He Surrounds Us With the Light of His Love

“Remember this. When people choose to withdraw far from a fire, the fire continues to give warmth, but they grow cold. When people choose to withdraw far from light, the light continues to be bright in itself but they are in darkness. This is also the case when people withdraw from God.”

~Augustine~

The reality of this truth is so evident in each of our lives, that it is a wonder that we need to be reminded! How many times have we all exerienced this truth . . . . and what a wonder and miracle of grace it is when we turn around, return to the warmth and light of His love, and discover that He has been there all along. And yet we so frequently DO forget this truth, as we rush about taking care of our daily responsibilities. Finding the balance between being responsible and being mindful of God's presence seems to be difficult for most of us to discover, much less maintain.

We are so frequently reminded of the story of Mary and Martha, and the words of Jesus that Mary had "chosen the better part" by sitting at His feet and worshipping Him. Would that we all could take the time away from all of our other responsibilities to simply sit and worship the Lord! And, of course, Martha was chastised for bustling about, serving her guests, and taking care of their needs. Hmmm . . . . . seems like we should be able to sit close to our Lord and worship Him AND be able to take care of those for whom we are called to care for. So, it seems that because of the mixed messages we sometimes hear, especially for women, we get confused, and find ourselves moving closer to that fire of God's presence and then being pulled away repeatedly by the demands of those around us.

And in all of this coming and going, we miss the truth that He is there . .  . everywhere . . . . even when we are not able to sit quietly and worship. When we can do that, it is truly a treasure. But for many women, it is a continual struggle to find time - especially "quiet" time - to stop long enough even to think about all of this! On the one hand, we are reminded that it is our job to minister in our home, to our family, in our church, in our community, to our neighbors, to our parents, and be a loving and gentle helpmate to our husbands. And then when we collapse from sheer exhaustion, or frequently break-down under the pressure of meeting all of those needs, we feel guilty. But that's not all that we feel guilty about - we suddenly are reminded that we haven't been taking enough time to sit quietly and worship at the feet of Jesus.

Fortunately, I don't think God looks at it that way! God honors our commitment and our ministry as women, as mothers, as wives, daughters, sisters, friend and He knows that we are caring for others as an act of worshipping Him. So in the midst of finding that balance, searching for that place where we remain in His presence and in the warmth and light of His love, let us not forget that He does not place the same demands on us that we frequently place on ourselves, usually at the prompting of those around us. We can worship Him everywhere, any time, every minute of every day, and we can remain in His presence even while we are living in obedience and ministering to those whom He has placed in our care. Don't miss that light and that place of His warm and gentle love because you are waiting for that elusive "quiet time."

If you would like to participate this week with the other "In Other Words" participants, please visit Kathryn at her blog, Expectant Hearts, where you can find links to the other posts. Then, if you choose to write on this quote, you can leave your link, too, so we can come and visit you and your blog! Have a blessed week . . . . and stay warm in the light of His love!

 ~~ Nina ~~

Comments

[kathryn @ Expectant Hearts]

Oh, I like your take on this a lot. I do find the most joy in the Lord, and what I'm called to do when I serve Him IN my daily taskes instead of trying to complete an either or.. Thank you for sharing.