Skip to main content

"The moment you let go of your expectations, much suffering lets go of you."


A thought by Ann Voskamp in her book, WayMaker, (p. 34). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

And that is a good thing, yes it is.

Ann says, "Expect nothing but expect hesed. Expect God to knock at your door, expect God to rise on your horizon, expect hope and mercy and miracles and a glass of cold water, but just don’t expect God to come looking any way you expect. Expect nothing but hesed, the lovingkindness of God—just not in the kinds of ways you’d ever dreamed. Pain will come, but name it a mystery, and find manna in it, and taste bits of miracle even in what you can hardly stand and don’t understand."


She continues her story, " 'You okay?' Farm Boy had turned around that snow-globe December night, laughed a bit nervously, making another U-turn at the end of the street. 'I know we’re now kinda late—or actually really late.'

"But maybe, if we’ve already connected, we’ve already arrived. Whatever all the pixelated streams and screens laud as having finally arrived, as being the hit we hunger for, the destination we dream of, the verifiable truth is: Relationship is the only reward that is real, that lasts. Everything else is the journey, everything else is a fleeting mirage. Only relationship is the destination. And he’s being kind, and I am being kind, and doesn’t looking for moments of lovingkindness make a way out of all kinds of pain? A hesed moment, a persistent, unconditional, completely undeserved, dependable lovingkindness—that is what’s falling all around us in the dark, like a luminous dusting of heaven."

She goes on, "Maybe: It doesn’t matter how your road turns, but it matters who you turn and attach to. This is all I know: Presence heals pain. Withness binds up wounds. Bonding eases trauma.

" 'Kinda embarrassing—' Farm Boy winks, downshifts the Volkswagen to turn at the end of Barn Swallow Drive, cranes his head for any sign of the church. 'I mean, maybe it only looks like we’re lost?' How is he speaking in ways that make my heart all ear, to hear things inside of me I’ve never known?"

She then says, " 'Yeah, I’m really okay.' I nod, smile. And I am. Whatever can be said, there is hesed. There is the always hesed-love of withness, the always hesed-love that takes up the road with us, the always hesed-love that keeps pace with us, mile after hard mile, the always hesed-love that goes with us as long as the road goes on. Life isn’t about arriving—it’s about hesed-attachment. Our deepest dreams aren’t about mere love, but deeply attached hesed-love; not about mere kindness, but the always kindness of hesed; not about an easy way, but the covenanted way of hesed-love through every hard thing. There are people you’d rather be lost with, than arriving anywhere without."

And that is so true. Yes, yes! #continuethought





 



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

“God does big things with small deeds.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 115). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I don’t know how you feel about what you are doing and how it can make a difference.   You may feel that it is so small and not even worth the effort. Max says, “Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane. “On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded. “Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive cha...
Post a Comment
Read more

“Sometimes we think we’re stuck simply because things are hard.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...
Post a Comment
Read more