Month: August 2024

“A thin place to see glory.”

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“God makes a thin place to see glory.” ~ Ann Voskamp The Greatest Gift

When Ann spoke about this in her book The Greatest Gift it made so much sense to me.  I thought of the thin places I have in my soul. They are places that have been worn through and made raw by the hurt and pain I have experienced. New ragged holes in my soul have revealed and renewed a precious truth to me in my journey with my two wayward hearts. That truth is: God is always with me.

Where do those thin places come from for parents whose children have wayward hearts?

  • They come from conversations filled with tears, anger, and accusations of hate because we hold to our beliefs on sexuality even as we hold to our love for them and they cannot accept the two are compatible or true. 
  • They come from the on-going sorrow related to calls from the police because of a failed attempt to remain sober or clean.  
  • They come from manic days ending in hospitalization because the demons of mental health are attacking their mind and winning the battle with the one you love so deeply.
  • They come from the unanswered texts, calls, or emails you’ve sent to the one who loved God at one time, but now wants nothing to do with Him or you.  
  • They come from hurts that have not been mentioned above. Pain caused by a wayward heart that you love and weep over.

These are the things that rub and tear thin places in our souls. Hopefully you can see His glory peeking through those ragged holes. God did not cause the pain, but He will use the pain to reveal His glory and draw you closer to Him. When these holes in our souls are revealed, try not to focus on the pain alone instead look for the presence of God with you. To be totally honest, that presence is sometimes hard to see. When that happens we have to hold on to the truth of His word. God said in Isaiah, “I will be with you.” Trust Him He will!

Isaiah 43:2
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”

What are the thin ragged places in your soul?  Are you trusting God with those things?  Do you see him there with you? If not, take the time now to ask God to show you how He is with you in the midst of your pain.  Ask Him to help you trust Him with your pain, sorrows, regrets, and rejection. Then take the time to thank Him for always being there with you. 

Tuesday’s Child

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For weeks now I have dreaded Tuesdays because that has been the day that my oldest child injects themselves with the hormone designed to change them physically into what they feel they are. This week another Tuesday morning rolled around…this Tuesday was different. I woke up in tears as my dreams took me on a journey through my deepest fears. I had been dreaming that I was speaking at their funeral. This on the morning celebrating their birth.

In the dream I was standing in the front of their friends who were gathered mourning the loss of my child and implored them to understand the love that God had for them. I told them how Jesus saw them so worthy of His attention, grace and mercy that He took the ugliness of our sin on Himself so that we could become beloved children of God. I spoke to them about their wounded hearts that may have even come at the hands of beloved children of God in their lives who only showed judgement against them. I pleaded with them to look away from those people and see only Christ who could heal those wounds. To ignore the lies whispered in their ears daily about their unworthiness that led them to walk away from the faith of their youth or reject that faith before it even began. I challenged the believers who were present to come forward and share the love of Christ with those who were in desperate need of that gift of acceptance.

I woke up crying, knowing that a funeral would be too late for my child. I prayed that they would be reminded of the faith they once had that was so winsome and true. As I lay in bed thinking and wiping the tears from my eyes, I was reminded again of the day they were born. It was also a Tuesday morning. There is an old poem that has a line that says, “Tuesday’s child is full of grace” and being a Tuesday’s child as well I always held that as a special link between us.

This morning God reminded me that I don’t need to dread Tuesdays. Just as I did 20+ years ago when I held that beautiful Tuesday’s child in my arms and thanked God. Today, I thank God that His grace is sufficient and He has not stopped pursuing the heart of my Tuesday’s child.

Take time today and thank God that He is still pursuing the heart of your wayward child. He knows your heart and hears your prayers. Hosea 14:4 (NIV) says, “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.”