Reflecting on Blessings

By Sarah Van Diest

“True beauty must be able to engage the dark desolations of pain; perhaps it is on this frontier that its finest light appears?” John O’Donohue, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace

There was so much I could write that day. I could write on being home after a trip to visit our son in Italy. I could write about Christmas just around the corner. I could write about one of our five sons who turns 18 in a few days, entering adulthood. I could write about freedom and life juxtaposed with law and death as depicted in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Seriously. There is so much I could write about. Friendship and love. Hope in sorrow. God’s faithfulness. Thankfulness. Wisdom. Passion. Forgiveness. Grace.

How do we choose, dear ones, what to write on when our hearts are full? How can we select one blessing over another and proclaim it to be superior simply by the act of choosing it? How do we not, when our hearts run over, spend our entire day with our eyes heavenward praising our Father? Or maybe we do just that.

Called to Pray

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” Ephesians 6:18.

            

 “I feel a great disturbance in the Force.” 

Ha! I know I’m quoting fiction, Star Wars to be exact, but it makes me think. There are days, in fact specific moments within days, where out of the blue a deep sense of sorrow fills my soul. It is as if, like in Star Wars, a great catastrophe hit and my heart felt the blow. Have you ever felt that? 

Created for Truth

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest

“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” 2 Corinthians 11:3. 

“You are alone.” “You are not enough.” “There is no place for you in this world.” 

These are difficult words, yes? They represent exclusion, rejection, and pain. Some of us have heard these words, or some similar, spoken directly to us from those we believed cared about us. Others have heard these words in their own minds and hearts, coming from a place deeply buried and hidden. 

Go. Write. Love.

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest

Do you know that what you do matters? 

Do you understand that the way our Father speaks through you is unique? That there is no one else who can carry his message and his love like you can? 

I want you to hold that idea in your mind as you read today’s story. What you do makes a difference. 

The Serendipity of Hope

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest

When the unexpected becomes the serendipitous we rejoice. We are glad and our hearts are grateful. When our spirits are fragile, the smallest of blessings can overrun us with their beauty and our sense of sentimentality boldly presents itself. Tears of gratitude are evidence of its effect on us. 

Moms Matter

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest

There are important issues coming forward these days. People are being brave, saying what needs to be said, and doing what needs to be done. On my mind today: Beth Moore talking about the treatment of women in Christian ministry. 

Sweeter

Today Sarah is sharing a devotion from her new book, God in the Dark. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. In this book you’ll find light in the dark, hope in despair, and the comfort only God can provide. I know you’ll be blessed by her words today. There's also a cool giveaway you won't want to miss at www.GodintheDark.com. 

Day 18

Sweeter

Psalm 119:97-104

Mem.

O how I love Your law!

It is my meditation all the day.

Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,

For they are ever mine.

I have more insight than all my teachers,

For Your testimonies are my meditation.

I understand more than the aged,

Because I have observed Your precepts.

I have restrained my feet from every evil way,

That I may keep Your word.

I have not turned aside from Your ordinances,

For You Yourself have taught me.

How sweet are Your words to my taste!

Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

From Your precepts I get understanding;

Therefore I hate every false way.

Answers. Understanding. Insight. How we long for those! We want so desperately to know what is happening to us and what will become of us. When the days are dark and we feel overwhelmed by pain or sorrow or confusion, we beg for answers. We believe that if we could simply understand, then we would find peace. That relief would come in the same package as the answers to our questions. 

The Blessing of the Book I Never Intended to Write

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest

God in the Dark, the little devotional book I wrote, comes out on April 3^rd and its launch team has been meeting together on social media for about six weeks already. I had no idea what to expect in launching a book, and I am in awe.

As if a door cracked open just ever so much, I have glimpsed how the Lord has begun using the book in the hearts of those who read it. Like I said, I am in awe.

In the Shadow of Words

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest

It’s been a while since I’ve written—since I followed words across the page as they made their way to wherever they were headed. I’ve missed their shadow and walking in it. They break ground for me, sheltering me from the hot, harsh wild of uncertain terrain. My place behind them is cool and smooth, a place of comfort and security.

Do you see your words this way? 

God in the Dark

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest

I never intended to write a book.

Who Made the Poppies?

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest

In Switzerland—Burtigny, to be precise—there is a hill I climbed several times during my recent stay. Though autumn had secured much of the landscape, there remained a few bright red poppies blooming on the edge of a farmer’s field. Situated just above this field was a small wooded area with an enticing walking path through the heart of it. It didn’t seem to matter to me if the day was sunny and mild, or cloudy and wet, I still wanted to walk up the hill, venture into the woods if time allowed, and always visit the poppies.

What is Art?

God  is glorified when we put words on paper.

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest

“In the beginning, God created . . . .” Gen.1:1.

On my plane ride home from Switzerland this week, I sat by an artist. She showed me recent drawings in her sketch pad and photographs of her paintings. I was in awe. Her work went beyond realism and into an expressive realm of profound artistic mastery.

“I found my voice last year,” she said. That’s what she called it, her “voice.” We use that same term in writing, but I didn’t realize painters and other artists of all types used it, too.

Alone

The word, alone, provokes us...

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest

Alone. The compilation of “all” and “one.” All + one. All that there is, is one.

Because God is Faithful

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest

Never underestimate the faithfulness of God.

"Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created." Revelation 4:11

When Life Gets Overwhelming

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest

I want to write to encourage you today, if today is a hard one for you. I would love to lift the gaze of your eyes from downward, focused on your path, to upward so you can see the Father’s smile as He looks at you.—So that whatever weight you carry will feel lighter, and so your heart will know the sweet sensation of rest and freedom.

But today I feel unfit for the task.

The Life of Breath

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest

We know this to be true. When we stop breathing, we stop living. There is no life when breath is absent.

It’s allergy season here in Oregon, and other places, too, I’m sure. And because this winter was Portland’s wettest on record, there is now no shortage of growing, blooming things. 

An afternoon doing simple gardening can turn into a night of sneezes and snores. Last night was a perfect example.

On the Horizon

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest

“Do you sense there are places Jesus might want to lead you where you would rather not go?”

40-Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Ronald Klug

I have known this was coming.

The Hands of a Mother

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest

Mothers’ hands are often full. They hold bottles and diapers, dance costumes and permission slips, baseball caps and treasured, half-eaten, slightly moist cookies. Her hands are almost never empty. An empty hand can do many things, though. And sometimes mothers wish they had three or four. But an empty hand may sometimes feel odd, almost wrong, as if something important has been forgotten or dropped, as if something is missing.

Who Do You Say I Am?

by Sarah Van Diest 
@SarahVanDiest

That question is simple, but incredibly complex, yes? You can answer with your name, your occupation, your position in a family or in society, etc. Some will answer with their sexual orientation. And we may all answer that question differently depending on who is asking and what the context is, but just because we offer different answers at different times or to different people doesn’t mean our identity changes, does it?

My Worth Isn't Determined by What I Say

by Sarah Van Diest 
@SarahVanDiest

Something to say?

We don’t always have something to say. It doesn’t change our worth, value or significance, it just means right now we are quiet. It is a good time to listen, to be still and know that He is God. It is a good time to employ our senses and take in from the world around us.