The King

 

The king sat at his desk in stoney silence. He did not know what to do. He looked up, first at the ceiling and then at the Lord.

“What now?” He asked and was not told because the next move was not his to make.

The war dragged on. Not that one only, but the other one too, the one that encompasses the whole world, and everyone pretends we are not fighting.

How would he stop it?

He had the feeling he could not. It would stop on its own or there would be divine intervention. That’s all he knew.

The storm came just as predicted. The ground was shaking something free. They could hardly believe what they saw. A thousand, ten thousand and more, human beings holding their own broken chains in their hands. This is what had been buried for so long? Our freedom.

Son of Man, don’t you see? Our selfishness and pride, murders, theft, it blinds us to reality. We can spend a lifetime in pursuit of nothing. We can waste all our days. Will we not look up to the Creator of all things? Will we not turn from our wicked ways and repent?

The king did just that. He rose from his chair so quickly it spun around behind him. The other kings did the same, some of them, and rose just as quickly. All of them bowed their heads. All of them dropped to their knees. And us with them.

Fwowfers

 

Fwowfers.

That's what my oldest son called flowers when he was little.

Here are some for you.

You Are Precious.

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. 

Psalm 116:15

We recently lost someone dear. While she was near the end the Lord reminded me of this verse. There is a bit if envy for us still here, isn't there? She knew Jesus, knew Him well, and so she is in His presence at this moment. Do you know Him, Jesus of the Bible? He is real. He is the savior of mankind. There is no one like Him. There is no one like you either, by the way. Each soul is precious to God. You are precious to God. 

Did you know that?

A Little Funny

 

If you were a minor inconvenience, which one would you be?

I would be a sudden rainstorm on a sweltering sunny day.

If you came with instructions, what part would people ignore first?

The part written in a language you have never seen before.

Which everyday annoyance best captures your overall personality vibe?

Waiting. Waiting in line. Waiting for something. Just standing there.

I'm waiting. Are you waiting? Here we are together waiting for something.

You?

Why Did You Leave Earth?

Lifted up. That’s how I would describe the feeling as we left the Earth. Pulled by imaginary strings, pushed into the above, how would you say it? We are packed in here like tight luggage for a long trip. One thousand light years, give or take, and we will arrive beyond our sun and at the greatest planet ever, Final Peace. 

It’s like dying, they say. Maybe it is dying. For all I know they put us in this tin can to send us to Jesus. I take a deep breath, as full and lung-filling as the doctor’s partial sedation will allow. It’s not enough and I gasp. We are all fighting for air. Whatever they are piping into this compartment is not quite the same. 

I am homesick. Apples, seasons, weather, all left behind us, replaced by the hum of our propulsion and unnatural light. There is nothing here to like. What have we given up? I didn’t think the transition would be this alienating. I didn’t imagine I would no longer feel like myself. I feel so wrong. It dawns on me that I must have been on Earth for a reason. I had been tethered there because that is where I belonged. I could only hope I would feel differently at our destination. I didn’t think there was a way back. We gave up so much. 

No matter what you think of the Earth and its troubles, you will miss it when you leave. You’ll look back and you’ll realize there are things on that gentle blue ball in space that are not elsewhere. 

I ask the people next to me why they left. One, a man in his forties, says his wife and son are already at Final Peace. He is going to be with them. That is the best reason I have heard so far. The woman on my other side agrees with me. The Earth had become dark and depressing. Too much war. Too much fear. She left to start anew. I suppose we are both doing that, in a way. I am in search of the Kingdom of God. She wondered why I didn’t think that was on Earth: Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Why didn’t I think of that before I strapped myself into this chair? 

I left Earth because I wanted quiet, but the truth is I made my own loudness. I could have shut it off, the worry and the looking around in terror. I could have stayed on the Earth if I had quieted myself there. And now I didn’t know what was ahead.