Masks, Veils, and Walls

There He is! . . . do you see Him? . . . He is beautiful. You asked me how I see Him so well for you wished to see Him also, and I told you to lift that silly veil. You thought to hide your flaws from Him, and how you thought such a thing I do not know. Nothing can be hid from Him. Not our thoughts or frailties or even dreams we hold onto secretly. With Him there is no such thing as “secretly”. Masks, veils, and walls can never hide you from Him, but they will hide Him from you.

And now you have done it and you have not been disappointed. Did I not say that He was fairer than all the sons of men? Do you hear me? . . . Hello? . . . I knew that this would happen. It happens to everyone who sees Him clearly for the first time. I'll just leave you to gaze in wonder for awhile. I told you so.

Artwork: The Invocation by Lord Fredric Leighton

When You're All Grown Up

"I want free everything!" she cries.

"I'm afraid you must work for it," I say to her, as she immediately throws her hands over her ears because she does not want to hear it.

"I WANT IT AAALL!" she wails, kicking her little feet. "Health care is a human right! And by the way, so is food and clothing! And housing? That's a human right, too! I want all of it free for everyone and I want it NOW!! And I don't care who must pay for it!"

"Is that all?"

"Noooo!!" she wails again and rolls her eyes. "I want free college education and I want all the buildings ripped down and built again the green way, so those poor little polar bears don't suffer! (sniff, sniff) And I want everyone who doesn't think like me canceled from the world foreevver!"

"I think it's time for you to go to bed now, dear. You're very tired. We can talk about it when you're all grown up."

Artwork: En Penitence by Emile Munier

They'll Be Drawn

If your light is burning, they will come. It is very simple. Like moths to a flame, they'll be drawn to His lovely light and you won't need to strive or force or make things happen. It just does.

Just keep a burning flame in you. One flame is all it takes and everywhere you walk, they come. For His light is irresistible, you know. It fills your soul and glows deep within your eyes and everyone can see it. And if you stay close to Him your light will always burn.

Artwork: Candle and Moth © Virgil Elliott
https://virgilelliott.com/

Babies Down The Drain

Babies down the drain, flushed away as thoughtlessly as sewage. Rivers of babies have been lost - 64 million in America alone. God said He sees us in our mother’s womb when we are yet unformed. That would be an embryo just 2 weeks old—unformed and quietly unknown by its mother. Yet, Father knows that tiny life and He says that in His book are written all the days that He had planned for it, before it's ever born and wakened to the world. Think of all His plans that never came to pass, all the pages of His book that were torn out. Abortion is a grief.

This is proof of how uncivilized we've become . . . it is rivers of precious babies flowing down the drain.

Artwork: The Lake, Sleeping Waters by Frederik

As Sharks Will Do

The sharks smell blood. And, so, they circle round and round, as sharks will do.

“It’s God who’s doing this!” they say. “It’s God’s punishment and we, the righteous, shall devour him and kill him good! Cancel him! Never let his name be spoken in this place again! It’s God exposing him; it’s God whose meting out the punishment, not us!”

Watch them churn the water—biting, chomping, swallowing—till there is nothing left of the poor soul but a tiny spot of blood. "Our work is done," they say. "He will never rise again," and off they swim with bellies full of self-righteousness and eyes bulging from their meal….and a wide smile of satisfaction on their faces.

Artwork: shark circling, unknown

A Lovely Rock

A rock is underneath my feet, a lovely rock, a jewel from the brow of God; a steady rock, a cornerstone that all is built upon. And storms have come. And winds have pounded this small house I built upon it. And the walls have cracked. And the roof has leaned. And windows have been broken.

But the house still stands.

Yes, the house I built still stands on a foundation stronger than my own small self. Of course, a few repairs are needed, but a firm foundation is a solid place to build . . . I could not have chosen a better or more lovely rock upon which to build my life!

Artwork: House Upon a Rock, unknown