"RORO...DO YOU FEEL MY BREATH?"

"Roro, do you feel my breath?"  That was my three-year-old granddaughter's question as we talked on the phone yesterday.  I paused.  "Roro, I feel your breath, do you feel mine?" she questioned again.  I honestly did not know how to answer that question.  I wanted to agree and say "of course, I do!”  Yet not wanting to lie to her, and wishing to be close enough to actually feel her breath, I hesitated with my reply.

Reflecting later on Harper’s question, I realized that in my day-to-day walk there is another whose breath I yearn to feel.  With the struggles of life being so great, I would love to feel the breath of God on me to reassure me of His constant presence.  David reflects in the beginning of Psalms 139 that God is "all around me--in front and in back," even putting His hand on David (vs. 5).   I know if that was true of David, it is also true of me.  God is always with me, even when I am not aware of His presence.  He is as close as the air I breathe and, in the midst of this world’s chaos, He ever bids me to "be quiet and know” that He is God (Psalms 46:10).

 

In questioning my daughter about what sweet Harper meant by "feeling my breath," she stated that she was probably talking about feeling the vibration of my voice as I spoke.  How interesting that her three-year-old mentality would interpret it that way!  While I may not be able to feel the breath of God as He surrounds me, I can surely feel the effects of Him in my world each day.  And when I long for His touch, I can immerse myself in the God-breathed words of the Bible (2 Tim. 3:16) and feel the comfort given there. 

While I couldn't feel Harper's breath yesterday, I could feel her love as she spoke to me, said “I love you, Roro,” and told me how she missed me.   We cannot always be exactly where we want to be or with whom we want to be with on this earth, but we can always have the peace of knowing there is One greater constantly in our presence and caring for our loved ones wherever they are as well...our God is TRULY an awesome God!  

Roberta Pledge

8/28/13

HAVING AN EDGE...

Have you ever been in a position where you felt you had an edge?  Maybe you have applied for a new job where the boss was your Father’s best friend or played on a sports team that your Uncle Bud coached.   Gone to school where your Mother was a teacher or been in a courtroom where your neighbor was the judge.  Maybe you have been pulled over for speeding only to look into the officer’s eyes and realized it was your Aunt Betty.  Having an edge in any situation may not make favorable results a given, but it certainly removes the helplessness we might otherwise feel. 

The same is true in our relationship with God if we are a follower of Christ.  When we put on Christ through baptism (Rom. 6:3), not only does His cleansing blood wash away our sins, but He becomes our mediator to the Father (1 Tim. 2:5).  How powerful is that!  The very Son of God is our escort to the throne of His Father, pleading our case and making up for our shortcomings.  We are no longer an outsider, but a joint heir to the Kingdom (Rom 8:17). 

We alone will never be good enough, strong enough, or smart enough; but with Christ as our “edge” we will be completed by His grace, His blood, and His love.  As someone totally destructible, we become indestructible when we team up with Christ (1 Cor. 15:54).  There are no words worthy of the description of how we will feel when we look into the eyes of our eternal Judge and see the eyes of our Best Friend and Savior...the ultimate edge for this life and beyond!

Roberta Pledge

2/18/13