I just noticed that this year is one of those years. Not really sure how to explain it, but the way the days of the month fall into the weeks and all the times I catch 11:11 on the clock. This year, Thanksgiving is on the 24th and my birthday is on a Thursday. Christmas Eve is on a Saturday...and so is New Year's Eve. Everything is as it should be.
But sometimes I feel like it's a different kind of "one of those years." It snowed back at home for the end of October. I'm missing the celebration of Fall with my fiance once again. And every time I come back from a trip, there is an uncanny feeling that this is not home.
But of course, a year is a year, and with years come seasons. For everything there is a season.
These last couple days I spent in Kending on a church retreat. The area we stayed at reminded me a bit of Mambuaya, Philippines...a place where I learned to love a different landscape and embrace a different lifestyle with open arms. I learned through this trip that 1) Taiwan highway signs are extremely confusing, and 2) the beach is one of my happy places.
Through our small group time and discussions I saw visions of the greatness of God shown through the story of creation. A well-known story, yes, but one that scintillates with wonder and glory, depth and meaning.
Something else that stands out to me during our reflection/discussion time was on community. I listed people in my circle whom I trust and whom I let know the deeper parts of me, and realized that I am blessed with good friends that I often take for granted. But knowing they are often far away from me, I also realized that God is inviting me to open myself up to community right where I am as well.
Last night a group of us went to a natural attraction--the first I've heard or seen of anything like it. We trekked down a dark path in the middle of what seemed like a forest until we came to a clearing. There was a wide circle, fenced around with a low chain, enclosing a space where natural bonfires were burning. Scattered around the fires were little licks of flame spurting out of the ground. Apparently, under the ground there exists a natural gas that causes the fire to appear. I kept wondering if fire would come out if I dug a hole. What made the little flames join together to become a big flame?
In retrospect I keep thinking about how each one of us (of God's children) is like a little flame--we all have the hidden Power Source of the Holy Spirit inside of us. We all have been given a mandate to shine amidst the darkness, but in order to be effective we must join forces to maximize our offense against the powers of evil. One little flame can do much in pitch black, but a blaze will give warmth, fend off wild creatures, and throw off the shroud of darkness. In our study of Ephesians, B and I are meditating on the last part about God's armor. The last piece that Paul mentions that cannot be had while standing alone is prayer. We must pray for each other. And in our praying for each other become bound together in stronger, fiercer ways that we otherwise never would be.
During the retreat one of our sisters was experiencing numbness and increasing pain in her right limbs which has become a gradual impairment to her daily work and life. I felt a burden to pray for my sister as she went through the uncertainty of not knowing the cause and fearing the worst. This morning we prayed for her as a church as well, calling on the name of Jesus as Healer and Creator to intervene, trusting in His Divine Sovereignty to work all things for good. And thus we are brought together in the sharing of our struggles and the claiming of victory in the work of Christ. And thus the darkness-- the fear, anxiety, depression, the discouragement-- will flee away. Satan and his henchmen cannot stand in the midst of our blaze.
Lord, set us ablaze together into Your raging inferno.
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