Streams of Comfort

There’s a small toy I used to make back in elementary school called a thaumatrope (that’s the official term). I used to call it a “spinny thing”. I would paint a bird or spell a word out on either side of a piece of paper, attach it to a string or stick, then spin it around to my heart’s content. If done properly you can use it to trick your eyes into seeing one image. A precursor to modern animation and cameras. As I was reflecting on Jonah 2, I thought that similar to the illusion, we can delude ourselves into believing that we know best. That what we see is truth. However, the Lord calls us to walk by faith. I needed to remind myself, as I’m sure Jonah also did while in the whale. We walk by faith not by sight alone.

We often think of clarity as a given.
That sight we take for granted never fails.
Yet persistence of vision is an illusion.
Divers with dreams of swimming so deep
Crave the darkness that comes with depth.
So we too mistake depth and darkness.
It is the Lord who brought us out of the pit.
Where the false sense of security hugs our hearts with silence.
Till our heartbeat is no more.
Our lungs with enormous pressure.
Till our breath is no more.
Our eyes with black embraces.
Till our sight is no more.
Watch the spinning image.
It moves so fast it seems constant.
Not that we can see its trick.
Somewhere in the dark water there is a light.
The surface like mercy appearing
Right when we need it to.
So God rescues us again;
Let’s us see despite the illusions;
Brings us home again.

Alice R.