Metaphors for God-In-Us

Good morning, Ladies. Y'know what I love? I love that the moment I say, "Let's imagine," you are right there. I don't sense the reaction that such a request is decidedly uncool, or that this is going to be a complete waste of time because how is it actually going to help? If you're thinking that, I'm not hearing it. What I'm hearing are amazing imaginings, like this one from ALISHA:

    "When we went to Louisiana/Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina, there was this one tree. It had survived two hurricanes, and still it stood there, unmoveable. I've been shaken by a lot of unseen events lately, with my sickness and losing all these people I thought would stay in my life. That's shaken me a whole lot."

That's Alisha's tree you're seeing in the picture above. I see what she means.  And has it not proven to be so true as she's been invited to share her continuing story in what sounds like an incredible group blog? Congratulations, Alisha. You will help so many, many people who suffer as you have.

BETHAN also envisions a tree, but it's beside a river and SHE is the tree, God being the river. He's quenching her thirst so she can remain strong through things like a recent breakup with a boyfriend. Adults sometimes try to minimize the pain of that, but it's a very hard growing up thing to endure. 

AMY's vision is of an anchor, holding her to God's word and what is right; even though storms come it stands firm.

THERESE thinks of the 9/11 memorial in her town, with a flame that remains lit on top of a fountain, no matter what the weather. She wants her relationship with God to be like that blaze -- an unrelenting, consuming fire. Even in storms like her parents' separation.

KATE S tentatively sees God's presence as a gift-giver. Sometimes those gifts are hard to recognize, especially when you're living in one room with your entire family and your dad is sick and it feels like the worst ever. Actualy, Kate, it really was bad. You were brave to get through it.

MELODY says her latest unexpected dismount was not getting into the dance company she so longed for. And she's so busy right now, it's hard to even think about God's presence. I get that, Melody. I really do. I think we all do. And yet here you are, coming up with a gorgeous image of a bright sun that gives life and hope and is always, always there and outshines anything (as soon as she stops trying to do it all herself; that's the ticket, isn't it, Melody?).   I love what she says: "Even if the sun seems to be setting, it's really just rising on something else."

Now, for LAURA JANE, God at her core is like a big stainless steel heart.  That's so different it really made me stop and think, and I like it. She was especially aware of that heart in a turn-for-the-better last week when she did so well in zone competitions for IEA horse competition, she gets to go to Nationals.   Sweet, Laura Jane!

RACHEL's metaphor is "for sure a fire.These are her own words: "The spark was planted in me at birth during my Baptism, and the flames were fanned when I was Confirmed. Some days, it feels hot and bright and burning with leaping tongues of fire that just can't be ignored, and other days it's more like low and slow-burning coals. But no matter what, even though I may feel numbed by the outside cold or have just grown too used to its company to notice it much, the fire still burns on within me, a steady presence of heat and light that cannot be quenched and refuses to fully fizzle out." Beautiful, beautiful stuff. Her belief in the fire was tested last year when she ended up on a soccer team full of girls who not only didn't know her but had known each other for five years. That's like the social kiss of death, right? While the team has done great, she's gotten very little playing time. That means a lot of sitting by the fire, wondering whether this is a "knock-down-course-changer or a welcome surprise."

SARAH ELIZABETH asked if it was weird that she thought of one of Shakespeare's sonnets as her God-metaphor. Uh, as a former English teacher and continued lover of the bard, no, I would not say that was weird at all (or maybe we are both weird SE!) Here it is:

"Love is not love, which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove. No, it is an ever-fixed mark which looks on tempests and is never shaken."

When Sarah reads that, she thinks of a cliff next to water. "Waves have hit that cliff probably millions of times and yet it still stands strong. Pieces of it may have broken off but I don't think anyone will disagree that its current state is beautiful. " Yeah, Sarah E., you're even more beautiful in your new home than you were in your old, despite the storm that took you there.

ASHLEY has in mind those old shepherd's towers, like the ones made of huge thick heavy stones. That mental image kept her going last spring when she lost half the vision in her left eye. Lots of people prayed for her but she hasn't gotten her sight back. And yet she's learned so much about prayer and about trusting in the strength of God's towers.

JYLLENNA is simply "seeing God move", even in the midst of her grandfather's serious health issues. We know od will continue to "move" as you relocate with your family and get away from the girl drama, Jyllenna. Sometimes, as SE pointed out, a new perspective can completely change things for the better. 

 

MIMI shared a vivid dream of falling into God's safe hands -- and from the end of the proverbial rope we all often find ourselves clinging to. So Mimi I guess it's like, "When you find yourself at the end of your rope, let go!" Sounds like you'll pay attention to that as you make your decision about going to public school.  

KAMILAH sees herself honoring God. So is there perhaps a metaphor there of feeling God like a medal close to your heart, always reminding you of what it is you're supposed to be about?

CAMI sees God's presence as that of a great Orchestrator -- and God has certainly created a new movement in HER symphony. Yikes, she's graduating in July when she thought she had another whole year to go! We'll be here for you as you discover the new notes you're now going to play, Cami. On the track and off.

Those metaphors are all beautiful, and I hope  more of you will share yours as God gives them to you --MARLEE and KINDALL, who we welcome -- and AVERY and LEXI and CAITLIN and BETHANY who have all been reading and chiming in with prayers. The more ways we can see God, the more likely it is that we'll keep believing, keep obeying, keep counting on God when we take those unexpected dismounts.

I think we need to take this one step further (as if this post wasn't long enough already -- yikes!) If you'd like to post, share with us where YOU are right now in relation to that image of God's presence within you.  Here's an example:

        My metaphor is a pillar -- white and pure and immovable, right at the center of my soul. Right now, I'm sort of dancing around that pillar, getting ready to go on yet another trip, making all the preparations. I'm trying to stay connected to the pillar with all the colorful ribbons of my present life, so I don't stray and start trying to choreegraph the whole dance someplace far from my soul. 

    So where are you in relation to the Sun, the Fire, the Tree, the River, the Anchor, the Memorial Flame, the Gift-Giver, the Stainless Steel Heart, the Movement, the Shepherd's Tower, the Cliff, or whatever your image may be. Where you are changes from time to time, depending on whether you're experiencing an unexpected dismount or sailing free. It's always good to know where we are with God -- so let's look at the right-now and find out. I can't wait to hear. I'll be right here by the pillar, praying.

 

Blessings,

Nancy Rue 

your

Comments

[Alisha]

Beautiful!
If you would have asked me where I was at 2 days ago, I would have told you I'd fallen off the tree and into the hurricane. Because that's where it felt like I was.
And then yesterday, things began to change. I can't really describe everything that happened, but I had an epiphany. I don't even know if I can put it into words, but it's changing me, and it probably saved my life. I remember one thing so clearly. During this unexpected dismount time in my life, I kept thinking "God, where are you? Where did you go?" And during this epiphany, I remember hearing "I'm here, waiting, when you're ready to trust what you know and not what you feel."
There was a lot of other heart stuff that went on that day, but that was one of the biggest. God never left, He was always there, waiting for me to trust what i knew, and not what i felt. NOTHING can seperate me from his love. I just had so much noise in my life I couldn't hear his voice.
So right now I'm no longer swirling around in the hurricane, tossed by the winds and waves. I'm clinging to that tree for dear life, and I'm trusting what I know not what i feel.

[Abby:)]

Hi everyone!! My name's Abby and I've been on the tween blog for a little while now, but since they're talking about siblings right now (I don't have any) I thought I'd trying doing both blogs for a while. I'm 14 but I stayed on the tween blog since I kind of like being the oldest for a change of pace (while I do have plenty of friends my age, I usually prefer to be with adult...yeah, I have no intetions of being a normal teenager). XD I'm a total dance/broadway/musical theater nerd - in fact I used to dance over 20 hours per week, until there was a bunch of drama at my studio which far exceeded the pain of my parents' divorce which was happening around the same time (fun...). I'm now only dancing 7 or 8 hours a week, so I'm going slightly insane but still content that I'll dance more often when God says it's time. :) I've read a few of the last posts and your comments so I feel like I know all of you already. :D

Congrats to Cami with her early graduation and to Laura Jane on going to nationals (nice to see you again ;)!!!!

I really stink at metaphors (seriously - ask my English teacher), so I'll have to give it a little more thought...

[Abby:)]

Oh and please pray for a friend of mine who's battling cancer (she's only 11) for a while we thought she was doing better but we recently found out she's getting worse (her parents haven't told her yet) :(

[Amy]

I think that sometimes I am sorta like seaweed on the anchor that gets tossed about and moved but the waves when my faith isn't that stong. Other times i think I'm like the shell/coral things on the anchor that you find at the beech stuck to rocks tha you can never get off.
Prayin for everyone :)

[Kate S]

Oh! I have another metaphor:
A horseshoe
I know, weird right? Well let me explain. A horseshoe is solid- basically impossible to destroy. The purpose of a horseshoe is to protect a horse's hooves (feet :) ). It protects, yet it still allows the horse to feel the ground... its foot can still get slightly sore, if the rider or horse isn't careful. Also, it is nailed to the hoof, so it is extremely difficult to remove. Only a farrier can remove it, using tools and strategies... do you see what I'm saying?

Honestly, I'm not uber close to God at this moment. I'm working to get back closer though. I'm kinda like...
someone who will take the gift but doesn't know how to thank the giver or something.
a horse who knows the horseshoe is good but for some reason (not fear) is slower to take it than others.

[Miriam]

I'm so sorry I missed this! I was away for a bit, so I didn't really go online. My metaphor is a really weird one I think. I view God in me as quicksilver in a thermometer. He is always there, but can move around. Some days I feel him surge in me as my spiritual temperature rises, and some days I don't feel anything, but I know he is still there. Like quicksilver, God isn't easily defined, but He is there within me

[***LAURAJANE***]

Hey Abby! Nice to "see" you again!

I gave a lot of thought to where I am on my stainless steel heart. It was hard, let me tell you. I finally came up with this: I am laying on top of the heart getting a tan, if you will. I need to be hugging the heart with all my strength, so much I am almost in the heart.

ilylwsbsa
Laura

[*Rachel*]

Hey girlies! Oh my goodness, I can't get over how amazing all of these are!! It just makes my fingers itch for a camera or a pen and my journal to capture them all :)

To be honest, I'm letting my fire die down right now. I feel like I've just been flitting around trying to take care of so many other things that the sometimes-tedious task of fire tending is not getting the attention it needs. But I can feel the resulting cold beginning to seep into the rest of my tasks, and I miss the comforting, blazing warmth that I was once so used to. I'm just not sure how I can fan the flames without getting burned, if that makes any sense. It's almost like I'm afraid to go back to God now because I've ignored Him for so long... prayers or any loving advice would be really appreciated.

Oh, and one more prayer request. During my last game with my high school team last night, a girl and I hit each other the wrong way, and I somehow messed up my knee. I don't think it's too serious, but I go to the doctor on Monday to see what she says. The thing is, practice with my club team (the one I told you guys about in my last comment) started back up again today. While they were all out there running their tails off, I was just sitting on the sidelines with a bag of ice on my knee and my tail between my legs. It doesn't exactly help my "being accepted into the group" situation that I'm not out there with them, especially since we have Midwest Regionals in two weeks, and I'm afraid that they think I'm just skipping because I don't want to have to do conditioning. It's just really hard on me - I'm dying to get back out there, and everyday that they're training with each other and getting better, I'm getting more and more out of shape - "Tournaments, Cocoa, and One Wrong Move" is gonna be my friend for the next few days...

Woooooww, I did not mean for this to be such a long comment! It just makes me feel so much better after I've written things out, especially to you girls who I know won't laugh at or judge me for them. So thank you if you've made it through this whole post!! :) Love you all, and praying hard, especially for Abby's friend with cancer (oh, and WELCOME, ABBY!!). Have an amazing weekend!

Love and Blessings,
*Rachel*

[Therese]

Rachel, I know how you feel. My relationship with God has been less then perfect lately. Why would He want to hear from me after all this time of silence on my part? It feels like I've lost my best friend, cuz for a while now, that's what He had been. Now I feel the need to straighten myself out before coming to Him again, but I can't do that without Him! So I'm kind of stuck. I feel like there is a storm going on inside my heart trying to put out my torch. It's flickering, but I still see glimpses of it once in a while.

[kate s]

(I adore that tree)
I have a couple praises that I am really excited about.

1. My relationship with God has not been stellar. I am embarassed to admit it, but it is true. I've done some things that I am ashamed about, things that I am so ashamed that I feared coming to God (just so you know, I didn't break a law or have sex or anything like that!)... Also, I kept thinking that if God wanted me to come spend more time with Him or tell me something, He'd tell me. I knew I needed him (and I do not to feel too ashamed to come to him) and I WANTED him. I really did. So last night, I got brave and prayed for Him to speak to me, that I wanted to hear from Him and opened my Bible. Wow. I opened my Message Bible to Psalm 103. It was exactly what I needed. It was such a God moment, ya know? He was so there, talking to me... I realized that it takes 2 to have a relationship, a conversation. If he was going to talk to me, I needed to listen. So I did and it was amazing... I can proudly say that we are getting back into a good strong relationship... I feel so close to Him right now... It was amazing. And I'm going to keep that way.

2. So My best friend is a Christian, but doesn't go to church, pray, or read the Bible... she just believes. Okay, so today she told me she wants to read the Bible this summer (not the whole thing, but just read it). HOW AMAZING IS THAT? I've been praying about this for a long time... I got so thrilled and smiled so big and got sooo excited. She, and our other friend have all decided to read it together this summer. I cannot express how happy this makes me. This is such a God thing and I'm just so happy and everything about this... wow.

So yeah, these two days have been very blessed...
Ha, lets hope it continues, cause this next week is going to be insane and soooo tiring with 4 shows and rehersals (every. day, from 2:30 until... some days till 6 some till 10. whoah). I'm going to need God really bad. LOL. It'll be fun though, but still... :P

Okay that was SUCH a long post, I just had to share! :D

[Megan]

Hi everyone! I haven't been on here in forever-but I've been going back and reading the other posts and they are so encouraging! One of my goals this summer is to be more involved with this blog because it is amazing how alike, yet so different each of us girls is.

[Melody]

I've been super busy and don't have time for a long comment right now. But I've been reading the comments and wanted to say something quick to Kate S., I know exactly what you mean about thinking that if GOd wanted me to come to him, he would tell me. This past summer I was kind of distant from God at at the dance intensive I was at all the counselors made it really known that we could talk to them and when we had creative worship nights a lot of times they would go to different people without them even asking. I kept expecting that to happen to me, but I really needed to take the initiative and go to God first.