks ago.

    I didn’t move it, because I wanted to remember…

    I stroll to that precious moment in my mind. There I can hear the chorus of laughter from the other room. The picture is clear as I close my eyes. I see an opened package of Cheeze-its spilling out on top of a container of blueberries. A pencil worn far too short to be of any use laid in front of the scene.

    Mementos of fleeting youth.

    Soon the children will be grown.

    Responsibility will lasso their minds and pull them into a place of order.

    I left the pencil to keep what I fear will be lost. For I am all too aware, that this moment will soon be gone.

    There was a time I would clean around their perfect, grubby, little handprints on the window. Knowing one day it would be the last time to wipe them up. Their hands would never be this size again.

    The handprints have since faded…

    Stickers can still be found on the dryer door and legs of the dining chairs. They remind me of innocence and imagination.

    In my flowerbed you will find a pile of broken trinkets. Big hearts displayed through small hands that carried each piece. Their souls spilling over with joy from the “treasures” they had found.

    Treasure, they wanted to share with me.

    I am reminded of Genesis 33. It is here we meet Jacob returning home from his time as a fugitive and working with Laban. His brother Esau came out to meet him and offered to join him for the remainder of the journey home.

    Jacob declines. Telling him that the children are tender and the flocks have young. He doesn’t want to drive them too hard.

    Jacob, rather than pushing his children to hurry up, slowed down with them. He changed his pace to theirs.

    He chose to protect a sacred time. Life shared as parent and child.

    I am finding as I grow into life, I have forgotten. All the things that truly matter.

    My children help me to recall. All the wonderful things I overlook.

    A beautiful gift of remembrance awaits each of us. Parent or not, if we are willing to slow to their stride.

    A life of priceless wonder is at hand.

    Friend, I want to encourage you today to slow to the pace of a child.

    Remember to Tarry…even Stop.

    To Ponder the Majesty of the World.

    To Laugh.

    To Play.

    To Explore.

    To Discover.

    To Dream.

    To Live.

    Friend, there is much yet to enjoy.

    In grace and peace,

    Sharon Rose

  • What if …

    What if …

    What if…

    We turned our umbrella upside-down and began to catch the rain? Rather than hiding from it.

    What if…

    We emptied our hands and held them out to The Creator? Allowing Him to fill them with the things He desires for our life.

    What if…

    All this time we have fought to shield ourselves from the storms, has only robbed us from the blessings? The riches that only come from the trial.

    What if…

    On the dreary days, we rejoiced? Since the sun is still shining behind the clouds.

    What if…

    We truly believed Romans 8:28? That says, “All things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose.”

    All things…

    That’s the mountain tops and the valleys.

    It takes them both.

    It takes both the rain and the sun to make the earth yield its fruit. For plants to grow…both BIG and small.

    What if…

    We rejoiced in the good and bad? Knowing that our light affliction, which is but for a moment. Is working for us an exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 2 Corinthians 4:17.

    What if…

    We kept our eyes on the horizon? On the prize? Christ, Himself. Our Rainbow. Our Covenant Promise.

    What

    if…

    In grace and peace,

    Sharon Rose

  • Climbing Ladders and Building Faith

    Climbing Ladders and Building Faith

    I hung up Christmas lights today.

    Scared.

    With Christmas lights in hand, I stood at the bottom of the ladder and looked up at the eve of the house. It’s for the boys, I coaxed myself.

    By the fifth rung my extended ladder bounced like I was standing in a boat bobbing on the waves. I thought of the rock I wedged under one foot of the ladder to stabilize it before my climb. I hope it doesn’t slip off that rock. My knees began to quiver. I can’t do this. We will be fine without lights. I scurried down faster than a mouse after cheese.

    With the solid ground below my feet my knees began to still. I looked back up the ladder. People do this all the time.

    “Jesus, will I be safe?” I asked aloud.

    “Yes.” I heard His still small voice.

    Trusting Jesus gave me the courage I needed to climb the ladder again. In all honesty, I was still scared but trusting my Savior this time.

    What if I fall?

    Doubt tried to stir in my mind.

    Well, it’s not that high so I probably won’t get hurt too bad.

    I trusted that no matter what happened, I was going to be okay.

    I hung all the lights I could within arm’s reach.

    Once I was off the ladder, I wrestled it over a couple of feet and rested it back into place against the house.

    Steady.

    Additional relief rushed in from not needing the rock this time. This climb was easier. I was no longer scared.

    Fear gave way to Faith.

    I believe that The Lord uses all things to prepare us for the good works He has ordained in advance for us (Ephesians 2:10).

    Even Christmas lights and wobbly ladders.

    I learned today that I can do hard things, even when I’m scared.

    In a far more intimate way, I relearned what the scripture means when it says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

    It’s all about Faith in Christ, no matter the situation.

    What about you friend? Where is God calling you to leave fear and step out in faith?