We all experience phases of life where it seems that our responsibilities, jobs and the care of others command every minute of our waking hours. Perhaps health issues or the emotional and mental burdens of past trauma compound the feeling of overwhelm and exhaustion characterized by this phase of life. Jesus told us "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except that ye abide in me." John 15:4. To abide means to rest in, to reside in or to live within. To abide in Christ is to live day by day, in a close, intimate relationship with him while trusting in his direction and desiring to obey his commandments. If he is the vine and we are the branches, we are to humbly rely on him in order to bear fruit.
One of my favorite hymns by Fanny Crosby that illustrates this well is the hymn "He Hideth My Soul" because it describes the wonderful mystery of how God can sustain a person through trials. Below is the beautiful chorus:
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my soul in the depths of his love
And covers me there with his hand,
And covers me there with his hand.
When I thought about this hymn, I began to picture a little bird, hiding from a storm within the rocks of a cliff. I wondered which shore birds here in New England do that very thing during our many tumultuous "Nor'Easters" we get along the coast. I found out that the Purple Sandpiper is the only sandpiper that regularly and dependably winters along New England's rocky coast. Although they are hardy birds that daily withstand the pounding surf on icy rocks in order to feed, during intense storms they hide in rock crevices to wait out the high tide. Like this little bird hidden away in a rocky crevice, I thought of my own life, and how I have always had an open invitation from Jesus to find protective shelter when life enters that overwhelming and exhausting phase. In fact, it has been a long time since I was able to devote time to this blog because I was in such a phase. The key is to take that invitation and abide in Christ when the waves are crashing and the storm is raging. Some days, this may simply look like keeping your mind on God's promises while attending to the many responsibilities, decisions and work in front of you. It's about living each day in such a sweet relationship with God so as to forget, at times, the load you carry because you don't carry it alone.
This art work is is a lino block relief print. I enjoyed drawing on the my mind's image of the little purple sandpiper hidden away in the cleft of the rock during the storm while illustrating this beautiful hymn so beloved my many.
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