Heather Holleman's Blog, page 46

The Anchor and the Peaceful Eye

I love two particular images–one sent by a friend and one sent by the Wise Big Sister–of staying calm and strong in the midst of chaos. So many of us have so much going on and too much to do. We often feel overwhelmed, like waves are crashing all around us or everything is spinning.

First, my friend texts me this: “May we learn to live internally in the peaceful eye of the hurricane of activity.” It’s a perfect picture of dwelling deeply in Christ who is our Peace. Then, my sister sends me the beautiful reminder from Hebrews: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” 

I think deeply about these images and phrases and love the settled feeling they bring:

Peaceful eye in the storm

Anchor in the waves

Hope, security, and calm. 

As a Father Carries His Son

I love the way Moses describes God as he speaks to the people in Deuteronomy 1:29-31:

“Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”

I think about the picture of God as Warrior (He fights for us) and God as tender Father (He carries us in His arms). I hold these images in my heart as I leave for the day.

Another Fun Question

I discovered a new attendance question from my neighbor. She likes to ask, “If you could be an expert in anything and write a book about it, what would you be an expert in?” She asks me, and I immediately blurt out, “The Eastern Box Turtle!!”

I loved the laughter that followed. I love turtles, and it’s fun to think about one day becoming a turtle expert. My own answer surprised me. I think that’s the fun of it; answer the question without thinking about too long. Other people standing around us weighed in on their own answers, and I learned about different passions for sports commentary and storytelling.

Tomorrow, I plan on asking this question. I cannot wait to hear the answers, especially as we begin a module on research for their potential thesis. One day, they’ll all be experts in something.

Flee to the Refuge

This morning, I finished the book of Numbers. I found myself so struck once again about the cities of refuge designed by God for people to flee for protection. I began to think of the times in scripture I see that word “refuge.”

I turn to Psalm 45 and see how the writer proclaims, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” I love seeing God as a my refuge, and I Iove the desperation and urgency of running to Him as my refuge, just like the people in the book of Numbers ran to their cities of refuge. I immediately think of Proverbs 18:10 where we learn that “the name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”

Here I go! I’m running to God!

There’s actually lots of running to God in the Bible. In the book of Mark, for example, we read that “as soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him” (9:15). When we see Jesus, the response is this:

Run to Him. 

We run to God in prayer, in our Bible reading, and in our worship. We run to God in our fellowship, in our tithing, and in our surrender. We run to God and throw ourselves completely at His feet. Picture it.

But I end my time with God this morning thinking of the time God runs to us. In Luke 15:20, there’s more running, but it’s a picture of God:  “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”

The incarnation is God running to us to rescue us and forever provide the refuge we need. So we run to the One who is also running to us. May we meet Him and be caught up in His great love and protection today.

Gather!

This morning, our across-the-street neighbors hosted a Donuts in the Driveway event with us. (They did most of the work; we brewed the coffee and brought the creamers!) What a wonderful autumn activity to gather the neighbors together. We bundled up and chatted outside from 8:00-10:30 AM. I loved the conversations and warm connections! We all agreed to gather again like this every few months. The teens loved it, and we sent two boxes of donuts for college students at PSU. So wonderful!

Of Delights

I love Psalm 36:7-8 and the language inviting us into a different kind of living. We read this:

“How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.”

Feasting on abundance! Drinking from a river of delights!

(It’s something Anne of Green Gables would surely repeat and adore. Can you imagine waking up each day and exclaiming, “Today, I shall feast. Today I shall enjoy unimaginable delights!”)

Charles Spurgeon explains this passage like this, and I love the comfort and joy his explanation brings (and I put in bold my favorite parts).

“The dwelling place of the Lord is not confined to any place, and hence reside where we may, we may regard our dwelling, if we be believers, as one room in the Lord’s great house; and we shall, both in providence and grace, find a soul contenting store supplied to us as the result of living by faith in nearness to the Lord. If we regard the assembly of the saints as being peculiarly the house of God, believers shall, indeed, find in sacred worship the richest spiritual food. Happy is the soul that can drink in the sumptuous dainties of the gospel—nothing can so completely fill the soul. And thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. As they have the fruits of Eden to feed on, so shall they have the river of Paradise to drink from. God’s everlasting love bears to us a constant and ample comfort, of which grace makes us to drink by faith, and then our pleasure is of the richest kind. . . The happiness given to the faithful is that of God himself. . . ”

I start the day fully supplied with the richest spiritual food, the kind that truly fills the soul and gives us “pleasure of the richest kind.” Might we experience this in a very real and new way today.

A Wonderful Promise: No Weapon Against Us Will Succeed

This morning, I woke up thinking of this wonderful promise in Isaiah 54:17:

 “No weapon forged against you will prevail,
    and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
    and this is their vindication from me,”
declares the Lord.

Nothing that comes against us will succeed. No enemy attack, no accusation. Why? I keep the truth ahead of me: God turns all things for our good. God invites us to give thanks in all circumstances. God promises our eventual victory. God has already secured our status as being more than conquerors. So really, what’s there to fear? What’s there to worry over?

Just the Start

I peek out of the window and see that traditional autumn blue sky. It’s just now beginning: the burnt oranges, the reds, the golds, the burgundies. Each new day, I’ll see more of the beauty of fall. And I’ll treasure it so much because it’s so fleeting.

You Just Don’t Know

Yesterday, I learned from a wise friend that you never know what God is protecting you from. After an accident that will keep her healing indoors for nearly a year, she tells me that it might just be God’s way of keeping her in place–of holding her back–from something she cannot see. Can you imagine having that perspective and gratitude each day, even after something so difficult?

I share our family motto that “every rejection is God’s protection,” and all we’ve learned about God’s sovereignty through disappointment or loss. Together, we marvel at the goodness of God even when things don’t look good on the surface.

I tell her how her viewpoint is so vital; we agree that it’s a great way to live. And I conclude it’s really the only way to live. We just don’t know what God is protecting us from.

What’s Come Before Now

I bundled up in my winter coat and mittens for my walk across campus just now. It’s finally feeling like autumn! I scan the ground and sadly find no acorns; the ones I do find seem smaller than usual. Why no acorns?

I learn that acorn production depends upon the previous spring and summer weather conditions. When it’s too hot or too dry, the oak trees conserve energy by limiting energy towards fall acorn production for the next season. In other words, when you look at an acorn, you’re looking at the weather conditions from the month before.

I think about this as the autumn wind cools my face. We did have a hot, dry summer. Spring maybe didn’t create the best conditions either. This all makes sense now.

I remember this:

Sometimes, when we don’t feel we’re in a productive or meaningful season of life, it’s because of what we’ve just been through. We think we must produce wonderful work because conditions seem right and perfect now. But really, it’s not now that matters. It’s what we just came through that matters for our fruitfulness.

We’ve been through so much since 2020. Just because the season seems fresh and new doesn’t mean we must work and produce at our normal capacity. We may do less, in smaller ways, as we remember what’s come before now.