Writing Through the Bible in a Year

Ezekiel 45:13-48:35

The River of Healing

In my vision, the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing east from beneath the door of the Temple and passing to the right of the altar on its south side. ² The man brought me outside the wall through the north gateway and led me around to the eastern entrance. There I could see the water flowing out through the south side of the east gateway.

³ Measuring as he went, he took me along the stream for 1,750 feet^[m] and then led me across. The water was up to my ankles. ⁴ He measured off another 1,750 feet and led me across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist. ⁵ Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to walk across. It was deep enough to swim in, but too deep to walk through.

– Ezekiel 47:1-5

This morning went fairly to plan, we all got up and dressed and ready for work and school. Sean drove off to work, then Gabe trotted off to the bus stop, and just as I was helping Anna get her shoes on to head out to catch her bus there was a knock at the door.

It was 7:30am on a school day, people don’t come to our house at that hour of the day, I was bewildered to say the least! I looked up from my crouched position over Anna’s shoelaces to see the top of a familiarly bald head pressed against the glass of our front door with a backdrop of the uniform shirt material I see every day. My head raced to figure out what on earth Sean could have forgotten this time, his lunch, his glasses, his name? (He jokes that he would forget it if it wasn’t sewn onto his shirt.) I opened the door fully prepared to ask him what he’d forgotten, except when I opened it he didn’t stand up but only grunted, “it hurts” as he struggled to pick his feet high enough to step through the threshold of the house. With my smile suddenly in my shoes and my heart in my stomach I peppered him with questions, “what’s wrong?” “What hurts?” “What can I do?” And he could only answer with strangled, “My back”, “nothing”, “uuuugggghhhh…..”

My head reeled as I looked at the clock, “Five minutes. Five minutes until the bus gets here” I told myself while tugging at my own shoelaces, “One thing at a time”. I gave Anna a once over with my eyes and then led her out to the bus stop in the corner of our yard. Those four minutes ticked away excruciatingly slowly. My husband was writhing in pain just a few yards away and there I stood making small talk with the neighbors over the children’s heads. “One thing at a time”.

Another glance at the clock as I walked back into the house told me I had less than ten minutes to get to work on time, yet there lay Sean on our bed in more pain than I’ve ever seen him in before in our fourteen years of marriage – and there was nothing I could do. There was no explanation of his pain, nothing he had lifted or moved that had caused this stabbing. It just happened as he was driving to work causing him to stop driving, turn around and come back home. Which I might add has only happened twice in these fourteen years of marriage, one of which being today. To say I was terrified would barely cover it. His sudden reappearance at our doorstep this morning rocked me to my core. I didn’t know what to do, how to help, how to make him better. I felt so helpless, scared and…. well SCARED. This is my rock. He’s the one who lifts the heavy things, not me. He’s the strong one in this relationship. And yet there he was as weak as I’d ever seen him and I simply didn’t know what to do. “One thing at a time”.

I scurried around the house finding the Advil and the glass for water, the heating pad and anything else I could think of to get him, I prayed. Not words so much, as soul groans deeper than words. Those sounds from deep within that make no human sense and yet spirits understand them completely. All day, I prayed from that place of no words, no sound really, only heart-felt pleas of mercy and assistance for someone I love to feel better and to not be in pain anymore.

^“26 the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. ²⁷ And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers^[l] in harmony with God’s own will. ²⁸ And we know that God causes everything to work together^[m] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. ²⁹ For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn^[n] among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

³¹ What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?
³² Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? ³³ Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. ³⁴ Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

³⁵ Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ³⁶ (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”^[o]) ³⁷ No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

³⁸ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[p] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:26-39

Ezekiel stepped into THE River of Life. He waded to his ankles, then his knees, then to his waist until finally the River was simply too deep to walk in anymore… but it was the perfect depth for swimming.

Sit there and soak that picture into your brain. Imagine yourself dipping your toes into the refreshing waters of the River of Life and wading in up to your waist. Where are you today? Are you splashing on the shore line, swimming in the deep, or somewhere in the middle? Are you feeling dry and thirsty or wet and just trying to keep your head above water? Either way – you’re IN the River. Let it sweep you away with its current of Love. Let the water of His Grace lap at your toes and fingertips and curl around your body like silk only softer and more tender.

If God is for us, WHO can be against us? NOTHING can separate us from the love that is in Christ Jesus, nothing! If you can’t pray because you’re simply too close to the situation, that’s OK! He has given us a River of Life that will flow from our bellies and it intercedes on our behalf with groans TOO DEEP for words. Stop trying to put things into words and simply let your heart do all the talking for you. He knows your heart. He knows your words before they’re ever on your tongue. He knows, because He cares for you; so make sure to remember that you CAN cast all your cares upon Him. He has broad shoulders; He can handle them so you don’t need to.

Update on Sean:

After an hour long massage from my FAVORITE massage therapist, Diane Lawson, Sean is feeling MUCH better now. We’re pretty sure it was all the coughing he’s been doing, since he’s been battling a cold, that made his muscles spasm so dramatically. So if you feel like praying, we could all use some healing prayers sent our direction.

Also, I would greatly appreciate your prayers for my friend Tammy and her family. Her mom has been in the hospital for about a week or so now with severe heart issues. She had surgery, recovered and was doing fairly well, but continued having trouble breathing. Then today she went into A-fib, while still at the hospital AND while her doctor just happened to still be in the building – coincidence, I doubt it, praise God! They moved her to the ICU and that’s the last update I’ve gotten on them so far tonight. So to say that their family is under a lot of stress at the moment would be an understatement! Tammy is someone who has prayed for you, probably more than I have even. So for you to return that favor on her behalf would be much appreciated.

Ezekiel 42:1-45:12

“When the priests leave the sanctuary, they must first take off the clothes they wore while ministering, because these clothes are holy.” Ezekiel 42:14

I read today’s Word of the Day right after I had gotten off work and had changed out of my all black work clothes and into something more… colorful. So when Ezekiel mentions twice that the priests had to change their clothes after doing their duty in the temple I definitely took notice. It made me feel a little bit more satisfied with the work that I do at Dollar General. It’s certainly not glamorous by any stretch of the imagination. I usually come home covered in a layer of dust and sweat from running around that store like a chicken with my head cut off. And yet day in and day out I see the same faces, and sell them the same bottles of milk and bags of donuts for breakfast. I’ve created relationships with them, not deep relationships by any means, but I recognize them when they come in and I’m genuinely happy to see them. Most of them are nameless friends that simply share that one part of their day with me. And yet that’s still something isn’t it?

I may just be the smiling cashier at the Dollar General to them. But they’re so much more than that to me. They’re not faces in a crowd, they’re people, souls with needs and dreams. They’re people I consider friends, even though I don’t know all their names. Over the last seven years of living in Sheridan I’ve made a lot of friendships of all varying degrees. But there is one thing I’ve learned about your friends, you love them. (Right Kelly?)

A friend isn’t just someone you hang out with or talk to; a friend is someone who is a part of your life. They’re someone who makes you light up inside when they walk in the door, before they ever say a word. Sometimes a friend is someone who gets on your nerves from time to time and you just need a break once in a while because you’ve spent too much time together lately, or they said something that hurt your feelings. There are all kinds of friends, the ones who are ALWAYS there when you need them in a pinch, the ones who can ALWAYS make you laugh when you’re low, the ones who are the BEST listeners, you know what I mean.

I have several online friends that I’ve never met in person, but I love them very much. They’re my sisters! Now because of work, I have a lot of friends that live in the same town that I do, we’re often at the same place at the same time often and usually share a laugh when we get together – most of them I don’t even know their names – and yet I still light up inside when I see them walking through my door because I love them.

You all in DEFINITELY in my friends I’ve never met category. You’re the people I talk to every day. How many people do you have in your life that you talk to every day and you don’t like them? You guys are my friends that ALWAYS listen, you never complain and you rarely annoy me. 😉 You, very often, keep me going when I’m down. You force me to pull my thoughts together and to do the thing that brings me around to where I’m supposed to be. You are amazingly dear to me, you have NO idea. Well, actually, maybe you do. Maybe you feel the same way about me. 😀 I’ve heard through the grapevine that at least a couple of you rely on receiving these emails just as heavily as I rely on sending them. 😀 We’re a good team, you and me, 696 posts into this I think we may have hit our stride. We should keep this up. 😉

Ezekiel 39:1-41:26

“This gateway also had a stairway of seven steps leading up to it, and an entry room at the inner end, and palm tree decorations along the dividing walls.” Ezekiel 40:26

In Chapters 40 and 41 you’ll find a description of the temple that God showed Ezekiel. In these chapters you will read many many measurements and exact dimensions for the temple, but as I was reading one thing stood out. In several places it mentions a specific decoration. Nowhere in the rest of all the details of this particular temple (in today’s reading at least) is there any other mention of any of the decorations, just this one. Palm trees.

By the time I got to the third or fourth mention of these palm tree decorations I couldn’t take it anymore and I stopped reading and prayed, “Lord, what’s the deal with the palm trees? Why mention them?”

“It’s an oasis. My Temple is to be an oasis in the wilderness; a place to find shade and rest, comfort and resources. The palm tree provides food and often lets travelers know where they might find water. Are you an oasis? I live in you, you are My Temple. Are you an oasis for those around you? Are you a breath of fresh air for the weary? Can those in the wilderness find shade and rest under your branches? You are blessed in order to be a blessing, follow My lead and go be a blessing to someone today My Beloved one. ;)”

Ezekiel 35:1-38:23

“I will put My temple among them forever.” Ezekiel 37:26

Last school year saw some struggles with our then First Grader now Second Grader so to say that some prayer has taken place would be an understatement! And yet what does God do to S.how M.e H.ow M.uch I. L.ove Y.ou? As we pull up to the school for back school night we saw this:

Yup. That would be a RAINBOW over her school! The day before this He had me speak over her that this would be the year of her breakthrough. Hallelujah!

A heart in my cheeseburger pie leftovers at work.

Walking our (now) middle schooler to the bus stop on the first day of school.

This one’s a little hard to see but there’s a heart drawn into the dust on the back of this vehicle that I got stuck behind on my way to work on the first day of school. I REALLY needed this one.

What a week of God’s LOVE!