From Strength to Strength...Just Abide in My Love

Greetings Dear Friends, 

As I write this today, the air has turned a tad crisp and the trees are definitely starting to change colors. In my neighborhood the sounds of school buses depositing their treasured passengers back home have now replaced the distinct sounds of summer.  Gratefully, I can rejoice in the fact that my windows can be open and the curtains billowing in the fall breeze. As thankful as I am for air conditioning in the heat, I can honestly say that I’m loving this!

I’ve been thinking a lot about the things I love… and about my love for the Lord. 

Since writing the last blog, I’ve become so aware of the state of my soul and have asked myself:

• Is the flame of my first love for Him still burning as it was at first? 
• Is my spiritual vessel still filled to overflowing? 
• Am I desiring to draw near to Him even in the midst of the busiest of days?
• And during my darkest hours, do I KNOW He is near even when He is silent? 
• What keeps me going?  Is it still Him?  Is He central?

I’ve also been thinking about His love for me. 

“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches … As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love.   John 15:3-10

But Lord, what about my first love?  How do I know it’s still first?

The following story called “The Little Fish” from the Indian Jesuit, Anthony de Mello, is a little parable about the awareness of God’s abiding love:

“Excuse me”, said an ocean fish.  “You are older than I, so can you tell me where to find

this thing they call the ocean?’
 “The ocean,” said the older fish “is the thing you are in now.”
“Oh, this?  But this is water.  What I’m seeking is the ocean,” said the disappointed fish as he swam away to search elsewhere.
“Stop searching, little fish, says de Mello.
“There isn’t anything to look for.  All you have to do is look.”

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.  This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you” John 15:11-12.
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Thank You, Lord Jesus.  Thank You.