by Kathy Brasby | Nov 12, 2024 | The Listening Project
A fierce tidal wave shocked you yesterday. Disturbing waves washed over you, drawing you into a curtain of darkness. Take heart: you didn’t drown. I pulled you out.
Yes, you’re in pain. I feel your misery.
Call to me when the waves get monstrous. Don’t give in to grief and do foolish things.
I pulled you from the churning waves and now I sit with you by the crackling fire. Can you feel the warmth? My arms embracing you? I pull you close and kiss your hair. You are my child, my beloved daughter, and I hold you close.
Sense the warmth of my embrace. My words caress your cheek. I know your heartbeat and your breath.
You will ache with loss–sometimes engulfed by it and other times only a whisper– for the rest of your life here. This world is not a safe one. It is rife with chaos and evil and struggles.
But don’t give in.
I walk with you always and there are days when I carry you. Some days I will be your life guard, pulling you out of an agonizing tidal wave.
But I will never leave you. Never.
Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice. He ransoms me and keeps me safe from the battle waged against me, though many still oppose me.
Psalm 55:17–18
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
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by Kathy Brasby | Nov 5, 2024 | The Listening Project
Don’t hide in the brush as though wolves were coming to split you open.
Don’t crouch behind the leaves so that the twigs gash your face.
Yes, the wolves howl.
They are your emotions demanding you remain riveted to the pain.
Panic takes you into the tangled thickets.
But nothing will harm you if you stay on my path.
Remember how my son hung on a cross, refusing to give in to the pain because he had a greater mission?
You will have pain, too. But remember your mission.
Don’t run into the dense green forest. You can’t hide from the wolves there. The forest is where they prowl, ready to pierce your heart again and again.
You are safe with me. Trust me and forge ahead with courage.
I am your protector.
O Lord, I have come to you for protection; don’t let me be disgraced. Save me, for you do what is right.
Turn your ear to listen to me; rescue me quickly. Be my rock of protection, a fortress where I will be safe.
You are my rock and my fortress. For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger. Ps 31:1-3
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
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by Kathy Brasby | Oct 30, 2024 | The Listening Project
Listen to the music of my creation, the sounds of colors flowing into the sky.
This world is in constant change. Have you noticed?
Observe the colors and songs of the sunrise.
Note clouds frolicking across the sky. Do you see swirling snow doing celebration at midday? Heed the restful oranges and purples of the sunset.
Birds fly overhead. Rabbits skitter by in search of fresh greens.
Nothing remains the same. Sunrise. Sunset. Summer. Winter.
My world changes. My creation transforms.
Nothing is the same as yesterday.
Neither are you.
I am transforming you by pouring life and love into your heart.
Beloved, let’s embrace this day with anticipation. It will be new and it will be the music of my creation.
But the Lord made the earth by his power,
and he preserves it by his wisdom.
With his own understanding
he stretched out the heavens.
When he speaks in the thunder,
the heavens roar with rain.
He causes the clouds to rise over the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain
and releases the wind from his storehouses.
Jeremiah 10:12-13
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
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by Kathy Brasby | Oct 10, 2024 | The Listening Project
Soar with me.
I have broken through the walls of death and despair. Come with me and rise on the winds like an eagle.
Like a cloud caught in the upper currents.
Soar with me.
Feel the freedom? Now look down to see what I see at times: sadness, loss, yearning.
My heart aches to lift these hearts and show them a new path.
As I offer you.
Reach out your hand. Give me your words, your heart, and your desires.
Watch as I mold them like clay into something new and beautiful– something that is mine.
Let your wings take you higher. I won’t let you fall. Instead I offer you the gentle winds of hope.
Rise like the morning mist, from the earth into the skies. I am with you always.
Soar with me.
Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly.
The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph.
The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
Psalm 118:15-16
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
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by Kathy Brasby | Sep 19, 2024 | The Listening Project
Thick fog blinds your vision this morning, obscuring any beauty. You don’t see flowers, trees, rivers, even a familiar valley.
Grief is like that, isn’t it? You awake to a murky morning.
Do you move forward? Back? You don’t know because you can’t see.
This is the way of faith:
When you can’t see, you listen.
Then you walk.
As you trust.
This morning, I’m taking you where you can’t see. But I call to you. I am with you.
And I know the way, my love. Listen to my voice. Reach out for my hand. Walk with me.
Walk confidently.
Not because your eyes pierce the mist, but because mine do.
“It is the Lord who provides the sun to light the day
and the moon and stars to light the night,
and who stirs the sea into roaring waves.” Jeremiah 31:35
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
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