Sifting and Sifted

Twenty four hours. Six days and one for worship and rest. Those of you who have been reading for awhile know that I long to live with purpose and attention, intention and grace. And there is no way around it- to do so is a matrix of nos and yeses. We navigate through our days gleaning urgent from important, need from want, self from servant.

This week I tried. I said no to days without order, and yes to a plan. I said yes to homemade pita bread, and dancing in the kitchen to Sam's new favorite song. (To listen, look for A Woman and a Shovel on the player at the top right of the page.) I said yes to more chapters read aloud, and no to impulse buying. Yes to good conversation, and no to most TV. And of course, as always, there were nos that should have been nods, and assent when denial would have been better. Sharp words where silence would have done as well, and speed over gentle slowness. But every day, morning and evening, the Father Who delights in shining through my fractured but colorful self, cast His mercies over me and it was good.

I talked with a friend this morning about what it means that we were created for God's pleasure. He delights in us. Just as we bend over our children, flushed and sleeping and are filled with a pure joy and satisfaction, not because they did anything for us, but just that they simply are, so it is with God. In Him there is no foot-tapping impatience, no dubious waiting to see if we will "get it right" this time.

The process of sifting our lives and allowing ourselves to be sifted is not to earn love or approval, it is instead to experience His best, to allow Him to shine through less obscured, to breathe in mercy to breathe out grace.