Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Thy will is supreme in heaven and earth,

and all beings are creatures of thy power.

There is no blessing we implore but thou art able to give,

hast promised to give,

hast given already to countless multitudes,

all unworthy and guilty like ourselves;

Make us willing to receive the supply of our need from thy bounty.

Thou art the inviting one, may we hearken to thee;

the almighty instructor, teach us to live to thee;

the light-dweller, inaccessible to man and angels,

hiding thyself behind the elements of creation,

but known to us in Jesus,

Possess our minds with the grandeur of thy perfections.

~ The Valley of Vision, Seventh Day Morning and Evening excerpts

The end of the week. Saturdays always feel like the end of the week to me, yet Mondays feel like the beginning. Sunday is an amorphous day that shines a wonderful color I can't describe. By the time Saturday comes around, my soul is tired, my body is tired, the things of God have begun to fade in my mind. So Saturday is for wrapping up loose ends. 

On Saturday, after the toils of the week, my heart is usually at its most ungrateful point. 

But the blessing of renewal is at hand. My eyes will be refreshed to see blessings anew. It is a mindset of being open to grace, to approach the throne with bowed head. "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love," says one of my favorite hymns. Sometimes in relief, sometimes hesitating through selfishness, sometimes reluctant because of guilt, sometimes eager in joy, Sunday is the time to place my straying soul once more in the Keeper's hands. 

Looking back at the week, how much I have stumbled. But how generously I have been lifted up, blessed beyond belief by the Inviting One! I have fallen into old sins; but the more I give up my own desires, the more the Almighty Instructor gently gives me His strength to stand firm. When my sight is fixed on the perfect radiance of the Light-Dweller, my body moves in obedience to a beautiful love, knowing peace, finding patience, growing in faith.

Looking back at the week, how much I have been blessed. 

Looking ahead to the next week, how much will I choose to focus on the blessings, to let my life rest with the Keeper instead of trying to do things my way? 

Following the Path Where It Leads

The Start

The First Day: There was Evening, and There was Morning

The Second Day: Thy Bounty is Seen

The Third Day: Peace from the Keeper

The Fourth Day: Blessed be Thy Name

The Fifth Day: Faith for the Thousandth Time

The Sixth Day: Grateful, or the Opposite