Tuesday, August 6, 2013

From Glory to Glory




I walk clutching the ringed index cards in sweaty hands. The ink is beginning to fade and the edges are curling a bit as I repeat the verses over and over. Slowly, over time, they work their way from my head to my heart. They nestle down in that place - that hidden place - reserved for His words alone.

I struggle some days, trying to mine the deep riches the Spirit has deposited through the writings of  the apostle Paul. Every word a precious nugget. Yesterday it was:

Romans 8: 16-17 "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then joint heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him."

I walk. The wind whispers through the leaves of the ancient oaks. That funny peacock crosses the road right in front of me. And the words linger - caught somewhere between heaven and earth: "...in order that we may also be glorified with Him."

It is an inheritance of immeasurable wealth: One day we, I, will be like Him. The One who lived and loved perfectly. The One who was and is and ever shall be. Like Him....glorified.

I think back over the past few weeks - picturing the ones who touched my life in that brief span of time. Surely there was a glimpse of glory in those faces:

 - my husband who walked through months of debilitating pain without bitterness or complaint and his deep   gratitude for healing          
- a precious son who walked through difficult days with us
- a dear friend who sat with me during Steve's surgery, bought my lunch, handed me a gift bag filled with
   everything I might want or need, who prayed with me
- the friends who wept with us in our sorrow
 - the ones who put physical arms around us and prayed
- others who sent messages of comfort and told us they were praying - some of whom I've never met
- my family - drawing close and loving so well
- my darling daughter who, through tears of overwhelming sorrow, gave thanks for all the blessings

We live within the confines of our humanity, sometimes gloriously and at others falling far short. But He is doing a work in His children - little by little, day by day, from glory to glory. If you look carefully, you will catch a glimpse.

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
II Corinthians 3:18

Blessings,
Linda