-Speak to me, oh Lord of my heart. I’m struggling. I need to wrap thanksgiving around every detail of my life. I feel too fragile. The insecurity of my lack of accomplishments lurks too powerfully just beneath the surface. Help me Lord to Magnify You…to release the tight grip I have on this hazy imagery marking the “well done!” ...the sense of faithfulness to the call. Help me to uncurl the tightness in my chest when I sense others’ acclaim (even if only to themselves!). Let my life be enough. Let what You have chosen to allow be met with great gratitude. Help me be that child….without guile…without expectations…just an accepting, wanting-to-just-be-with-You child. Teach me to breathe when the contrasts make my chest constrict. Take me to the place of worship where freedom is all I know. This is why You came…to peel off the sin nature and show me why You love me…to help me accept who I am with grace…contentment…”not better than…not worse than, not comparing at all…..Humility”  Why am I still so proud Lord, with no reason? You know me…the real me and You love me still. Thank you.

+ Take a breath, my love, Know that all is grace…the air….the design of your lungs distilling the oxygen, sending it on its way to renew and restore. I’m right here! I understand your sense of loss. Give it to me. There’s no reason to cling to it…..no reason to hold it up to your face like a mirror as if this is your identity. You once were lost, but now…and for a long time now…you are found.! I’m here to help you see the wide place and believe it is yours. This is why you can release the pain and the loss and the ways you feel like you’ll never measure up. My love….come and rest and just BE with Me. I know how to make sense out of all the things that still confuse you. You are forgetting Heaven! You are forgetting the heavenlies. You can know that your mind is not set on things above when you feel this tightness grip you and hold you hostage to the lie. Use the will I’ve given you to resist the enemy of your soul. He will flee. You can learn to totally rest amidst all the unanswered questions. You can still feel favor even when it seems to hide from you. Faith is the substance of things not seen. Believe in the favor that I have for you…believe it because of Who I am for you right at this moment… and give thanks.