Out of the Woods
colored pencil on watercolor paper
There are seasons in life when it seems all we can do is breathe. Word prayers that usually pour out come molasses-slow in dribs and drabs, or spin around in a tangled mess. There are times when you go to bed bone-weary and right before you fall off, anxious thoughts come to steal the covers, and all your shortcomings line up at the foot of the bed to mock. There are nights when all you can do is whisper, "Father, are you there?"
And then, in the dark, I hear You smile. "Let's change the subject," You say. "I have secrets I want to tell, things I only tell a friend. I have plans," You say. "So let's tuck in." Together we spirit-talk. And like the psalmist, I know that if I made my bed in the depths of hell, You are there. Then You tuck me in. Blessed sleep, and ready for another day.
"I will praise the Lord who counsels me,
My heart also instructs me in the night seasons."
Psalm 16:7
Joining Emily today
22 comments:
the promise of a new day...
those are wonderful, at the end of an old one.
Oh, Jodi. This is making me smile and weep. Every bit of it. The first part was so true and yet written so innovatively that it expressed the tired, old realities in a way that made me smile for their fresh meaning.
And then the second part - the good, loving, Father, tucking us in with a promise that He will take care of us, no matter what. My heart is full.
And then, the watercolor. I love watercolor. And yours is filled with so much Light.
Thank you for these fine gifts, this morning, friend.
ah...how refreshing...love those still moments when i can stop my mind and hear so clearly...nice.
Beautiful Jodi,I needed this today! :-)
oh jodi, this is so beautiful. your words and the art...
"together we spirit-talk"....love that.
xo
Molasses-slow prayers and anxious thoughts stealing the covers. Been there. Thanks for the reminder to listen for the smile in the dark. I'm so glad you're posting your art--I love seeing it. So amazed by your talent. Blessings, friend.
I just love your beautiful art! Have you ever tried Watercolor Pencils? I love those.
I was touched by this. . .and He would go to the depths of hell to tuck us in. I'm thinking about how he died for us and how he loves us. This post brought a lot of humble to me.
You captured so beautifully those moments when the soul is weary and we long to be gently tucked in. His love is so gently. Thank you Jodi for sharing such lovely words and thoughts.
Ruth V
jodi, yes. what everyone else said! :)
i love the father saying let's change the subject. i think he might really do that, like he changes weather and heart seasons for our sake. love this.
i CANNOT tell you how this impacted me. "let's tuck in." this brings God so near to me. like a loving mama or papa who wants to fold up beside me on bed and listen to my stories. oh, jodi, thank you. xo
ps. GORGEOUS art. as always.
I love that painting, it has a very strong emotional appeal in the colors, a contrast with lush green grass, and barren trees,
it goes so well with the emotive feeling when just before we trail off to sleep - and our minds was far too busy doing the day, racing thoughts come bubbling back up and betray our own negative and over active minds --- we paint and create our own drama, but when we relax, the mind, ask for "thee" and release it all, we have peace and serenity, but too often we cave in to the wrong thought forms and do not trust...
sorry I went on and on - but this post is so powerful Jody -- and a reminder to us all to slow our minds way down and trust.
Joanny
Thank you. I love your picture. Beautiful.
You illustrate the tenderness of Abba in our vulnerability so well. It reminds me of Zephaniah 3:17 "The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing."
I love the image of being tucked in too. What love!
Beautiful artwork too! The one picture seems to capture the transition of all four seasons.
Hey everyone!
Thank you so much for the words of encouragement as far as the artwork goes. But what I found most amazing while reading your comments is the unity of our experiences as people created by a loving Father, who desires more than anything a relationship with us.
Answering your comment on my blog here. Please do pray for me. I just found out today that I have metastatic melanoma and they're doing lots of tests. But I do think September will be joyful. It is a lovely time of year and some family things are happening which are wonderful. Thank you.
This is from my blog August 19, 2009, but it takes so long to get back there that I copied it for you. You really need newly picked pickling cucumbers and warm weather to do this best.......
This picture of pickles from the lovely Discover Lebanon website looked somewhat like the pickles I am thinking about these days, although they didn’t have the same recipe there. I’m thinking (a little late) about delicious crunchy half-sour Hungarian kovasos uborka I haven’t made in years! I can almost taste them!
They are like the pickles we find in the Deli section of our grocery stores, and made with milk acid fermentation like most ethnic pickles, like Korean kim chee or sauerkraut……..No vinegar is added. These pickles are cured in a salt brine. Take a a bunch of clean home-grown cucumbers of pickling size and on one end make an east west slice almost through and on the other end a north south cut almost all the way through, so each pickle stays together but the brine can penetrate better. Take a canning jar and fill it with some water and about six generous tablespoons of salt. Put a bit of garlic or dill in the bottom and some mustard seed if the spirit moves you. Fill the jar with the cut cumcumbers on end and add water to come close to the top of the jar. Push a good slice of real rye bread into the brine over the cucumbers and let this cure for five or six days………..But I don’t put them outside since the racoon broke all my jars more than 30 years ago! When they are ready, you need to eat them up in a week or so, but this is no problem for me.
More accomplished Hungarian cooks have a way to turn this into vizes uborka, I think, and then they last longer, but I don’t know how they work their magic. But for some reason, these pickles are calling to me just now. The wonderful simple things of life and of summer which seems rushing by.
How refreshing! I have those nights, too.
My beautiful Jodi, the words and velvety texture of your psalm echo in all our weary, little child souls and pull us up to be stout of heart.
My dear Kristi, I have already taken you into my heart and begun to pray for you, confident that the One who tends to the beat of all our hearts, will carry you day and night through your march. You are beautiful and very brave, to share your delicious sounding pickle recipe after briefly mentioning your deep need for prayer. It is heard.
The Lord is kind and merciful.
Emmanuel<3
I am in awe.
that is all.
I love using water color pencils, being tucked in, and Psalm 16... we are twins! -Ethel
Ethel, I thought we might be. :)
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