At some point in the course of eternity, I wonder if God will let me hold a star in my hand. I don't mean that the star will become small enough or weak enough for me to hold. The star will remain the same. I mean that when I am one with the Creator—in his presence, seeing his face—I hope I'll withstand its heat and power, hold it up close, and study it for centuries just so I can understand the word shine.
I'm sure God does this already with his stars. Since his Spirit is alive in me right now, all I can ask of him is to make me humble. If one star's force undoes me, how much more its God? How foolish of me to walk rebelliously in my own ways. If the star could talk, I think it would say: "Walk humbly with your God? Duh!"
"She is worth far more than rubies" Proverbs 31:10
A price tag is not the best sign of worth--craftsmanship is. The earth is the craftsman of precious stones. Look again at the way jewels form.
1400 degrees Celsius and 50 kilobars of pressure added to carbon will make a diamond.
Water evaporates at 100 degrees Celsius. Imagine, if you can, the heat of boiling water multiplied by 14.
Now, imagine the power of 50 kilobars. Changes in air pressure (how many pounds of air are pushing down on a specific point of the earth's surface) affect temperatures, precipitation, and headaches. The earache you get after riding on a plane is the result of the pressure changing so quickly. Changes in pressure on the earth's surface are measured in milibars--a tiny, tiny fraction of a kilobar. A kilobar is thousands and thousands of pounds of pressure pushing down on a square inch.
No wonder David could say, "When I felt secure I said, 'I will never be shaken.'" You were formed with greater intensity than 1400 degrees Celsius of heat and thousands of pounds of pressure.
Who? Me. When? At 4-years-old. Where? In the library parking lot after story hour. With? My mom. What? The biggest relationship decision of my life.
What began with an "okay," a bowed head, and a few innocent words is still going strong. Really, I had no idea what I was in for. But then again, I had every idea of what I was in for: I believed the song "My God is so big so strong and so mighty." He's still here. I'm still here. And that's pretty awesome.
And He's coming for me. It's true. So here's my grown-up imagination trying to figure out His, "I love you this much:"
"I am coming to you at one mile an hour (from the pond to your door). I am coming to you at one mile a minute (from the pond to your door). I am coming to you at ten miles an hour (from New York City to your door). I am coming to you at ten miles a minute (from New York City to your door). I am coming to you at 100 miles an hour (from Philadelphia to your door). I am coming to you at 100 miles an minute (from Philadelphia to your door). I am coming to you at 1,000 miles an hour (from Nashville to your door). I am coming to you at 1,000 miles a minute (from Nashville to your door). I am coming to you at 10,000 miles an hour (from your door, to Istanbul, back to your door). I am coming to you at 10,000 miles a minute (from your door, to Istanbul, back to your door). I am coming to you at 100,000 miles an hour (from your door, around Earth four times, back to your door). I am coming to you at 100,000 miles a minute (from your door, around earth four times, back to your door). I am coming to you at 1,000,000 miles an hour (from your door, to the moon, to your door, to the moon, to your door). I am coming to you at 1,000,000 miles a minute (from your door, to the moon, to your door, to the moon, to your door). I am coming to you at 10,000,000 miles an hour (from your door to the moon 40 times, to your door). I am coming to you at 10,000,000 miles a minute (from your door to the moon 40 times, to your door). I am coming to you at 100,000,000 miles an hour (from the sun to your door). I am coming to you at 100,000,000 miles a minute (from the sun to your door). And I'll keep coming and coming and coming..."
To see more about how big, strong, and mighty God is, discover Him in Psalm 18.
The work begins in the sunlight-- Pale light, soft light, harsh light, shade and shield your eyes light-- Without it, what flowers, what words, would grow?
Drink words like water. Lie flat and absorb each drop as they soak the soul.
Let them, like the twinkling dew, linger from last night.
For the hunger, accept all colors but green, and still seem green, but only seem. Dare to create sweetness with what would kill a man. Breathe in death to give out life.
Let darkness come-- the labor of the cells comes stronger in the sleeping. Like a plant, the one in love with words works hardest as he dreams.
Acedia is the sin of the squirms. It's like when my mom used to make Mary, Joe, Hannah, and me do FOB (Flat on Back). When I was lying down and was told to be still, I could think of nothing but squirming.
I am commanded to be FOB again. I'm tempted to move. I watched Imax's Hubblewith my cousin Jenna and saw 500 million miles-an-hour winds sweep through a star field. I will let that wind blow me into nothingness. And I will be restored to stillness as he whispers my name.
