celebrate

I’ve been crying more than usual lately.  Well, any crying is more than usual for me.  (Except laugh-crying of course.)  It’s kind of weird.  And tears not because I’m sad but because I’m seeing Jesus.  I can just really see Him moving around me, mostly in people I live life with, and it brings me tears of joy and awe and gratitude.  Tonight we had Bible study turned worship night and it was great.  I’ve felt distracted by busyness all week.  I have so much going on I can’t keep my own calendar straight.  But tonight I got a chance to slow down, a chance to be still, a chance to think and a chance to just be.  It was so peaceful and restful and encouraging and rejuvenating.

We sang All Who Are Thirsty and I cried. 

All who are thirsty, all who are weak

Come to the fountain, dip your heart in the stream of life

Let the pain and the sorrow, be washed away;

In the wave of his mercy, as deep cries out to deep, we sing

Come Lord Jesus, come

Come Lord Jesus, come

Come Lord Jesus, come

Come Lord Jesus, come

I cried as I sang this song and thought about a particular person.  A person I’ve never met but who has been such an encourager to me.  Her strength and hope in Jesus blows my mind.  Her confidence that He is in the trials, in the hard times, that everything is part of His divine plan.  I feel like I know this person and I don’t.  And I know that sounds creepy.  But right now, today, I want to celebrate with her.  I want to praise God with her.  Because today was the day—her last chemo treatment!  She did it!  Jesus did it!  She is a survivor.  I don’t know what it’s like to be 27, married, the mother of a beautiful one year old daughter and fighting cancer.  But thank you for sharing your story.  Thank you for your honesty and your transparency.  Thank you for being an example of what it really means to trust and surrender to Jesus.  And thank you Jesus that it is finished. 

As we walked out of Bible study we found some leftover refreshments in the Riley Room.  Naturally, we had a marshmallow fight with the mallows leftover from hot chocolate.  We threw them up and tried to catch them in our mouths and failed miserably.  But is was an unexpected moment of joy that I am thankful for.