I am reading “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp. She says some good stuff. Here is a taste:
“Trauma’s storm can mask the Christ and feelings can lie.
I draw all the hurting voices close and I touch their scars with a whisper: sometimes we don’t fully see that in Christ, because of Christ, through Christ, He does give us all things good (Romans 8:32) – – until we have the perspective of years.
In time, years, dust settles.
In memory, ages, God emerges.
Then when we look back, we see God’s back.
Wasn’t that too His way with Moses? “When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back” (Exodus 33:22-23 NIV).
Is that it? When it gets dark, it’s only because God has tucked me in a cleft of the rock and covered me, protected, with His hand? In the pitch, I feel like I’m falling, sense the bridge giving way, God long absent. In the dark, the bridge and my world shakes, cracking dreams. But maybe this is true reality: It is in the dark that God is passing by. The bridge and our lives shake not because God has abandoned, but the exact opposite: God is passing by. God is in the tremors. Dark is the holiest ground, the glory passing by. In the blackest, God is closest, at work, forging His perfect and right will. Though it is black and we can’t see and our world seems to be free-fallingand we fell utterly alone, Christ is most present to us, I-beam supporting in earthquake. Then He will remove His hand. Then we will look.
Then we look back and see His back. “
p.156
(c) 2016 Leighann Marquiss
Comments (4)
I have really enjoyed reading this book. I bought it for a couple of friends as well. It makes a great gift for moms.
Just finished the book on Sunday… and felt like she was speaking a language I knew well… but in a much prettier way.
I love her comments about giving thanks as an instant stress reliever. I try to remember that.
The part you posted about Moses and the cleft in the rock really hit home for me as well… it would seem that the NICU is a giant cleft… and now we are out, we can see more clearly the amazing gifts.
i really liked this part.
i loved this book.
i’m going to have to check this book out. thanks for sharing!