Making Space.

The last two weeks, I keep hearing this phrase over and over again.

It's been whispered to my heart.  It's been felt as an ache in my bones.  It's been kissed onto my lips with little hands grasping my face.

"Make some space for Me."

It has been an exhausting month. There's been a lot of transition, traveling, and contending.  Contending for my time, for my resources, and for my heart.

It's one of those times where I get to the point where I've hit "tired", and I long for my cup to be filled back up.  And yet I didn't even necessarily realize that I had been leaking.

As I settled into my bed one day when Ella went down for a nap, I picked up a book that I had been reading.  And as I read, I grieved.  Have you every grieved when you weren't expecting to?  It's actually quite freeing.  As I grieved over this experience and that experience, this loss or that loss, I heard Him say, "This is making space."

Emotions that we choose not to deal with do not go away.  But when we give ourselves some space, they tend to brim up to the surface, bubbling like a pot of water just before boil.  At this point, we have two options: Find a way to turn down the heat or let it boil until the water is purified.

It's less painful to turn down the heat, not gonna lie.  And yet, there is the most beautiful transition that takes place when the simmer turns to a boil....and when the bubbles get large...and when they start to splat and sizzle as they splash onto the stovetop.

It's been in those moments of boiling that I have learned that "making space" is always my best option. And also that rest is highly underrated.

It's the minutes of silence and of stillness, that Love bids me to come.  Broken pieces find their counterpart, frustrated pieces let it go, and desire finds its hope.  And while the waiting can seem mundane and irritating all at the same time, I also find this sustainable grace.  I find longsuffering and patience, I find mercy instead of judgement.  I taste a bit of this Love that sustains all things, this blood that washes me clean, and this Lover of my soul that's been waiting to make me feel His love.

And in a moment, I have peace.  My vision has been set anew, my hope refreshed, the wind beneath my wings strengthened.

And I move on. I overcome.  I rise.

And then, chances are, not long after, I get to bring someone else with me.  Someone in the same spot or a similar spot.  I get to exude the grace I just received to make the path a little easier for the next person in line.  And there's Redemption.

And somehow the hurt that I once experienced doesn't feel as stinging as it once did, but instead my empty cup has turned to overflowing.

Had I not listened to the whisper, I might still be living unfilled and half-empty.  But because the whisper is persistent, I make myself available.  Letting go of expectations, my "rights", and my plans...in exchange for the promise of "I am".

Life. is. beautiful.

(Would this song not make the most incredible dance? Make some space and give her another listen if you like.... )


(corresponding song: Make You Feel My Love by Adele)