My Very Own “Field of Dreams!”

Yesterday, I watched “Field of Dreams” with my two youngest sons. Once again, I was moved to tears. The message of the movie began to marinate in my heart of hearts as my mind held hands with Imagination. I revisited the desires of my heart…my deepest longings and envisioned my very own “field of dreams.”
“What exactly did it look like?” you may wonder….Well, just close your eyes and let me show you.
My field encompasses a patch of land nestled in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Beautiful old trees made perfectly for climbing…or sitting in…or picnicking under..line its borders. Nestled in their leafy midst is an old white farm house capable of housing multiple children and their children. This house made from simple materials, brick and wood and mortar is truly fashioned with the love, messy life and abundant laughter shared within its walls. After all, it is these things that transform a dead structure into a real live home….I see a whole family: myself, a man that cherishes me and fiercely guards the fruit of God’s love, our six sons. I see my boys/men running hither and yon, in and out the screen door as it slams the rhythm of time, marking the endless comings and goings with its comforting sound. I smell the rich earth scent of growing things…I see a carefully tended garden…not perfectly manicured but beautifully messy. I see and hear a myriad of animals from dogs and cats to twenty-four chickens, two roosters, several goats and a single cow. I see myself appropriately but fashionably dressed in an amazing Magnolia Pearl farm dress or perhaps a Tina Givens slip. Most importantly, I feel the ease of life and love in my very own field of dreams. I hear a nearby brook softly singing it’s mountain melody…I feel peace, absolute contentment and total fulfillment like a warmed blanket wrapped around me…pushing away the chill of hopes long deferred. I wake up from this visit and find myself refreshed, inspired and vastly encouraged to keep moving forward with renewed hope…in the absolute future reality of my dreams coming true! I see my loving Father/God gently scoop up these longings and scattered heart-felt desires, so like fledgling birds. I watch him as he tenderly places my yearnings in the downy nest of His very own heart. And I know, that I know, that I know that He will build it, eventually I will come and walk into my very own field of dreams….and it will be better, wider, richer, deeper than I have ever been able to imagine on this side of heaven. So here I sit re-reading what I have just written and a new thought gently settles on the forefront of my mind. Perhaps, it is not so much the actual consummation of the dream itself that is most important but the aliveness I feel when I believe in its potential fulfillment. Maybe the most exquisite aspect of all dreams is the daring wonder that fuels them. Just a thought…

One Pearl at a Time!

What is it in man that enables him to live capably in the face of danger or uncertainty! That spark, that tiny spark that refuses to give up…give in…lay down and succumb to the end of time marked on this swift and tilting planet! I am amazed at the stories of human triumph in the face of grave adversity. What marks the difference between those who fight the good fight and those who submit to despair and subsequent defeat? Is it simply faith that things will inevitably change…for nothing but God ever truly stays the same or is it some innate ability to readily accept what is, what can not be changed and swiftly adapt? Perhaps, it is a little of both. I do so wonder…because I would like to have some more of that…please! Even with the sweet, intimate relationship I enjoy with the Father…I still struggle to live…really live capably. Some days I feel like I am moving in slow motion…waiting for my new life to begin…you know the one I am talking about…the one with the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and the plentiful happily-ever-afters. Then I stop, take two small steps back and look more closely at the life that is before me right now…in this very tenuous moment. I say with Anne of Green Gables, “Oh, Marilla…what you do miss!” Only I exchange my name for Marilla’s and it becomes…”Oh, Sabrina…what you do miss!” I have experienced this awareness on more than one occasion and still I fall prey to the sluggish existence that impersonates real living. I know that the answer is firmly fixed in my Papa’s hands…in fact the answer is inscribed in his sweet nail-scars…Those precious spots marking forever, the day heaven and earth were moved on my behalf making all things, every little thing, right! Even days that I don’t live fully…days I run hither and yon getting nowhere…days that I need my battery re-charged just to get out of bed. He holds all of these moments together…stringing them like a master jeweler…one pearl at a time…until the very last day…the very last pearl! I still don’t know the answer to my original question but I do take comfort in the fact that even when I live less than capably…I have a very capable God holding together and redeeming all of my living! That, to me is very good news…very good news indeed!

Step into the Really, Real!

Most days, I am able to press onward and upward, living in the Present Reality, beautifully sustained by my Daily Bread. But there are times when my courage flags and my shoulders droop under the weight of my “light and momentary afflictions!” It is at these times, I feel acutely my situation press down hard upon me…and suddenly I find myself lying prostrate “under my circumstances!” Yesterday was a time such as this….BUT Jesus whispered:

Sabrina, come away with Me. Be still and listen to my heart. I love you today..as I loved you yesterday…as I will love you tomorrow. I am the unchanging God-of-the-Angel-Armies…And I am yours. Yes, “there’s bound to come some trouble to your life..that ain’t nothing to be afraid of …” You and I have faced plenty of trouble before…so “there’s no reason to fear!!!” I am here…with you…now and now and now. Simply reach out to me and hold on tight! “Stand sure on the promise that I will pull you through.” Remember, when you do fall…it is “always on the grace that first brought you to me!!!” This same grace will keep you and see you safely home. “My son was sheer weakness and humiliation when he was killed on the cross, but oh, he’s alive now—in the mighty power of God!” There have been times in your life when you weren’t much to look at either, when you were humiliated! But now, sweet, sweet child of mine you are alive in Christ, strengthened by Me, your God!!! Now…now you are made new…moment by moment, step by step and like my dear boy you live in and out of my mighty power. Because of this really, real Reality nothing is impossible. Therefore, take courage and be NOT afraid.

And once again, He lifts my head…I stand up…look to the horizon of His love and cry out, “What’s next Papa?”

Portions of the above “Whispers” were brought to you by the songs, “If I Stand,” and “There’s Bound to Come Some Trouble,” (both beautifully written and sung by Rich Mullins). Credit must also be given to 2nd Corinthians 13: 1-4….inspired by our loving heavenly Father who knew we would need these words for such a time as this.