Three Simple Words

There’s been a lot going on in my life lately. 

Maybe you noticed I’ve missed a few deadlines here.

And now I’m back in my Prague loft asking God to sort out my life.

Uncertainty and confusion seem to reign on every front. I don’t have a clear view in any direction. I can’t see the trees for the forest - the foreboding darkness of my situation is preventing me from being able to pick out any markers to help me make headway. 

I lived out of a suitcase for the last six+ months. I cherish the gracious hospitality of those who’ve been hosting us here and there and I’ve been humbled by their generosity. I have major surgery looming over me and daily ponder the decision and possible timing. The process to get a new well at our home in Maine has developed a glitch. It took me days to organize all our stuff in order to travel and what we don’t have with us is just sitting in bags. No matter what effort I try to apply anywhere, roadblocks persist. And there’s no evidence that circumstances will change any time soon.

To say life feels temporary and overwhelming would be a serious understatement. 

Maybe you know what I mean. 

Maybe you’ve got some stuff going on in various areas of your life that are causing you consternation. Maybe a combination of unresolved issues and stalled progress is filling your days with chaos and frustration too. 

In the midst of so much turmoil three simple words keep echoing through my being. They’re words I’ve heard many times over the years. I’ve even heeded them in the past. This time around though the phrase is impacting me in a deeper way.

Maybe you know what I mean here too. 

Maybe you’ve been drawn back to basics when the world seems to be collapsing around you. Maybe a familiar verse or passage appears in your mind in a fresh and more meaningful way.

In either event I realized today that I needed to share my newfound pathway to peace, if that’s what I could call it. Then again it’s kind of like a strategy for sanity born out of desperation and powerlessness. The instruction boiled down to three words for me last week.

“Come to me . . .”   

I heard Christ’s words at the opening of the Matthew 11:28-30 yoke passage at first in a loving whisper. It is developing into a persistent refrain that calls me out of my cyclone circumstances and spinning thoughts.

“Come to me . . .”   

The sense I have is that the direction is not given as from a dedicated teacher or overbearing authority. It’s more an invitation offered by a loving grandfather or gracious hostess. There are blessings to enjoy that ought not be lost. The rest of the verses add essential details, but I find myself clinging to these three precious words.

“Come to me . . .”   

I’m noticing that the sooner I hear and respond, the faster I’m at rest. The more diligent I am to choose to turn to God through Christ, the easier it is to shrug off the snares of this world. They are only three little words and yet they change the direction of my thoughts and my life.

“Come to me . . .” 

Come = approach toward a place closer or more familiar to the speaker, arrive at a specific place, join a certain activity or event, travel to be with a specific person, take or occupy a specified position or priority*

to = moving in the direction of, expressing a location, identifying a relationship

me = used by a speaker to identify himself as the object of a verb (come) or preposition (to)

“Come to me . . .”   

Approach closer and take up a position in relationship with God Himself through Christ.

And so I'm practicing and learning.

“Come to me . . .”   

If you find yourself meditating on these words, let me know how it goes.  Thanks.

Next . . . Four Simple Words.

**definitions adapted from my dictionary widget