Esprit de l'escalier

There are so many things that I admire about you. One of those things is your ability to put into words thoughts and feelings I’ve had too. Nobody would believe me if I told them…but let me assure you I’ve been in this pit before. I may not have taken the same route to get there…but here I am, sitting next to you. And since we’re both here, let us enjoy good things together…let us pray and eat ice cream. I’m not sure what the ice cream would be for…but I know that praying always helps. Not the kind that is like “Dear God, Help us Father, and her, Lord, the… and Holy Spirit…God…” You know the kind I’m talking about. ( Do they ever really say anything when they pray like that? I think I’d be uncomfortable if someone said my name that many times in a sentence.) But we would pray the rawest, most sincere prayers together. The kind that don’t really have a beginning. They just start as our hearts crumble in our hands and we gather them in little piles on the ground between us. And we sit back on our heels, heads hanging, and we present our little heart sand castles before God and ask Him to forgive our carelessness. I can see Him smiling at us (because our antics are nothing new) and as we soak up His forgiveness and enjoy the warmth of His rays of grace, He turns our castles into splendid palaces of unbelievable beauty and joy. And with gentle, but firm hands, I can see Him lift our renewed hearts back to where they were before.
One thing I have learned during my times in the pit is that closing your eyes to the stuff you don’t want to see, doesn’t make it go away. You can sleep through a storm…but you can’t sleep through your chores. Because when you wake up, not only will your chores still not be done, but your mom will be standing there tapping her toe, revving up for the battle. However, there is a way to close your eyes without shutting your eyelids. (Trust me, I do it all the time in class). If you have a hard time praying (as I do) it’s alright to daydream instead. If we can get lost in our feelings, how much more could we be found in our dreams? I believe the Lord blessed us with extraordinary imaginations because He wants to show us extraordinary things. If you get overwhelmed by the enormity of discouraging thoughts…sometimes you need to let go and give in. You have to sink to the bottom, in order to have a firm place to spring off of, to swim back to the surface. Give your imagination over to God and let Him show you how much He loves you. Imagine yourself sitting with Him in a quiet place and after you’ve finished spilling your soul…listen to what He tells you in the silence.
And when you’re done, take Him out to ice cream…thank Him for listening…and enjoy the cool refreshment of Cold Stone and the heart warming company of the strongest Man in the World and the King of our Castles.