Rise up

A displaced seed buried beneath layers of sediment formed in the coming and going of seasons, her true self remained isolated in hibernation. Waiting. A seemingly endless winter ushered slabs of ice upon body, mind and soul until the warmth of the Sun felt like a distant memory. Frozen, dormant and believing the lie that this winter was life. But the vehement flame cannot be quenched by frost. Nature must submit to its Creator. Despite the depths of glacial pain, fear, guilt and shame covering forgotten purity, purpose and passion-the Sun is unrelenting. His love penetrating the darkest, frostbitten parts within. His grace thawing even the thickest mantles of ice-covered wounds. And suddenly, the season shifted. Every ray of Sun light, a psalm of deliverance shattering through ice-sickle prison bars. A symphony of love written just for her, melting the frost of oppression and breaking the chains of intimidation. A once pianissimo whisper became a crescendo in a orchestral ballad that her Beloved had been playing for her from the very beginning:

“Rise up my love, my beautiful one, and come away with me. Look! The winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come,”

And suddenly the ashes sprouted into a beauty unlike any to ever exist with a fragrance so sweet the world couldn’t help but bow down and trust in her redeeming Savior. The seed became something new; shedding off parts of herself that she could never return to and embracing an identity that was held within her all along.

This is a picture of pumpkins growing in a very inconvenient place in my backyard. Around this time last year, a friend gave me a ton of vegetable seeds that I tried and failed to grow. I ended up throwing all of the seeds (that didn’t die) out into my yard for lack of a green thumb. One year later, after a hot Texas summer, warm autumn, and a confusingly hot-then-freezing winter and here you have it! A bunch of blooming and thriving pumpkins that I had no intention of growing.

But God. He is the Author of life, and His plan will prevail. Take courage today, friends! God sees you, and He is working on your behalf. I believe He gave me the poem written above as a prophetic message for all His children right now. The winter is over and the time for singing is now!

The time is now. The winter is over and revival is here. Rise up.

Please keep me in your prayers as I take a step down from my position as a wall flower and step in to my calling as a worshipper through music. Love and peace,

Lacey