The Beauty of Dry Bones.....

 “And so He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?

” So I answered, “O Lord, You know.”

Ezekiel 37: 3

This morning I awoke with a memory on my heart and a promise on my lips.  I had forgotten to speak that promise over my heart with my words and in my actions.  

I was reminded by the love of my Jesus, that I had let my “inner bones” become dry....

I remembered a short hiking trip I had while with a friend in Eastern Oregon.  The high desert is an amazing place, but I had forgotten that “high” means less air and desert does not mean desolate, but it does mean hot...  I had also forgotten the beauty of in the high desert of Oregon.  I am so thankful that I have the pictures to remind me.

I am so glad that in this moment the great big love of God is breathing into my bones and putting life back into those places where I am struggling.  

We all have them.  Places that are dry.  Places that feel dead.  Emotions that have been shut down or shut away, buried deep below the surface.  Things that stop us from truly pursuing wholeness in heart, mind, spirit and body.  

I have them.  Places of disappointment with myself, with others, and with the Lord.  Places where I have given up because it’s too hard, because it’s not working when I do try, or because I just don’t believe it’s possible anymore.  

This is the honest truth that we all have in our hearts about the dry places.  And I must be willing to be honest about the conditions of my own dry bones, before I can truly see the grace of Love and feel His breath on them. 

The reality is that I have let those places become dry.  I have let those places of disappointment and hardness grow and become more real than the actual truth of who I am in Love’s eyes.  It’s just easier to let the dry stay dry once it’s become that way.  Hauling water to the desert isn’t easy and breathing takes much greater effort in the high desert of my own heart.

And yet....  (I love the “and yet’s” that happen because of Jesus)

He is relentless in His love.  He will not forever let me stay this way.  Even in the smallest of places.  His heart.. His love finds the places that are dry and reminds me of the life that is still there.  He knows the truth about my heart and my desert places.. my dry bones.  And with His breath, He changes things. 

See the life in the twisting places.

He reminds my heart of this truth... That even in the desert there is life.  And IF I am willing to walk through that desert and see it’s beauty, I will also see the life in that dry place rise up.  I will see those bones become as new, with the breath of Love’s belief in them.  

Look for the dry bones around you....

Where are you places?  What are the deserts that you need to walk through and let Love show you life?  And who is in your path today that needs belief and life spoken into them?  

Look around and see the life in the dry bones.  Don’t be afraid of the desert or the high altitude of it.  Let Love take us there and let love bring breath and life to the dormant places that are waiting........