Whatever befall me...

The title of this blog is taken from the last lines of one of my favorite hymns, Be Thou My Vision.  Its notes are somewhat Celtic and haunting, its words a beautiful prayer. 

Be thou

my vision

my best thought

my wisdom

my true word

ever with me

in me dwelling

my battle shield

my dignity

my delight

my soul’s shelter

my high tower

my inheritance

first in my heart

my treasure

my vision.

I’ve always been drawn to things that are epic, things that belong in stories.   Through all the fantasy novels I’ve read, at times I find myself wishing that I belonged to one of those people in the world of the books, with fantastical stories whispered through generations.  Heroes who cling to some strange hope in dark times and prevail victorious.  

Then I realize- I belong to something like that.  And one of the reasons that I love this song is because it reminds me.    

So my blog title is taken from last stanza-

High King of Heaven, my victory won

May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Whatever may come to pass in my life, I want God to be my vision.  Forget rose-tinted glasses—I want my world to be resplendently dyed with the character and will of God, that I might know him and bring him glory.

Many things have come to pass this past year.  The death of my father not least among them.

It’s been a year of processing.  A year of loving my family more deeply.  A year of mourning.  A year of rewarding intellectual labor and learning how to be a leader.

It hasn’t been a year of writing.

Consistency was never my main goal when it came to sharing my thoughts here.  

Concepts tend to swirl about in my mind, dropping in and out of precedence, slowly forming themselves into intricate but clear lines of thought.  They simmer on the back burner, gathering flavors until they are ready.  Then, after months of relaxed consideration, the right words come and suddenly they must be written and I scramble for paper before they fly away and I’m left with just a vague impression of the shape of them. 

That is my purpose.  To intentionally think about the things that seem important, to do it with Christ as my Vision, and then to share it.

I’m hoping to share with you more often, friends.  God is bringing me to some pretty amazing places in the time to come, both literally and figuratively, and I want to tell you about it all. 

The lovely.  The heartwrenching.  Whatever befall.  With Him as my Vision.