¡Vengan a mí!

Last evening was one of those evenings that will live in my memory for many years.

It wasn’t a gala, or a gathering of many for a dinner party. It was just Tony and me, sitting with Bob and Lisa (my daughter and her husband) at a beautifully set table, all decorated for Fall. Of course, I must add that the food was out of this world. Some might call it comfort food. Chicken pot pie, made by her hands, and it was yummy. But the best part was just being together, talking, remembering past times and talking about current times. It was warm, beautiful, familiar and yet new. We have had wonderful times like this with Tiffany and Scott (my son and his wife) as well, with the same sense and peace in just being together. There is something God builds in those unhurried times together around a dinner table.  It seems that He builds the depth of relationship as nothing else can. It is a place of hearing one another’s hearts.

The Fall Season

I am well aware that the fall season is the delight of many. Yet for some, the stronger signal is that summer is over, with all of its possibilities and opportunities. That beautiful time of year when trees are in full display, flowers bloom brightly, and outdoor living can be done with great ease. The chill of winter is on the horizon. Fall, or autumn marks the transition from summer to winter. Daylight becomes noticeably shorter and the temperature cools down considerably.

Autumn brings brilliant colors of vibrant reds and golden leafs that begin to shed, and soon the ground will be covered with their vibrancy. As leaves begin to fall, children are back in school, and life’s pace picks up in a subtle way.

It is also a time of harvesting, of reaping what the farmer has sown in the ground, for next year’s supply. It is hard work, but joyful work. They will now enjoy the fruit of their labor.

As I personally continue to make the shift in my mind…that summer is over and fall is now here, I can begin to enjoy the changes I see all around me. I find myself amazed at God’s creative cycle that is displayed before our very eyes.

Come Unto Me

This morning, as I was thinking about scripture, I felt I heard the Lord say to me, “Come unto Me.” What comfort there is in those words. It brings rest, assurance, comfort and steadiness all at the same time.

Just come! Come and rest in Me. Come and be blessed in Me. Come and receive all you need in Me. It is a beckoning to rest. To laying aside the struggle and the stresses of life.

Just come, find comfort and rest for your souls.

Just come, and find peace.

The word salvation not only means to save from sin; it also means to deliver, to protect and to heal. Salvation includes redemption for the whole man: body, soul, and spirit.

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly: and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I Thess. 5:23 (KJV)

Even as I found such peace in the quietness of a family dinner last evening, there is an even greater place of peace as we follow His words, “Come unto Me.”

God is drawing us by the Holy Spirit to come into a deeper place of relationship with The Father. It isn’t about knowledge. It isn’t about doing things. He is wanting fellowship with us that isn’t based on anything but the sheer joy of being together.

Come Unto Me! Do it today. Be filled up with Him. Find your pace of stabilization in Him.