Accommodating a Special Guest

this post might be a little on the spooky side, but it's good to have our cages rattled once and a while. 


when i pray, god talks to me by using images with words. i think that's because god knows that ultimately i'm a big kid that loves story time too much. here's something cool that i got yesterday, so i'll share. 



during prayer time, i image the same pool that i usually do. just a pool of god's love, grace, and mercy. usually, i just jump into this pool and i stay there. this helps ground me so my mind isn't jumping everywhere while i'm praying.

this time was different. when i jumped in the pool, i was immediately thrown back on the shore. i was shocked, because this was MY imagination! this isn't how the story is suppose to go. who gets the shaft in their own story?

then i heard a voice. "you can't just jump in here!"the voice seemed a little agitated. "you can't just use me to feel better!" the voice seemed full of emotion, yet in perfect control. then after a while, i realized that the voice was god.

i just stood there, quiet. confused and slightly dazed in the confides of my own imagination. my prayer and meditation time had been hijacked! this isn't how i planned for it to go.

god started speaking again. "i want a relationship with you! not simply this 'jump in the pool' stuff! that's the condition for you getting this water."

i thought for a while, and then i said. "okay. yes, god. all of me, and all of you."

all of a sudden, it was like all the water in the pool jumped out at once. it was like a tsunami. the waves just kept coming and coming. the water seemed to be endless, which would make sense since it represented god's love, mercy, and grace. the waters covered everything that i could see. but strangely enough, the destruction wasn't terrible. i couldn't even call it destruction. it was like the waters simply encompassed everything. it didn't destroy anything; it consumed it.

when the waves stopped, i was left sitting on the ground. suddenly, fire began to break out. the flames extended just as far as the water: everywhere. the fire was the same as the water in that it didn't seem to destroy. it just consumed. the fire was intense and uncomfortable, but at the same time calm and serene. there was no smoke.

then, a cool breeze blew over everything, quelling the flames. the wind was so soothing, like a balm to the soul. as i looked around, after the waters, and the flames, and the breeze, there was nothing left but me and god.

"no more will you have this lake," god said. "it is now a river. and what you saw where the stages of my love. first, i wash. then, i cleanse with a fire. the fire part is difficult for most, because it consumes relentlessly. but if you and my others would hold on during this part, you would see some awesome things.

"even in the midst of the flames i send my soothing wind. just let go. let me do what i need to do in you. i want to stay, so let me renovate! as much as i love you, i must make your life a suitable place for me. it's only fair to accommodate an esteemed guest. that's what i did for you when i sent my son, jesus. i prepared a place for an esteemed guest...YOU!"

god paused for a second. then he spoke again. the last words he spoke gripped me.





"oh, that someone would return the favor!"