This has been a week of exile and this blog is my story in real time, not a whimsical reflection of the past. It is full of the pronoun ‘I’ and for that, please accept my apology. There is a center of the universe and it certainly isn’t me, but I can’t give this testimony without its presence. The combination of a nasty flu virus and my chosen Lent fast isolated me from contact with life beyond my front door.
I have a strong propensity to seek security in being informed by means of a constant diet of news broadcasts. (Seriously! I get digital news updates from Ireland in my email!) It isn’t healthy. I know it distracts from my peace and rest in God’s absolute, sovereign authority over all things and in particular, the intimate lives of those who trust and obey. For this reason I chose to forgo any broadcast media during this Lenten season. I relinquished the remote control and gave God, and prayer, the place in my mind recently vacated by world crisis and current events. I was also stricken with the flu, so, as I reclined on my couch with heavy arms and legs, my physical world offered nothing to rescue my idle mind. Then! I remembered, my favorites list on youtube.
Many years ago, before Spotify and iheart radio, I created music folders on youtube. The selections were various secular and religious pieces, both traditional and contemporary, associated with particular memories. The altar call sung when I gave my heart to Jesus is on the playlist, along with the anthem that accompanied my daughter to the altar to meet her groom. In the deafening silence of my fevered misery, I returned to my tried and true .com.
Easter is by far, my favorite holiday. It is all about love with no expectation of return. As Advent is to Christmas, Lent is to Easter, a time of preparation and encounter with the Creator that became the Savior. My first Lent fast occurred when I was in college. A friend invited me to join her in a time of personal sacrifice to privately focus on worship and petition. I gave up sweets and coffee while working in a bakery. It was brutal! But, each time I mindlessly reached for a pastry, I stopped and turned my heart to the Throne of God. A new clarity, strength and determination to serve the LORD fell on my soul.
In forty-eight plus hours of quiet exile, rhythms and tunes took me back to a time of simple faith that didn’t seem like much at the time, but turned out to be everything I ever hoped for. Revival came as I praised and worshiped an unchanging, loving and good, God who has proven more that faithful and generous with His love and provision.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:12
Love you all, and I’ll be back to the antics of someone’s past, next week.
Blessings,
Gretchen