I hope this week finds you well!
I spent Memorial Day Weekend fighting the flu and am glad to seemingly be on the other side of that battle. Totally lame! But I’m grateful for healing, extra strength Mucinex, buttered noodles, and a sweet husband who was more than willing to refill my cups of water and Pedialyte no fewer than 64 times a day.
We’re still getting back into the swing of things over here (isn’t it crazy how four days of illness can completely throw a home out of equilibrium?), but I didn’t want to go a week without sharing a word of encouragement on this forum. This week, it’s a selection from The Valley of Vision that will hopefully remind you to look for evidence of God’s love in every moment—a bit of a fitting meditation after our study of 1 John a few weeks ago.
Read here:
Love
Lord Jesus,
Give me to love thee, to embrace thee,
though I once took lust and sin in my arms.
Thou didst love me before I loved thee,
an enemy, a sinner, a loathsome worm.
Thou didst own me when I disclaimed myself;
Thou dost love me as a son,
and weep over me as over Jerusalem.
Love brought thee from heaven to earth,
from earth to the cross,
from the cross to the grave.
Love caused thee to be
weary, hungry, tempted,
scorned, scourged,
buffeted, spat upon,
crucified, pierced.
Love led thee to bow thy head in death.
My salvation is the point where
perfect created love
and the most perfect uncreated love meet together;
for thou dost welcome me,
not like Joseph and his brothers,
loving and sorrowing, but loving and rejoicing.
This love is not intermittent, cold, changeable;
it does not cease or abate for all my enmity.
Holiness is a spark from thy love
kindled to a flame in my heart by thy Spirit,
and so it ever turns to the place from which it comes.
Let me see thy love everywhere,
not only in the cross,
but in the fellowship of believers
and in the world around me.
When I feel the warmth of the sun
may I praise thee who art the Sun of righteousness with healing power.
When I feel the tender rain
may I think of the gospel showers that water my soul.
When I walk by the river side
may I praise thee for that stream that makes
the eternal city glad, and washes white my robes
that I may have the right to the tree of life.
Thy infinite love is a mystery of mysteries,
and my eternal rest lies
in the eternal enjoyment of it.
Beautiful!