Your nearness is to us our good

i was restocking the towel closet in the master bathroom last night. i was weaving my way through the mazes of doors that are seemingly without purpose. i was on track, doing good work, being productive... and then i wasn't. i was mesmerized by something happening outside the window. it was a view for the ages

the grass was dead and the trees were sprigs of leafless life... i doubt the color palate would have changed at all had all the colors been removed- gray and black, not even a little bit of white. "erin, how were you mesmerized by THAT?" it is a very valid question... the sky, my friend, was full of brilliant colors- the total opposite of the organic material beneath it- as the radiant, life-supporting sun was setting. the few clouds that were in the sky at the time were gently sweeping behind the dead trees. i sat down on the edge of the bathtub and watched... and listened... my Jesus was reading me a picture book...

*i love picture books... the story can change with every new read, you know. it requires imagination from the viewer. it requires an element of faith to see if the next page will continue to support the story line. so young and childish, very much at my level last night* so as Jesus read to me, i sat and soaked in every word-

my heart was singing this song all weekend. (get it loading on your computer pronto) it was more than the nearness of God last night; it was more than Him holding me in His hand. i heard His heartbeat and felt His breath as He brushed His face against me on the edge of that bathtub...

i have grown a lot in the past two weeks... grown down and around and now growing up (not adulthood, but vertical growth) still in the same position as the previous post... still claiming Christ's strength through my personal weakness... tears still streaming sometimes, but i have a smile bursting inside my heart because i have felt it... i have felt "I AM" at work *after i hadn't felt Him in a long time* and i was allowed to see it yesterday *after i hadn't seen Him in a long time* through dusty blinds and a streaked window...

part of me wishes the grass would stay dead and the leaves would remain hidden in their buds... i kinda wish the dust would stay on the blinds and the window would stay streaked with cleaning residue and grime... to gain greater appreciation of the life-giving power of the Son... you know what i mean? here are the lyrics to that song, ps~

You are all, big and small, beautiful
and wonderful, to trust in grace through faith
but i'm asking to taste...

for dark is light to You... depths are height to You
far is near, but Lord, i need to hear from You

be near, oh God... be near, oh God of us
Your nearness is to us our good
be near, oh God... be near, oh God of us
Your nearness is to us our good, our good

Your fullness is mine, revelation divine
but, o, to taste to know much more than a page
to feel Your embrace...

for dark is light to You, the depths are height to You
far is near, but Lord, i need to hear from You

be near, oh God... be near, oh God of us
Your nearness is to us our good
be near, oh God... be near, oh God of us
Your nearness is to us our good, our good

the richness of those words, man, it gives me goosebumps :)

enjoy the sunshine~