FALLING UPON HIM . . .

Life is really, really good right now.

Not that it's easy. Oh no, life ain't easy. And not that it's totally happy. Oh no, life ain't totally happy. But life is good.

Do you know what I mean? I mean that all this rain, all this rain that the rest of you might be cursing to high heaven, makes me turn my eyes to the Lord. This rain that falls from heaven and gives nourishment to trees, bushes, plants, grass -- it makes things grow that animals will need to eat in order to survive through the winter. It lays the foundation for life so that flowers can bloom in the spring. It cleans away the dirt and dust and carves the path for a new autumn, a new winter. It falls from heaven, from the very eyes of God, who once gazed upon the earth He created, and over and over, stated and decreed and bade that it was good.

I am made to turn my eyes to the Lord because I need Him. I need Him to tell me what to do. I need Him to settle my heart and to guard it. I need HIm to make me obedient, not for the sake of doing what I know what is right, but for the sake of doing with joy. I need Him to lead me and guide me and place my feet firmly one after the other on the path upon which He has already laid the narrow but firm bricks. I need Him to listen to me and to receive my laughter and my cries and my questions and my praises. I need Him to speak back to me wisdom and strength and hope. I need Him to pour love and grace through me and out of me to others around me. I need Him to teach me to love sufficiently and wholly and generously and without fear. I need Him to reassure me and to give me inhuman confidence. I need Him to keep me humble so that the praise is never on me, but the glory is always for Him. I need Him so much these days, and that is why life is good. It is so good to need Him.