Keeper of The Flame

Why should I be surprised, Lord? That I would have an amazing God-encounter at church today?

Shouldn’t that be the very place we have them all the time?  🙂

It was so like You, dear Abba… to use a child as Your messenger. A messenger who lived The Message without realizing it. She was the acolyte at today’s traditional service. How old was she, Lord? Maybe six? No more than eight?

She walked forward, slowly and reverently, holding the tool used by acolytes the world over. A candle lighter. One side, a snufter; the other, a burning wick. Everything always went according to plan…

… except today.

As she approached the altar, the candle lighter went out. Everyone noticed. But her Dad was the one who stepped forward. With his pocket-sized Bic, he relit it for her. Then went back to his seat.

Arriving at the altar, she extended the lighter to the candle and… it went out again. So again, her father came to her rescue. He held his spark against her lighter’s wick. He tried… and tried… and tried. Then he tried some more.

All to no avail.

So he lit the candles himself — first one, then the other. And they both went to their reserved seats in the front row.

Before anyone spoke a word, You spoke to my heart, Lord. Describing the whole scene from Your Other Worldly perspective…

The perspective of my Everlasting Father. Who rushes to rescue His precious little girl whenever her flame goes out. Whenever her wick is insufficient for the task. Whenever she fails to live up to the expectations of those around her… or even her own.

How often that little girl has been me.

You rushed to my aid long before I knew You, Lord. When my light was about to go out forever, You became my Light in the darkness. Once I was blind. Now I see.

And now I know what was unknowable before, that…“nothing in all creation will be able to separate [me] from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Romans 8:39)

The love of God, my Father. Abba, my Daddy. In Christ Jesus, my Lord. Who met me again this morning…

… with skin on.

Awestruck,

Abba’s Girl

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *