March 21 - Uncovered

(submitted by Melissa Gossard)

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” II Corinthians 3:18 NIV

Sometimes in order to “Journey On” there must be a cleansing, so to speak, of the heart, mind or soul - or all the above. Often our place of being stuck, not being able to move on to the next place, is because we have things covered up.

Driving around lately and looking around we see the newly, uncovered earth. The snow has melted, in some places puddles remain. There is a lot of trash; dirt lies on the pavement, patches of mud smatter the streets and parking lots everywhere. The grass is brown and the trash seems to stick like glue. When the snow was there the debris was covered, unnoticed by the beautiful yet dense blanket of ice that provided a barrier from the blowing wind.

Slowly though, the rains have come. Some washing away is occurring and we begin to see the earth just a little more fresh. Soon and somewhat painstakingly, a transformation will arise which allows all that is dirty and unseemly to blow away with the wind. The temperature will rise, more rain will come and the bright, warm morning sun will fill the days with freshness and renewal.

What covers us? What is there that is beautiful and fresh looking like a white blanket of snow? Yet found to be so dense, so heavy it is pinning the “trash” to our surfaces. Feelings, emotions, creature comforts, distractions of our culture – anything that might look ok but in fact is cold, hard to move and just simply needs the warming love of our Jesus in order to be uncovered.

Praying to identify the stale cover on the mind, the heart, the soul is the invitation to God to bring His Newness, His Glory. This invitation will possibly bring tears like spring rain to flood the soul with a cry so big and so loud it could be like thunder that will reverberate through and through. The invitation could create a steady stream of awareness with subtleties like green blades of grass that creep up when we aren’t looking.

If we ask Him, He will show what needs growing, what needs revealed. It could take awhile. It could take a lot of tears, it could mean looking in the mirror over and over again until every line, every detail of the places that do not look like God, begin to look like God because He has provided the sweet whisper of His Holy Spirit.

Just as He transforms the earth, as nature blows away and uncovers the effects of the winter months into a breathtakingly beautiful spring – He will order our next steps by blowing the fresh wind of His radiant Spirit. He will remove the cover of dirt that wants to cling and to keep us from being seen in His likeness and then the work will begin. It could hurt for a while but sometimes pain is good.

Dear ones, He is the warm, bright Son that promises transforming glory!