Susan LaffertyHands in the dishwater. Scrubbing pot, pan, plates.
And the way of Brother Lawrence comes to mind. “Practicing the presence of God” in the midst of the mundane.
Speaking thanks in the ordinary helps me. To learn this way.
Practicing thankfulness prompts me. To notice His presence in common tasks and everyday occurrences. All along the daily path.
And the possibilities are endless. Leading me to look upward and outward.
“Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving…”
Psalm 95:2 CSB
The one who speaks truth finds himself walled in. Weighed down. Worn out.
No hope. Only the crooked path. And a deep pit. Face in the gravel.
Affliction. With no end in sight.
This. When he’s fearlessly made known God’s ways. And wept over the judgment of a disobedient people.
Jeremiah laments.
Isaiah. Prophet and poet. Master of prose. Skillfully taking us to ruin and glory.
“The city of chaos is shattered;
Every house is closed to entry.
In the streets they cry for wine.
All joy grows dark;
Earth’s rejoicing goes into exile.
Only desolation remains in the city;
its gate has collapsed in ruins.”
Isaiah 24:10-12
Well-placed words. And we see the broken place. Grieve the curse that consumes the earth and its inhabitants. “…for they have transgressed teachings, overstepped decrees, and broken the permanent covenant” (24:5).
