Wandering down the abandoned prairie road brought her peace.
It was the kind of trail she imagined once held horses and buggies and later old jalopies. The one where the cool summer breeze rustled through trees and down shady lanes full of dandelions and wild flowers. If she silenced her heart enough, she could still hear the clip clop of the horse hooves and the giggles of young children running free in the warm summer sun. Melancholy. Nostalgic. There’s no other way to put it. She was longing for a simpler time.
The days were long and worry-filled, she thought, as she journeyed down the back road. She had been out for a drive just prior and had seen the trail from the highway. Throwing caution to the wind, she stopped to explore—her curiosity always got the best of her. She had that way about her.
The earth felt solid beneath her feet. Sometimes you just need that—to feel something stronger than your body and your spirit, especially when they’re broken. The realness, the constancy of the ground, and the consistency of something between your fingers. To smell the grass and flowers. To hear the birds and the buzzing of the bees. There’s security in the constant turning of the seasons. There’s peace in the beauty God made by His voice.
If only we could hide on the back road. Instead we go, we stay awhile, and we heal. We hope, do we ever hope. We ask—for more, for something to make sense, for love. Sure we break but we mend on that back road. We welcome in the Divine and let Him heal us. Then we bring that peace back to the chaos within ourselves and the world. We go back. We always go back.
So here’s to you finding your adventure today. Discover your own back road and come back with more peace for you and for us. Take it all in and live again,
☆ I mean really dig. In the quiet times, alone. Sometimes in tears and usually after I feel I failed as a mother. We all know. “It’s a different year.” A different Christmas. It just all hits different right now, doesn’t it?
It’s a different year.
Tiffany Butler—pointing out the obvious
☆ I made myself sit and ponder. Maybe it was the Christmas star that did it for me, but in the mix of depression and work, melancholy and delight, there lies the truth of it all. And sometimes we just have to dig deep to find it.
☆ It seems I don’t know how to do that very well in the midst of the craziness. When I pull away I can see Christ in His splendor, in His peace, beckoning me to just come away with Him and stay awhile. It’s where I know I can just be. With Him. I question why it becomes such a quest to find the meaning in it all at times? Truth and simplicity can be glazed over by work, tinsel and bows, presents, and stress.
☆ But in a manger, far from the crowds and social media, here for you and me, He came. To bring us the best gift of all. Himself. Born for our sins. For our freedom. For us.
☆ Finding the time to find the truth is the most important thing right now. I hope you can find it—Him. I also hope you can find it in the midst of all you do—I know I’m trying although it seems to come easier when I just rest.
☆ He is here with us now. In the loneliness. In the strain. In the mess. And He’s the best part of it all! Take a moment to welcome Him in and say thanks—for another day, for life, for it all. Even these deep depths of sadness and questioning that lead us closer to Him and one another—to the important stuff. Thank God.
He is here with us now. In the loneliness. In the strain. In the mess. And He’s the best part of it all.
“BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.“
-Matthew 1:23
And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
– Luke 2:9-14
Do not be afraid. We can trust Him.
Good news of great joy. There’s joy in Him.
For all people. For EVERYONE including you.
A Savior.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
-Isaiah 9:6-7
Wonderful Counselor. He’s with you. For you.
Mighty God. What can’t He do?
Everlasting Father. Forever.
Prince of Peace. Even now.
He reigns. Not COVID, not sadness, not sickness, not loneliness, but Him.
☆ May you have a very merry Christmas, my friend. We wish you all the best as we wrap up 2020 and head into 2021. I think our digging this year has shown us what’s really important now and in the New Year. And it’s really one another. ♡
Much love and Merry Christmas from Us, The Butler's, in the thick of it all but near the streams of Living Water
