Luke 9:11

“…and WELCOMING them, He [Jesus] began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.”

That’s me. I need Jesus to cure me. This journey with hidden disabilities wounds.  I was SO hopeful this year as we changed teams, certain long awaited changes would come. Some of those changes haven’t happened. Yet. (Maybe never?) I don’t know….

I was hopeful my youngest child would escape some of the wounding, because of progress we’ve made….

I was hopeful these later years of our marriage would be less stony than the first. It’s true, with children grown, some things ARE easier. But stones just keep coming….

I hoped my husband’s disabilities wouldn’t compete with providing hospice care for my sibling’s child. Most of the time they didn’t, and I was so grateful. But at the very end, when I was most grieving, a clash came, which was incredibly hard for me.

My disappointment is deflating. My discouragement runs deep. I have “droopy britches” as I used to tell my kids!

I am not a time traveler, so I can’t join the crowd in Palestine that “followed Him” when Jesus “withdrew by Himself.” He welcomed them. But Jesus travels through time and finds me.  In 2012, He is “welcoming” me, and speaking to my heart “about the kingdom of God”… and curing me “who has need of healing”.

Come ye yourselves apart and rest awhile,

Weary, I know it, of the press and throng

Wipe from your brow the sweat and dust of toil,

And in My quiet strength again be strong….

Come tell Me all ye have said and done,

Your victories and failures, hopes and fears.

I know how hardly souls are wooed and won:

My choicest wreaths are always wet with tears.

Come ye and rest; the journey is too great,

And ye will faint beside the way and sink;

The bread of life is here for you to eat,

And here for you the wine of love to drink.

Then fresh from converse with your Lord return,

And work til daylight softens into even:

The brief hours are not lost in which ye learn

More of your Master and His rest in Heaven.

Streams in the Desert, Oct 2

Welcomed by Jesus,

being healed,

Joan