Remain in Me.

My littlest one snuck out of his bedroom extra early this morning and crept down to Mommy’s room where he woke me with his gentle plea, “Cuddle you Mommy?” I can’t imagine a better way to be woken than to the desire of my deeply loved child simply to be with me. As I reveled in that unordinary moment, soaking in the cuddles of a little one who usually doesn’t slow down for anything, especially not cuddles in bed with Momma, the Holy Spirit was whispering in my heart as well. “The joy you feel at your son’s desire for you, and your reciprocated desire to simply be with him, are only a tiny fraction of the joy and desire I have for you My daughter.” And I sensed His longing for me to approach Him with the same childlike heart, the same immature need for nurturing, the same “cuddle me?” request.

And as I find myself at the end of today, tossed about by the waves of life, yet reminded of my morning cuddles and the Holy Spirit’s whispers, I realize my desperate need for that time with Him. Remain in Me, and you will bear much fruit. 

Remain in Me.

How my soul is desperate to remain in Him, to have Him as the anchor that grounds me despite the waves that crash about. Yet I find myself drifting, eyes drawn away by the storm in the distance or the distraction of the day, and before I know it my body is being bloodied and bruised by the waves that are now tossing me about because I’ve lost my anchor in Him. And I grasp for whatever I can, my flailing arms reach for familiar things of the past, things that can’t save me…affirmation from others, pride in my work, distraction of tasks…instead of simply returning to the anchor that holds my soul.

That is the battle I’m in, the learning I’m walking through…how to remain in Him. No matter the circumstances, the joy or the devastation, the calm or the chaos…He’s teaching me to find my root in Him. I catch myself sooner now; before the waves have completely overtaken me, I have learned to hear the Voice calling me back to the anchor that is Him. And I’m learning to return joyfully, peacefully, longingly to tether my soul to the One who created me and sustains me and bears fruit in and through me when I remain in Him.

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:4-5