Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
1 JOhn 3:2
Make pure in me The inmost desire of my heart A clean swept soul Is what you yearn most to impart Winnow all the chaff 'Tis the determining place to start Choose for me, Lord An inheritance that n'er departs Good seed remains The threshing floor ends the hardest part The soul does bloom Because the Light was sown, not the dark
my inspiration
I am startled to discover, so unexpectedly, “chaff” scattered upon the floor of what I had hoped was a clean-swept soul.
Isn’t it good to know that, of His work in us, there will come a day when He sill say, “It is finished”? He will have winnowed all that chaff; only the good seed will remain…; the soul will bloom as perfect as a flower. We shall be like Him then, for we shall see Him as He is! (1 John 3:2)
But what about for now? The heart that would grow in love for Him can have only one answer to that: “He chose our inheritance for us.” I remember with what delight I learned one day that the verb to choose, which is used in this Psalm, is the same that is used to describe David choosing, out of all the possible stones in the brook, the five best suited for his purpose (1 Samuel 17:40). It occurred to me that our heavenly David, our “Beloved,” chooses out of all possible circumstances – and they are all at His command – those best suited to fulfill His purpose for my life…
Then flows into me peace, and with it the assurance of the Beloved. However things may appear to be, of all possible circumstances – those circumstances in whose midst I am set – these are the best that He could choose of me. We do not know how this is true – where would faith be if we did? – but we do know that all things that happen are full of shining seed.
Light is sown for us – not darkness.
Amy Carmichael, Rose From Brier, p. 34.
my hero
My sweet Dad, John Kennedy, was diagnosed with ALS on July 19, 2022. He is braving the most devastating diagnosis that I could imagine. In prayer, he refers to this trial as “My great hurt” and I never want to forget this.
On Monday, February 6, 2023 (only seven months after my Dad’s diagnosis of ALS), the neurologist told us that my Dad could contact hospice – whenever he felt ready. I need the courage to trust – just like my Dad. He is the bravest man that I know.
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