I have a guest blogger today. Her name is Jennifer Swoish. Jennifer hails from the Great Lakes Region in the Midwest. She is wife to Travis and has two adorable Beagles named “Whiskey” and “Moonshine”, that currently round out her sweet family to four.
Jennifer and I met last summer at the Proverbs31 Ministries’ She Speaks Conference in Charlotte, NC. We became fast friends and she has been my prayer warrior ever since! Jennifer writes on the ever-changing seasons of life with her very own unique imagery, in the post today entitled,”So They Danced“.
You can read more of Jennifer’s amazing work at her blog:
“Repose” at www.jenniferswoish.com
So They Danced
_ Jennifer Swoish
A blank page is so clean.
When I look at a blank page it can be both intimidating and exhilarating. Here is where I can capture my thoughts, encourage hearts to find peace and lay a dance floor for joy to spin around and around that leaves a soul enthralled.
But when words are aloof, the whiteness seems stark.
Sometimes life can feel remote too, like a cabin tucked deep within the woods. Far from streets that connect us, friends that visit us and life that encourages us.
In these seasons moments feel like miles that separates us from joy. Isolated deep in the woods, it is often dark with only glimmers of sunlight from the tree canopy. Look closely though and see how the sunbeams pierce through the forest and bring growth to the living. Moss extends up the trees and flowers reach over top of the fallen limbs.
To experience life full of joy even while in the darkness we learn to become resilient so we can soar. Our happiness will not bring us our joy rather our joy is abundantly provided by the Designer of our life. He understands our loneliness. He too cried lonely prayers. Because of His understanding and love for us, His heart chases ours on those dim days when our bodies fail us, our love leaves us, bad news is delivered to us or the unimaginable becomes our reckoning. Those things that try to rob our joy, can become our saving grace when we allow Him access to the vulnerable areas of our heart where light needs to find its way. Like the forests undergrowth, light brings new growth.
Roping yourself in trust you grow and climb to new heights. Above the forest floor where the light waltzes with the leaves, hope is evoked. Unbridled, this dance twirls to heights where joy is unbounded; like the love our Heavenly Father has for us. Together this dance ascends with courage and anticipation.
Be brave my friend. You are not alone, even when you want to be. There is One who is delighted in you and desires to dance with you now. The light is shining on you; take His hand and let the dance begin.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to DANCE.”
Thank you for letting me perch on your branch today in the wild olive tree. It has been an honor my southern belle friend! 🙂