A sacred rhythm of grace

Antigua-Guatemala-September-2014

Around 7:30 each morning we’d leave the house in Antigua, Guatemala. We’d meet and pray with new people in new places over new situations all day. Laugh, cry, ponder.

Around 5:30 we’d return for dinner at Luis’s house. His wife Mirella would feed our bodies with authentic and incredible Guatemalan food.

And then, sweet bliss, Jesus would feed our souls.

Thank God. Because by nightfall, if I had had a magic eject button to pop home, I might have hit it. My body was tired, my soul was drained.

But in his wisdom, God didn’t leave me that opening.

He let me get in over my head; I had to depend on no one but him.

That is grace.

In that nightly worship, the Lord’s refilling came strong and undeniable. Through songs sung, scriptures discussed, prayers uttered—he wrapped his arms around us and poured in more Spirit than we had poured out.

And we drank. And drank. His presence was thick.

Until both body and soul were satiated for another night’s rest.

It is a holy rhythm, this filling up and pouring out and refilling once again. The rhythm is different for each of us. Different in time, in place, in style.

I loved the rhythm of God in Guatemala. It was simple, predictable.

But the rhythm of God here is just as sacred. His pulse, his movement, his Spirit breathes in and out. Whether there. Whether here. In fullness, with intentionality, by design.

Stay in the flow.
Therein lies grace.

During the day Jesus would teach in the temple courtyard. But at night he would go to the Mount of Olives (as it was called) and spend the night there.
Luke 21:37 (GW)

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What does your flow look like? Is it different in different places, different seasons? Please share.

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7 thoughts on “A sacred rhythm of grace

  1. Ceil

    Hi Lisa! This is such an inspiring post for me. I can just see myself in that state of exhaustion and visual/spiritual overload…wondering if I’ll ever make it. And yet, there was God’s grace. You were able to stay and to thrive. And I know you were a huge help to the ones you served.
    It’s so easy for me to get overwhelmed, and I literally get stuck in my tracks. You show me that movement is possible if I can back away from my emotions and let the grace of God in.
    Really great post.
    Ceil

  2. Dianna

    “His Spirit breathes in and out.”…It is a natural rhythm that comes when we intentionally look to be in His presence, to go out and do His work, to come back to be refilled. I love that it can be done here…and it can be done there. Giving out, taking in, giving out, taking in. The rhythm is broken only when we fail to take in and try giving out on our own. Thank you for the example you are to me, Lisa.

  3. Linda@Creekside

    I’m drinking deep deep these days. There is no other choice is there, Lisa. And when all is said and done, there’s is no place I’d rather be than in a sweet place of being tended to by the Shepherd.

    Yes, we come thirsty. Thanks for being there with me today.

  4. Sheila Kimball

    Hi Lisa — I feel like I’ve been out of the loop for so long as I worked to rebrand and relaunch my site recently but it is good to be back and connect again!!

    He let me get in over my head; I had to depend on no one but him. That is grace.

    LOVE this line. So true. For all of the moments in all of our days.

    Thanks for being a blessing…

  5. Anita Ojeda

    I often feel over my head–mostly because the flow around here is more like spring run off in the mountains of Montana ;). Crazy crashing, crushing, boulder-moving flow interspersed with little trickles of almost nothing…and then, nothing for a while. The important thing for me is knowing that Jesus is my river of life–whether it’s underground where I can’t see it, or in the midst of one of those spring run offs!

  6. TC Avey

    This reminded me of something my pastor recently said about being holey. He said when he soaks more of Christ in, more of Him seeps out and then he need to be filled back up again being because he has holes and can’t keep Christ contained inside. He always need more of Christ. And the more he allows Christ to pour out of him the more Christ pours back into him.

  7. Beth S.

    Lisa, this took me back to the ten days I spent in Guatemala last year. I remember how the end of the day would come and we would all be completely exhausted. But no matter what we gathered together to worship and to share what impacted us most from our day. The evening ended with a deep sense of being filled. It was so this . . . “a holy rhythm, this filling up and pouring out and refilling once again.”
    A piece of my heart was left there in Guatemala. I could never write much about those days. Maybe they were sacred moments to hold in my heart. I do hope to return there again soon.
    Thank you so much for this post.
    Blessings.

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