“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” Ernest Hemingway

A friend of mine just posted this quote. Thanks MP. It has been a hard couple of weeks perched in various hospitals watching those I love suffer. Then those at home picked up viral intruders. In the midst of it all, God has been present, and strong, and beautiful. No surprise. He promises that. And what God promises, happens. He isn’t like people where you aren’t entirely sure they will make good on what they say.

In the hospital room shuffle, we just landed on a new floor in a new room. One with an amazingly incredible view! Hello, Lord! I see you watching over us! The sun shining in all its glory. Just like your Son. I feel hugged. Even when we didn’t have a physical view of God’s glory, we got emotional glimpses – angels flitting about with skin on. A good word here, great care there, God’s presence everywhere.

This isn’t where I chose to be these past few weeks. But nothing has shocked the Lord Almighty off the throne. He is steadfastly in that spot, and every other spot on the planet. He cares more deeply for each one of us than we do for each other. We all have someone that makes that concept unfathomable to our human brain.

Why? Is the question we want to ask. Why are things so difficult? Why can we not control outcomes? This side of heaven we may never fully get the answer to that question. The Lord told the prophet Isaiah, and he wrote it down for us: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

This can sound sarcastic or like a “put off” coming from one human to another. But coming from the God of the Universe who “neither slumbers or sleeps”, but rather “watches over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore” (Psalm 121: 4,7,8), it is something we can lean into for that crazy peace that He also promises when we stop trying to control outcomes.

“A God who is small enough to be understood, isn’t big enough to be worshiped.” – Derrick Tennant

So, when our hearts bleed, snuggling into the powerful, loving, capable, in-control arms of our Lord and letting Him handle things, is the way to keep the view beautiful…because our eyes will be focused on heaven.