Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you. …
because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.
—Isaiah 43.1-4
And when you walk through fire and you are are burned?
God is still with you.
The flames may destroy your goods,
but they can’t consume you, the you God loves.
The troubles you endure do not diminish your belovedness.
Even the greatest tragedy is the cross where Jesus meets you.
Sometimes, with nothing left, we stand beside the ruins
and say, shaking, “Well, at least we’re grateful we’re alive.”
This is God’s prayer every moment,
even at our joyous victories.
In a time of sorrow the loss is real. The grief is acute.
And at the core, gratitude for what can’t be taken.
The spouse beside the bed of the Alzheimer’s patient
knows this: faith in what can’t be taken.
Amid ashes, we hold one another, and promise
to live for the sake of what can’t be taken.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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