168 Hour Sabbath; A Crayon Box; and The Landscape of the Soul

Frigidness penetrates the jet's window as my cheek presses against it.  Everything inside of me is longing for one last drop of warmth from the Hawaiian sun.  My eyes are locked on this tiny piece of land as I am swept up and through the skies, back to my other home. Moments are sliding by as the island becomes more faint  in my vision.  No longer can I see distinct houses,

buildings, and lagoons, but instead the island looks like a melted box of crayon colors.  I continue straining to "see" but soon all that is in my vision is fluffy white cotton balls and vast blueness below. Minutes are ebbing away and so is my home that I love and the Sabbath that was much needed.

Allowing my body to relax into the seat, my mind attempts to unwrap the gifts from the last 168 hours.  It is like watching a video in my head - all 10,080 minutes of it!  Some of it zips by like a bee on steroids, and other moments of it slowly move by, like a sloth changing positions. 

I revisit the much needed warmth of the sun and the wind in our face as we rode the mopeds.Sweet moments spent over tea, with those I love who reside on the Island.

The embrace of old friends and the delight of new found friends have made these 10,080 minutes amazing.  



Sound bites of so

many precious conversations run through my mind.  

African laughter that made the air come alive. Amazing

voices from all my international friends intermingling together to celebrate our Lord's birth.  All these memories will be forever etched in my heart with indelible ink. 

So here I sit, 30,000ish feet up in the air with my eyelids closed and ask the Lord to help me see the landscape of my soul.  Foolish me, I was thinking that because I had enjoyed this nice long stressless vacation and Sabbath, I would be all peace-filled inside.  Lol! (Anyone else ever think like this?)  All I can think of are the multitude of questions that are swirling inside my brain. My brain is like an overstimulated jack rabbit. What in the world?  My outsides do not match my insides.  This is disturbing.  So....I sit  and mentally take each question out. Taking each one and turning it into a sentence prayer.  Time and space slide by.  I am unaware of the hours.  When I am done and can think of nothing else, I hear His gentle whisper say, "I've got you and none of this has escaped me."  My memory clicks in and I find myself barely audibly whispering, "You saw me before I was born, EVERY DAY of my life was recorded in your book.  EVERY MOMENT was laid out before a single day had passed." (Palms 139:16 nlt).   I repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat.  Slowly, like molasses it seeps into the deep marrow of my soul.  As this large metal mass approaches the tarmac in San Diego, I can truly say, "It is well with my soul."  

What is it that continually swirls in your thoughts and plants seeds of worry?  Have you tried turning it into a one sentence prayer? Prayer does not have to be elaborate.  It is just a conversation with your maker, the one who already knows EVERYTHING about you and is the Landscape Tender of your Soul. Would you consider trying this today?   

Until We Chat Again,

The Plank-Eyed Girl