O-Dark-Thirty

The pond this morning is like glass, not a ripple anywhere. The trees around it reflect perfectly in the water. I saw a duck land on the pond a few moments ago. Ripples rolled away from it as it paddled toward the north of the pond and disappeared. The minor disturbance from these ripples flowed across the pond, marring the reflections I could see. Not by much. I did notice something though. As the ripples touched our shoreline, they reflected back, and they cancelled themselves. The water became calm again. The shore didn't move, and wasn't affected. Come to think of it, neither were the real trees, standing monoliths on the edge of the lake. They remained untouched. Only the reflections, the perceptions of reality, wavered because the duck landed. Were I only watching the pond, I might think that my world shook for a moment. Watching the trees, I know it did not. So a couple thoughts came to mind. I need to stand firm, like the shoreline, and ripples won't affect me. I ne

So often I come before God the Father, my head hung low, feeling defeated and discouraged. I mumble "God, I'm sorry I'm not better than I am." Then I feel the weight of a hand on my shoulder, a calloused hand with a scar on it. My heart fills with warmth and my teary eyes look into the eyes of Jesus. He looks at the Father and says with a shining smile "I knew who he was when I chose him, and I love him anyway. Father, he's one of mine." That's what Ephesians 5:27 means to me, that Jesus sacrificed Himself for me, that when I come before God the Father to receive judgment I will have HIS glory, and have no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that I would be holy and blameless. And I can barely whisper, "Thank you, my Lord Jesus."