When Jan, a friend of mine from church, stopped at my house to drop off some materials for a project on which we were working, brought her four year old son Evan along and warned him to sit on the couch and not interrupt us. I thought it was quite a tall order for one so young, but Jan said, “Don’t worry, he knows he’ll be in trouble if he makes trouble.” My daughter was in school, and so we were alone in the house. I watched as Evan ‘s face grew sadder and sadder as he sat with his hands folded in his lap on the couch. I mentioned to Jan that I could supply some crayons and paper for him, but she declined, and said, “He’s fine; you don’t have to entertain him.” Finally I said to Evan, “Close your eyes,” and I excused myself to go upstairs to my daughter’s bedroom, and her pet miniature rabbit. I vividly remember the light in Evan’s eyes when he opened his hands and found the rabbit in them. It was as if he was surrounded by rainbows. We laughed and talked as we watched the small rabbit while Evan petted her. Even Jan smiled with delight and suddenly the visit was transformed.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary, and increases the power of the weak. (Isaiah 40:28-29) God is in the very business of transformation. While we lose touch with the joy that we have once experienced, He never does. While we some times sink into despair, He never does. The powerful words of Nehemiah echo through the millennia: “The Joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)

There is much in theology that explains our relationship to a perfect God, but if His character is truly “Love”, then we are the objects of love in God. With that love goes unimaginable joy and pleasure and peace, so far beyond our understanding that we often miss the strength in Him to transform our lives. As St. Augustine wrote, “ Your love must migrate; cast off your moorings from creatures; moor yourself to the Creator.” (Saint Augustine, sermon no. 313A) We lose nothing in loving God more, as He Himself loves all those persons and things even more than we do. Mysterious as it is, the Scriptures themselves express the truth of Augustine’s words. We can welcome transformative power into our lives by embracing Jesus, the son of our creating, saving God. Both the Old and the New Testaments show us individuals who have left their moorings and taken on the supernatural moorings of God for their lives. Their stories are meant for you and for me.

Love in Him,

Prue