River of Life

Thursday, October 28, 2010 (5:47 a.m.)

Blessed Lord,

You are amazing! Truly, absolutely amazing! My sleep was interrupted. Thoughts of actually parting with many of the things we no longer use were prevalent. Without doubt, this would be the work of the Holy Spirit for which I prayed yesterday afternoon with a dear friend. Thank You Lord.

Thank You too for the song that just brought me out to You again, Billy Joel’s “River of Dreams”. It was once again one of those with which I struggled and doubted. How could the strains ♫In the middle of the night♫ possibly be coming from You?

Ah, but here I am. Repeatedly wandering outside to partake in this early morning parfait of colors You have going on in the sky. How long has it been dearest Lord that I have gotten up early enough to be able to behold the majesty of Your glorious righteousness unfold right before my very eyes? Shades of pink streaking across an azure sky complete with the moon and several stars still shining brightly. I am awestruck Lord! And look. Just like that it’s gone. Muted to a drab, pale yellow. Thank You Lord! Thank You that I didn’t miss such a gift ~ ♫in the middle of the night♫

Blessed Lord, I didn’t know the name of the song when I first looked up the lyrics. The moment [this thought briefly interrupted by another walk outside to behold the return of the pinks and blues of the sky strikingly silhouetting the purples of the mountains! Thank You God! J] I saw the title, I immediately associated it with Your River of Life described for us in Revelation 22:1, 2.

Reading the lyrics again just now, I can only thank You again for this early morning wake up call! There is talk of mountains of faith and a river so deep, looking for something sacred that has been lost, with a river that’s wide and too hard to cross. There’s a valley of fear and something taken out of a soul, a jungle of doubt and something so undefined that it can only be seen by the eyes of the blind.

Lord, it all rings so close to the hope that is only found in Your Word. There’s mention of faith and fear and doubt and truth and through it all I run straight back to the description of “a pure river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1).

The songwriter goes on to speak of uncertainty in a life after this but wades into the river that runs to the promised land. There’s a desert of truth, the ocean, streams and being carried on by the river of dreams. Lord, how I thank You for the way You get (and hold) my attention so early in the morning. Thank You Lord for truly another glimpse of glory.

How I thank You as well for the reminder of another ‘middle of a night’ many months ago when I got to ‘go walking in my sleep’ to find our precious son just finishing one of his favored video games. I remember standing entranced by the seeming spiritual nature of its climax. What an added bonus to find it just now connected to the lyrics of this particular song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEfz7uNW-_M

Lord, thank You for loving us so much that we may indeed love You and others as ourselves. Thank You for this awesome start to this glorious day. I love You. Amen.

(599 words ~ 7:43 a.m.)