Unveiling Hope

The Beginning - Part V

Even had I wanted to turn back, my feet would not allow it. They had charge over my entire body. My heart beat so loudly; it resonated through the ground. I was sure he could hear me coming. I was glad, but I was tentative. He was looking upon the water. Our spirits spoke to each other as I made my descent. His arm reached out slowly, his hand reaching for mine as if it was waiting for me. I heard a small still voice within me whisper, “Come to me. Come to me.” He stood and began to walk in my direction. I didn’t understand why, and I didn’t care. All I knew was that everything inside me wanted to run to him.

She was more resplendent than anything I had ever seen. She was ready. There was nothing more urgent for her than to be in my arms where she belonged. She wanted to run to me. I smiled at her, inviting her to take my hand. This was the moment I had waited for yet it was just the beginning.

He was magnificent. There was nothing left inside me to hold me back – I wanted nothing more than to let go – let go of anything and everything that had ever kept us apart. This was the moment I had waited for. My purpose, the reason for my creation, was unfolding.

She ran into my arms. I held her. I held her so tightly, tightly but gently – reassuringly. I wanted her to be confident in my love. I wanted her to know that, from this point on, I would never let her go. I loved her more than I loved my own life. I would lay it down for her and her alone and I needed for her to know that. I needed for her to understand that. Yet how could she? She was mine, finally. I’ll spend the rest of my days living to show her that I am completely hers.

I wanted him. I needed him. I knew as I began to run toward him that I had found the one I had been looking for. I had found what had been missing, what had kept me from being fully alive. I had no shame. I was spiritually naked before him, hiding nothing. I sensed that he knew more about me than I knew about myself. I felt loved, so loved by him. I knew he would have sacrificed everything, his very life, to express that love. I knew I’d never fully understand. I gave him my heart. I gave him my mind and my soul with every bit of strength I had. I knew, as I stood there, wrapped inside his arms sheltered beneath his wing, that I would spend the rest of my days living to show him that I am completely his.

The Decision - Part IV

She picked herself up and began to walk in my direction, though she hadn’t yet seen me. I knew I would surprise her. I knew she would have doubts and wonder who I was. For a brief instant she would feel unsafe, unsure of herself, unsure of me, but it wouldn’t last. It was me she had set out to encounter when she began the journey. Ah, she noticed me. I pretended not to notice her, to give her time to process what she was feeling and thinking. Her mind was cautious. Her heart was intrigued. Her spirit knew me. Her spirit recognized me. Everything inside me wanted to run to her, to pick her up in my arms and hold her, to melt away every little bit of pain and doubt, to answer every question, but I knew I had to move slowly. I had to let her come to me and she would, sooner rather than later. The course had been set; she was already out of the starting blocks. She wasn’t about to turn back now.

I saw him sitting beneath the willow tree, on the bank of the river that had been calling me. My spirit longed to approach him, but my mind was tentative. Who was he? Why was he there? Was he waiting for me? He hadn’t noticed me. I was glad. I wasn’t sure about what to do next. Should I keep walking to the river? Should I say hello? Something inside me kept telling me that he had been waiting for me all this time. My heart was intrigued. Was it a coincidence that he just happened to be sitting there? I had never seen him before yet there was something about him. Outrageous thoughts began to overtake me. I wanted him to run to me, to hold me in his arms. He had this look about him – this ‘je ne sais quoi’ – something alluring, something enticing and appealing, that radiated from inside his spirit as if it was connected directly to my own. I couldn’t turn back now.

The decision was made. She walked toward me – tentatively at first. I could hear her heartbeat. She didn’t know it yet, but it was beating for me. It had always beaten for me as mine had for her. She wanted me to turn my head toward her, to meet her gaze but at the same time she was reticent. I respected that. I could wait a few moments more, although nothing inside me wanted to wait any longer. The earth sounded her approach to me. I looked into the water, restraining myself from jumping to my feet. She would know the exact moment of truth because I would tell her – I would tell her from my spirit to hers, “Come to me. Come to me.”

The Wonder - Part III

I was breathless, but not out of breath. In some ways it seemed like the culmination of my adventure - something tugged at my soul – something I didn’t understand, but was about to. I knew it was just the beginning, perhaps the end of one journey but the start of a passage, an understanding, the fulfillment of a promise. I felt understood. I felt loved. Purpose was speaking to me, calling me out of the shell I had survived in. I felt like a flower, opening up for the first time. Someone was looking into me, seeing me, seeing in me what I never saw in myself. The unveiling of hope was revealing itself to me. I laid down in the grass. It was covered in dew, but I welcomed it. It made me feel alive. My spirit was alert as if it had heard something I hadn’t – a concerto playing for me, written for me and only me. It felt like a new beginning.

She wrapped herself in the grass. The dew caressed her with the tears of my love; the joy of my heart enveloped her. She lavished in it. It was refreshing. It was a moment I couldn’t interrupt. She’d come. This very moment inevitable. That’s why she had made the journey. I could wait a little longer; I sent my song of love to her, carried on the wings of the birds. My heart swelled at the fullness of love that was emergent in her. She had never dreamed of this kind of love and I wanted nothing more than give her everything I had to give. Gratitude began to fill and surround her – she would never know fully that it was I who was grateful that she embraced the gift I gave her – it was in the giving that love grew.

I felt satisfied and grateful as if the greatest gift had been bestowed upon me. It was in those moments that I realized that I had been walking in a shroud of weariness before I set out on this walk, before I came to lay myself beneath the sky. Heaven seemed to be speaking to me. I had never known this comfort. There were no words to express how touched I was. I wanted to stay there in that moment and never let go, but no – there was more to come. I felt strong, yet weak. I didn’t want to move but I felt compelled to get up. It was as if I had found a treasure map and had been relishing in the find of the map and not the treasure. I was overcome by tears. I had never known this kind of joy. Something was growing inside me.

The Wait - Part II

Her fragrance delivered her before her shadow cast itself over the hilltop. She didn’t see me. She sensed me though. She began to feel mesmerized, captivated by a mysterious passion she would not be able to release without me. I was the key. Before her body crossed the peak, her spirit recognized my presence. Before she became aware, it was already responding to me, seeking me, longing for me. I had planned it that way from the beginning. Understand – my longing for her, my yearning for her, was far greater and overwhelming than hers for me. There was something about her, a combination of virtues and values that were unique to her. Her heart wasn’t the only thing I wanted. I longed for her love. I wanted to be embraced by all of her – her heart, her soul, her mind – with all the strength she possessed. I had been waiting so very long, yet – she was worth the wait.

There was something powerful calling me to hasten my last few steps. My legs were weak, but not from the climb. It felt like one of those dreams when you find yourself running toward something with everything in you, yet your legs don’t seem to be moving. The summit of the hill seemed so far away, yet merely steps separated us. My heart, soul, and mind – every part of my existence needed to see what was on the other side. It felt as if I had spent my entire life on the journey to this very place – but it was only in these minutes that I sensed an urgency to be where I was going. I yearned for something that was on the other side, suddenly that longing felt as if it had been there since before my life began. I needed something and I didn’t know what it was, but I knew I’d find it on the other side. A revelation of something I had been searching for without understanding was about to be unveiled.

A symphony of life announced her appearance. Everything in creation applauded her. The wind blew my kisses through her hair and planted my words of love into her ears. She breathed deeply and sighed, filling herself with my love. A new life began in her that very moment. Her beauty left me breathless. I knew her before she knew me. It was as if I had only heard of her loveliness, as if I had only seen an artist’s rendition, but as she began to take those next steps my spirit was taken aback – she was breathtaking. The reflection of the sun on the water danced in her eyes and mirrored my love for her. Her gaze fell upon me like the morning dew glistening at daybreak. My spirit called out to hers.

The Climb - Part 1

I was sitting on the bank of the river, beneath the willow tree. The branches cascaded gracefully around me, sweeping me into their gentle embrace as the breeze floated through them, bringing them to life. The water rushing over the rocks serenaded me with its song as I waited for her. I knew she was coming. I had been anticipating her arrival for some time. I watched the reflection of the sun beaming off the surface of the water like dancing stars twinkling about. Were they waiting for her also?

It was a warm day but not unbearably hot, just the kind of day I love. I felt drawn to walk – not my usual path. For some reason, I felt adventurous that day. I felt a calling, as if the cool breeze was delivering me an engraved invitation to linger in the midst of creation. Was it the thought of sitting at the river’s edge that made me thirst so? As I walked up the crest of the hill, I realized that it wasn’t a natural thirst. I wasn’t parched by any means, yet there was something inside me that needed to be quenched, an unnameable thirst. I could hear the sound of the water – it awakened a need in me. I knew I was close when I saw the top of the willow tree. I would sit beneath it and breathe everything in.

I could sense her approaching. She had plans. She was seeking comfort - from what – she didn’t know. Through all her senses, I was drawing her near to me. I knew she felt it. She just didn’t realize that it was me. How could she? I knew she thirsted for something that would satiate, something that would satisfy, something everlasting. The sweet smell of the irises carried her up the mount. My heart smiled within. Every beat thumped within me increasing my exhilaration. It would only be a matter of time before she’d be mine. She didn’t know I had been waiting there for her for what seemed an eternity.

As I climbed up the hill, the willow became more lifelike with every step. It beckoned me. I felt drawn. My heart called out to me in a way I’ve never experienced before, as if the summit of love was waiting to embrace my arrival. The walk was steeper than I had anticipated. I wasn’t tired from the climb – it was more like a sweet exhaustion caused by an unknown anticipation that had overcome me. My senses were heightened, finely attuned to creation’s calling. “Come to me, you who are weary and burdened.” I wasn’t weary or burdened in a natural way. There had been something missing – something in a place I couldn’t name. “Come to me. Come to me,” everything around me whispered – not into my ears but into every part of my being – parts I was just then becoming aware that I had.

The Calling

We were walking together, holding hands as we often do. She was singing for me as if I was her King and she was my maiden. We came upon a fork in the road. The left side was a wide, dirt road. Alongside the road was a green pasture. The cows were grazing on the countless daisies beneath the warmth of the sun. It was inviting.

She looked to the right. The weeds and moss were overgrowing on the old stone road. Trees lined both sides of the road for what appeared to be miles; their foliage formed an arch over the thoroughfare almost giving the appearance of a labyrinth. The way was narrow and dark; it was almost foreboding, but she – she saw brief glimpses of light shining through to illuminate the way. She always looks for the light wherever she is.

I was almost certain she’d choose to go left. I felt her grip tighten when she’d look to the other side. I listened to her breathe deeply and watched her bite her bottom lip – the way she always does when she has a big decision to make. The wide path or the narrow; the sunny and bright, or the dark and dim. “Can’t live with regret,” she’d always say. “Did you hear that,” she asked? “Hear what?”

She closed her eyes and said, “Listen,” they all sing a different song but together they sound like a symphony.” The leaves of the trees were rustling. “It’s an invitation,” she said, “they’re calling me.” She looked at me with that child-like grin. Her eyes opened wide as she tugged on my hand, raising her brows as if to ask if it was the right way to go. I nodded. She tugged my hand and took the narrow path. I could see that she was eager to answer the calling.

We walked forward. I was proud that my little girl chose the road less travelled. I was glad that she brought me along. It hadn’t always been that way. I surely thought I had lost her that summer she went off on her own to experience life. She was so young. They stole her innocence. I hope against hope that she’d return to me. Every day I wondered if she’d come home so I could restore what they took from her...and here we were – walking together down the straight and narrow path. Was she afraid? Yes – a little – but not enough to keep her from moving forward. You see, she let me be her strength. She depended on me for direction. Sometimes she’d walk ahead of me, but never too far and never without making sure I was close by.

I love her spirit of adventure. I love how she longs to love me the way I love her – deeply, purely, unconditionally. I love that she tries so hard to love herself as she is but that she’s never satisfied with staying that way. I love that her greatest desire is to please me. I love my little girl.

I love my little girl.

The Wallflower

The music sounded familiar and soothing yet I knew I had never heard it before. It touched me; it had a presence – it was almost hypnotic. And the fragrance – oh, the fragrance – sweet and barely there. I found myself taking it in, breathing deeply, appreciating it. The hall was filled with more people than I had ever seen in one gathering; strangely there was ample room to move around. Some of them were dancing, some laughing – everyone seemed to be doing something as I looked on.

I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. She was resplendent. Her complexion appeared dew-kissed, flawless, so soft. Her fragrance filled the air delighting every sense in me. Every word she spoke sounded like the harmonious strumming of a harp. The train of her gown floated as she moved. I knew she was looking for a particular place, a spot against the wall, a place where she could be inconspicuous. There would be no more of that. The gathering – this night – was a celebration in her honour and she had no idea. I had been waiting for her all her life.

I just wanted to do something, to be useful, to fade into the background and go unnoticed. These people, they were movers and shakers, they had accomplished important things. They were so beautiful, so, so everything I wasn’t. I kept asking myself the same question.Why had I accepted the invitation? And then I would remember that the invitation was addressed to me with my name engraved in gold! Who was I to be invited to such a place? Who was I to be included, to be chosen? I was afraid someone would figure out that I was an imposter – a fraud – masquerading around as someone who belonged. I clung to those gates. I wanted to stay, but I needed to leave . . . the wallflower needed to leave.

I read her every thought from afar. I was brought to tears knowing that she didn’t understand that I had orchestrated all of this for her. Sure, there were others there. Yes, I invited them, indeed! And I loved each and every one them - but her . . . I had loved her from afar for so very long. I knew her intimately before I had ever laid eyes on her. Her beauty was no comparison to the purity in her heart. Her heart gave me a reason to live, a reason to love as deeply as I did. Every choice I had ever made I had made with her in mind, knowing that one day I would make her mine in every way. We would become one - one heart.

My cowardice convinced me to leave, but my curiosity caught me off-guard. The music began to change, it slowed down. My feet couldn’t move. My legs couldn’t move. My heart began to beat a song that took my breathe away. The sea of people parted down the middle, leaving a straight, but narrow, path to – to – to Him. He was exquisite. He was magnificent. It was as if I could see His heart – and it was beating for me – it was beating for me. He put His hand out and in that exact second I knew . . . I knew Him. I had always known Him. He was the One I had always dreamed of and longed for. He knew me as no one else had. My eyes filled with tears, but I saw more clearly in that moment than I had ever seen in my life. Each beat of my heart brought me closer to Him until we touched. We became one. We became One. I had never been a wallflower in His eyes.

The Love Connection

My second child was born prematurely. He weighed slightly more than three pounds when he was born. He had to remain in hospital several weeks after his birth. Each day I travelled back and forth to feed him and bond with him. Although I wasn’t permitted to remove him from the incubator I was able to touch him through the holes. Tubes wound themselves in, out and around his body. I worried that we’d miss that important bonding time; once I brought him home we connected in a way that I could never have imagined.

In fact, we connected on such a deep level that I would awaken seconds before he did during those many times that he was very ill. I felt that we were so united that it felt as if we were one – as if somehow he still lived inside my body. That is my understanding of abiding love - knowing someone so intimately that you can sense what they feel – you hurt when they hurt and you feel joy when they feel joy.

When I gave my heart to the Lord, it was then that I understood that there was still an even deeper longing in my heart to be loved in that way, an insatiable longing that could never be satisfied by another human being.

He satisfies these yearnings, yet as He satisfies me I hunger still for more. I rather fancy knowing that I’m always wanting more – because He just keeps on giving. I want, between Him and me, that same connection that He shared with the Father. I need it and I adore Him for creating in me an absolute necessity to live in spiritual union – communion – with the One I most adore – just like He does with the One He most adores.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:9-13.

Come to Me - Part Four

The decision was made. She walked toward me – tentatively at first. I could hear her heartbeat. She didn’t know it yet, but it was beating for me. It had always beaten for me as mine had for her. She wanted me to turn my head toward her, to meet her gaze but at the same time she was reticent. I respected that. I could wait a few moments more, although nothing inside me wanted to wait any longer. The earth sounded her approach to me. I looked into the water, restraining myself from jumping to my feet. She would know the exact moment of truth because I would tell her – I would tell her from my spirit to hers, “Come to me. Come to me.”

Even had I wanted to turn back, my feet would not allow it. They had charge over my entire body. My heart beat so loudly; it resonated through the ground. I was sure he could hear me coming. I was glad, but I was tentative. He was looking upon the water. Our spirits spoke to each other as I made my descent. His arm reached out slowly, his hand reaching for mine as if it was waiting for me. I heard a small still voice within me whisper, “Come to me. Come to me.” He stood and began to walk in my direction. I didn’t understand why, and I didn’t care. All I knew was that everything inside me wanted to run to him.

She was more resplendent than anything I had ever seen. She was ready. There was nothing more urgent for her than to be in my arms where she belonged. She wanted to run to me. I smiled at her, inviting her to take my hand. This was the moment I had waited for yet it was just the beginning.

He was magnificent. There was nothing left inside me to hold me back – I wanted nothing more than to let go – let go of anything and everything that had ever kept us apart. This was the moment I had waited for. My purpose, the reason for my creation, was unfolding.

She ran into my arms. I held her. I held her so tightly, tightly but gently – reassuringly. I wanted nothing more than for her to be confident in my love. I wanted her to know that from this point on, I would never let her go. I loved her more than I loved my own life. I would lay it down for her and her alone and I needed for her to know that. I needed for her to understand that. Yet how could she? She was mine, finally. I’ll spend the rest of my days living to show her that I am completely hers.

I wanted him. I needed him. I knew as I began to run toward him that I had found the one I had been looking for. I had found what had been missing, what had kept me from being fully alive. I had no shame. I was spiritually naked before him, hiding nothing. I sensed that he knew more about me than I knew about myself. I felt loved, so loved by him. I knew he would have sacrificed everything, his very life, to express that love. I knew I’d never fully understand. I gave him my heart. I gave him my mind and my soul with every bit of strength I had. I knew, as I stood there, wrapped inside his arms sheltered beneath his wing, that I would spend the rest of my days living to show him that I am completely his.

Come to Me - Part Three

She wrapped herself in the grass. The dew caressed her with the tears of my love; the joy of my heart enveloped her. She lavished in it. It was refreshing. It was a moment I couldn’t interrupt. She’d come. It was inevitable. That’s why she had made the journey. I could wait a little longer; I sent my song of love to her carried on the wings of the eagles. My heart swelled at the fullness of love that was emergent in her. She had never dreamed of this kind of love and I wanted nothing more than give her everything I had to give. Gratitude began to fill and surround her – she would never know fully that it was I who was grateful that she embraced the gift I gave her – it was in the giving that love grew.

I felt satisfied and grateful as if the greatest gift had been bestowed upon me. It was in those moments that I realized that I had been walking in a shroud of weariness before I took this walk, before I came to lay myself beneath the sky. Heaven seemed to be speaking to me. I had never known this comfort. There were no words to express how touched I was. I wanted to stay there in that moment and never let go, but no – there was more to come. I felt strong, yet weak. I didn’t want to move but I felt compelled to get up. It was as if I had found a treasure map and had been relishing in the find of the map and not the treasure. I was overcome by tears. I had never known this kind of joy. Something was growing inside me.

She picked herself up and began to walk in my direction, though she hadn’t yet seen me. I knew I would surprise her. I knew she would have doubts and wonder who I was. For a brief moment she would feel unsafe, unsure of herself, unsure of me, but it wouldn’t last. It was me she had set out for when she began the journey. Ah, she noticed me. I pretended not to notice her, to give her time to process what she was feeling and thinking. Her mind was cautious. Her heart was intrigued. Her spirit knew me. Her spirit would recognize me. Everything inside me wanted to run to her, to pick her up in my arms and hold her, to melt away every little bit of pain and doubt, to answer every question, but I knew I had to move slowly. I had to let her come to me and she would, sooner rather than later. The course had been set; she was already out of the starting blocks. She wasn’t about to turn back now.

I saw him sitting beneath the willow tree, on the bank of the river that had been calling me. My spirit longed to approach him but my mind was tentative. Who was he? Why was he there? Was he waiting for me? He hadn’t noticed me. I was glad. I wasn’t sure about what to do next. Should I keep walking to the river? Should I say hello? Something inside me kept telling me that he had been waiting for me all this time. My heart was intrigued. Was it a coincidence that he just happened to be sitting there? I had never seen him before yet there was something about him. Outrageous thoughts began to overtake me. I wanted him to run to me, to hold me in his arms. He had this look about him - this je ne sais quoi – something alluring, something enticing and appealing that radiated from inside his spirit as if it was connected directly to my own. I couldn’t turn back now.