Pentecost Anticipated

By Belinda
Make me fruitful by living to that love,my character becoming more beautiful every day.If traces of Christ's love artistry be upon me,may he work on with his divine brushuntil the complete image be obtainedand I be made a perfect copy of him,my Master
Valley of Vision: The Love of Jesus, p.45

I am fast approaching my 62nd birthday and thinking of the fact, that if I do retire at 65, I will have 3 more years in my role at work.


Such a short time--and yet the span of Christ's active ministry on earth.


I feel the drawing of God to spend time waiting, listening, seeking to understand his call for the 36 precious months that could fly by in a blur of outside pressures unless I am intentional and deliberate. 


I want to follow his purpose and design, to fully step into the place he has made me for, whatever that is.


I don't want to "put in time;" survive; meet deadlines or "get by." I long to make the difference God wants me to make.


Tomorrow we celebrate Pentecost. I read some chapter 2 in the book of Acts today, about the rushing wind and tongues of fire that were the tangible signs of the coming of the Holy Spirit two thousand years ago.


Wind and fire! 


Wind blows away everything not firmly rooted. Before a rushing wind, dead leaves and branches fall; dust and debris blow away.


Fire burns up wood, hay and stubble, leaving behind things of lasting value:

1 Corinthians 3:11-13

King James Version (KJV)
11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.


 I am waiting; I am listening; I am anticipating Pentecost!

Luke 10:41-42

New International Version (NIV)
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried(A) and upset about many things,42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a](B) Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Comments

Marilyn said…
"I will have 3 more years....Such a short time--and yet the span of Christ's active ministry on earth." I love how you connected these two. Inspiring, empowering, a challenge. I so agree with your desire not to wish away the time.

Marilyn
7:54 PM
Belinda said…
Thank you for joining heart to heart Marilyn!
10:42 PM
Anonymous said…
Many of my friends, so much older than I (wink, wink) are anticipating retirement. Some want to "just put the time in and get out of there", others want to pass under the radar and a few really want to leave a mark - make a difference. Sometimes I wonder if our attitude towards leaving work is a reflection of our attitude in life - and service to the King. Am I leaving a mark for him - or just a stain? It is a challenge. All the best as you meet yours!
4:19 AM
Belinda said…
Thank you Anon--and God's best to you, too. I don't really like the term "retirement." I think of it more as "making way" for those younger who deserve a chance to make the mark God has for them to make!
10:28 AM
Susan said…
As you know, I am a couple of years behind you until I reach retirement age. When a co-worker suggested I could take it a little easier now and "just coast into retirement" something in me rose up and shouted, "NO! I don't want to "coast" anywhere, I want this to be the BEST five years of my career!" And I hope, by God's grace that my retirement years (as measured by the standard of those who are loved by me) to be the BEST years of my life... I hope. :)
2:24 PM
Belinda said…
Susan, "Cruising to retirement?" I know you better than that! Not an adventure in sight--you would wither up long before you got through five years!

They will be the best years--you'll see!
10:24 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Voyage

Image
Note from Belinda: I read this prayer yesterday and again today--and then I read it to Susan after cell group, when we were having our "second cup" of decaff coffee together. I knew that she'd love it. She has a framed picture on her office wall of a little blond haired girl in a sail boat on a stormy sea. A fatherly sailor,with a weather beaten face; in a gray sou'wester, holds her close, as he capably mans the tiller. This prayer reminds me of that picture and influenced what I wrote earlier today, when I used the metaphor of ebbing waves to describe a lack of consistency and my desire to crash over the sandbar into the peaceful pool on the other side.  ( Susan sent me a link to the painting, which was done by American impressionist Robert Reid in 1888.  It hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in NYC.) Be bless ed by the beauty of this prayer. OH LORD OF THE OCEANS, My little bark sails on a restless sea, Grant that Jesus may sit at the
Read more

Ere Zij God--Glory to God in the Highest! A Dutch Carol

Image
By Belinda This beautiful Dutch carol was shared today by a friend of Dutch ancestry, on Facebook. I had never heard it before but absolutely loved it. It moved me deeply, especially at the end after the crowd leaves the church and then breaks into spontaneous singing again around a brazier, with the sound of chiming church bells in the background. Listen to it with headphones or a good speaker to get the full effect of the harmonies. And happy first Sunday in Advent!
Read more

Samson Beaver and his Family

Image
I first posted this in 2009, a little show and tell about one of my favourite photographs. Back then it hung on a wall, but now it's in my bathroom where I see it every morning! I'd forgotten the history behind the story, researched when I first posted this and thought that current readers might enjoy it--a story from a time when this land was still being discovered, not so very long ago. This photograph was taken by Mary Schaffer; artist, photographer, writer and naturalist, in 1907. It is of a Stoney Indian named Samson Beaver, with his wife Leah and daughter, Frances Louise. I bought the photo on a postcard, on a trip to British Columbia and it hangs framed, on the wall I face when sitting at my laptop. I love it. Don't you just feel as if you could gather Frances Louise up in your arms and cuddle her? I get a deep sense of peace and happiness when I look at this family, sitting in the grass of a long ago fall. They are dressed in their best, beautiful c
Read more