Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

Soaked in God's Word, Sprouting Seeds of Faith

What a Friend!

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It was a comfortable silence. He was looking at something on the iPad, I was reading a book. From time to time we would look up and smile at each other.

After several nights of this, I realized something: We’re not talking. We’re not sharing. I’m not sharing my life with him. My husband. My best friend. I didn’t exclude him on purpose. We had just become very comfortable with each other. Like two old friends sharing a bench.

And that’s a good thing! We’re at home and relaxed with one another. But we also have to be careful not to take things for granted. Not to become TOO comfortable. Ever so slowly a distance can creep in. Our relationship can become three miles wide, and two inches deep. No depth, no substance. Kind of like the relationship I have with 400 of my closest friends on Facebook!

That isn’t the type of connection John and I want with each other. We want depth. To have that, we need to be deliberate in cultivating a stronger, deeper relationship.

I want the same thing with Christ. Deepness. And I need to be intentional about it. If I’m not careful, I can take this very important relationship for granted. I can become too comfortable during my prayer times with Him. This relationship with Christ – above all others – needs to move from shallow to deep. And then deeper still.

And so, just like in my marriage, I began to make adjustments. I began conversations. I tell Him about my day, my deepest feelings gushing out. I read His word, slowly dwelling on passages that speak to me.

I stop and listen to Him. I pour over the scriptures, careful to pause if a verse catches my attention. And then I read the passage again, slowly, letting it sink deep into my heart. And then I ask questions.

“Why, Lord? Why should I care what this scripture says? What does it have to do with me, today, 2,000 years after it was written? Why does this matter? What are You saying, Lord? Is this something I need to apply to my life? Is there a change I need to make?”

I love the questions. But more than that, I love when I sense God’s  answers!

“Ellen, that scripture was written so that you can know the lengths I will go for a relationship with you. So that you know I love you and will pursue you. So that you can share with others how deep my love is for my people.”

Are you intentional about your relationship with Jesus? Are you cultivating the depths of His friendship?

I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.
John 15:15 (NLT)

Lord, how thankful I am that You count us as friends, that we can bring anything to You in prayer. Yes, indeed, what a privilege! Thank you for being such a personal God – You listen and hear our prayers. In Jesus powerful name, Amen.

Until next week,

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This post was originally published 1-16-201

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Hope of Heaven in the Midst of Grief on Earth

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Surely this year will start off better than last year ended. That was my hope as January rolled around. Sadly, things just didn’t work out the way I hoped. It seems as if my family would be walking through another season of grief. Hard, gut wrenching grief.

“…that you may not grieve as others who have no hope…” 1 Thessalonians 4:13b (ESV)

Honestly, I’d like to have a talk with the apostle Paul about this verse. We don’t grieve as unbelievers? Really?

“Excuse me, Mr. Apostle Paul, but I disagree with this scripture! Cause let me tell you, I can ugly cry with the best of those with no hope. I snot cry and wail in pain because it hurts that my loved one is no longer here. I can’t talk to them, have dinner with them, I can’t hug or touch them. Not only that, tears run from my eyes, snot pours from my nose and spit drips out of my gaping mouth. Yeah, I grieve. Really ugly grief. So, help me with this verse, please Mr. Apostle Paul!”

Physically, I DO grieve as those without hope. Spiritually, the hope I have should make my grief more bearable. After all, my hope as a believer is in a resurrected body and eternal life and heaven. My hope is that one day I will see my loved ones again. They will be part of the great cloud of witnesses that I hope will greet me when I walk through heaven’s gates. But there’s one thing:

It’s so hard to wrap my brain around eternal life when I am grieving here on earth. 

My hope is in heaven. I know this earth is not my home. I know this. But I struggle to imagine the reality of heaven. I know it has streets of gold (Revelation 21:21), but I know nothing about being there with my loved ones. I cannot visualize this (and I am a visual person!).

More grief grips my heart when reality sets in.  Those I’ve loved are no longer here with me. I’m left behind without them.  They are home, safe and sound, like after a long trip. They can exhale and rest in eternal peace; all of us here on earth are still traveling.  They are worshipping at the feet of Jesus; we are merely playing our worship music. We’re not jealous of them. Not exactly. We’re just longing to be home with them.

One commentary I read explained it this way: We have hope of spending eternity with Jesus. Instead of thinking about heaven with all my loved ones, I need to focus on life with Jesus. I need to change my perspective. Again, though, it’s hard to wrap my brain around a glorious future with Jesus. What does that even look like? My eyes are cloudy from the tears of my grief. My perspective is cloudy. 

I believe, but I can’t see.

With sorrow after sorrow piled high, the thought of eternal life with Jesus doesn’t console me like it should. It doesn’t fill the hole left in my heart. 

Something’s missing…

(Join me next week, as I continue pondering the hope we have.)

Grace be with you,