Posted on by Lois Stephens

Inspirare: To Breathe

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The word inspire inspires me.  I breathe in its meaning…

“From the Latin inspirare, meaning to breathe or blow into. Originally used of a divine or supernatural being in the sense of imparting a truth or idea.”

“Fascinating”, pipes the voice of the flutist within me.

In a moment, I am back on the White Mountain reservation—an invited guest of a friend known and loved by this Apache tribe.

The former Chairman speaks, “Dagot’ee”.  Welcome.  He continues in his native language, a word in English here and there for my benefit, I imagine, as he addresses his people.

He invites me to speak.  I don’t speak Apache.  They don’t speak English.  Curious Apache faces gazing hard into my uncertainty.

Deep breath.

Inspiration comes…I pick up my flute and blow.

And the Ruach of God translates. And His people are inspired.

 Ruach, a Hebrew word for the Spirit of God, translated spirit, breath, or wind by the Hebrew sages.

Air put into motion by divine breath, the sage in me translates.  Poetic and creative.  Life-giving Spirit breath that speaks.

Aslan, the great lion king of Narnia and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-Sea in the storybook knows the Ruach.

“What an extraordinary place!” cried Lucy.  “All those stone animals–and people too! It’s–it’s like a museum.”

“Hush”, said Susan, “Aslan’s doing something.”

Aslan breathes the breath of life upon the creatures turned to stone by the evil witch. And something wonderful happens.  “Everywhere the statues were coming to life”.

Breath that brings life into the extraordinary museums of our lives—those hidden places where nothing is really lost, only waiting to be rediscovered.

“On the branches of the willow trees, we hung our harps and hid our hearts from the enemy”, pens the psalmist.   Yet, we can rest assured that the breath of life will  blow again upon life’s willows.  And when it does, we rediscover what has never really been lost, as we take up our harps and play, born again unto a living hope.

Now, hush…for the Ruach of God is doing something. His breath is ever-moving; breathing life in you and through you.  And by the divine breath of His Spirit, He moves.  He imparts.  He speaks.  He inspires.

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”  Genesis 2:7 (KJV)

Posted on by Lois Stephens · 1 Comment

The Finely-Woven Tapestry of Life

Have you ever experienced a “suddenly” in life–a moment of sudden breakthrough when there is absolutely no doubt a Higher Power (God) was at work in your life?

Well today, I’m leaning into the “subtleties” of God. Those moments in life when God acts in a subtle way–a way that can be so easily ignored.

Subtle…the Latin root originally meant “finely woven”. I like that.

It takes some imagination, some creativity, some forgiveness and patience to see the subtle beauty in the finely-woven tapestry of life. Some layers gray, dull and threadbare; some vibrant with colorful purpose–but all wondrous and a bit magical when looked at with the right view.

The right view … usually through the reflection in my rear-view mirror.

My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue
An everlasting vision of the ever-changing view
A wondrous woven magic in bits of blue and gold
A tapestry to feel and see, impossible to hold

Carole King, Tapestry

The tapestry of life reveals itself in rear-view mirrors. Sometimes it takes a long, long distance–maybe even an eternity, I suppose. But eventually, I have to believe, I will see “a tapestry of rich and royal hue“.

Meditating upon the finely-woven subtleties of life today–the depths of purpose and layers of meaning that saturate everything He does (Psalm 92:5 TPT).

Love & Peace,

Posted on by Lois Stephens · 6 Comments

Untied Laces

I re-read the words—the words of the Baptizer, the wilderness reformer who eats locusts and wild honey… 

“…He whose shoe lace I am not worthy to untie”. 

He speaks of the Son of his mother’s cousin, Mary. 

Lost in thought, my fingers play with the leather bracelet on my wrist—a cherished gift made from the laces of the shoes of my dearly-departed father. 

The lace between my fingers, once rough and tough, now smooth and soft with age, reminds me of my father’s hands.  They bid me come.  There’s something I must know.

Flipping pages, I read again, and the words draw me into the story …

Jesus rises from the meal and removes his outer robe.  He takes a towel and wraps it about his waist, then fills the basin with water.  No one speaks. 

One by one, he unties laces, washes and dries feet.  He turns towards me with a look of pure love.  I am Peter.

“Oh, no, never!  Not my dirty feet.  How awkward, how embarrassing, how shameful! 

“If you don’t allow me to wash your feet, you cannot share life with me.”

The words hang heavy, along with my head and heart.  Tears rim my eyes.

“Friend, don’t you know that you are already clean?  You’ve been washed completely, only your feet need washed”.

Suddenly, a watercourse of understanding flows from my spirit headwaters within.  In Hebrew culture, shoes are often used in covenants of inheritance.  By allowing Jesus to untie my laces, and wash my feet, He unties me from the grime of this world, granting me a greater life–a greater inheritance than any natural inheritance.  Jesus offers me the new covenant inheritance of a shared life with Him.  I only need to offer Him my feet.

So I say yes, and place the soles of my feet in the Master’s hands and I receive the inheritance of life from Him whose shoe lace I am not worthy to untie.  And He washes the grime from between my toes with the watery grace that flows from His wounded side, bending low as one who has come not to be served, but to serve. 

* * * * * * * * *

I leave the story fully known—and yet still fully loved—by God.  Stunned into pure grace once again, I know that there’s nothing too dirty that He can’t make worthy.  

Grace & Peace,

Lois

 

Posted on by Lois Stephens · 4 Comments

Hope: An Anchor for the Soul

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Returning to my room at the Breakwater Inn in Kennebunkport, I see the young Latina girl out of the corner of my eye.  I turn and our green-hazel eyes meet.

“I can do your room later if you like,” she says shyly as she kneels in the hallway with cleaning supplies by her side and tying up bags of trash.

The occupant of the room next to mine shuts her door abruptly.

“Oh, that’s not necessary.  No need to do my room today,” I smile.  “We just need our wastebaskets emptied, if you don’t mind.”

And the next thing I know, I’m kneeling beside the Latina girl with eyes like mine tying up trash in the hallway of the Breakwater Inn.

And then I notice it—on her forearm—and the connection begins.

“Your tattoo is really pretty.  Tell me about it.”

“It’s a lotus flower.  It means hope.”

“So pretty,” I say, and she continues.

“I especially like these lines that come down from the flower.  They remind me of the chains on a clock.”

“Oh, like the chains you pull on a clock to set the time?  So, your tattoo reminds you that this is your set time to hope?”

She smiles and nods in happy agreement.  She knows I get her, and He gets her, too.

And one more bag of trash is tied up and tossed out in a quiet moment of sharing God’s love with a young Latina girl with eyes like mine.

***

Jesus never forced his opinion or himself on people.  Instead, he stooped down low to associate with people of all walks of life.  He spoke their language in a way that helped them connect to God.

 

Posted on by Lois Stephens · 7 Comments

Girls With Messy Hair

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All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful: The Lord God made them all.  ~Cecil Frances Alexander

To my daughter, and to her daughter,

And to all girls with messy hair and

Brave & adventurous hearts…

Your messy, wild and strong spirit

Is a BIG gift from God

That you get to unwrap each day

So don’t you dare compromise your

Original Beautiful Design

To fit some man-made religious & legalistic mold.

Stay far from those who try to mold you

Close to those who can help unfold you

And live your messy-hair life

With style and a smile

Knowing you were created in the Heart of God

And He does all things well.