Father,
My prayer is a simple one...
Grant me authenticity.
Make me wholly and undividedly Yours.
Pour me out;
Fill me up with You.
Melt me down...
'til all that's left is You.
Peel the layers.
Uncloud my soul until I'm transparent.
Make me a mirror that reflects Your glory.
Simplify me.

I was blessed to spend time tonight with some of my friends from college. Like bleach, just the conversation was cleansing, enlightening, and horrifying. I love how old friends come back in during new phases and you have a landmark to show you who you were and who you've become. It's not always a pleasant thing. Being back around the Union environment reminded me of the desperation with which I used to seek obedience to God. As I age, behind my back, roots go down...into plans, into hopes, into expectations that are solely temporal. And it hurts when God answers my prayer to draw me to Him...because He has to rip up the roots. And I'm better for it.

But I'm constantly bound...by desire for control of perceptions, of image, of results. Ultimately I'm deceived...then rendered handicapped for eternal use. The beauty is I wasn't redeemed for the purpose of perfection, but for Him. ONLY for Him. So I'm a wreck, a wretch, and in using me as I am, He is the only possible source and recipient of glory. So goes the story of mankind. Isaiah 55:8-9 will go a long way.

Father,
rip up my roots.
I surrender all esteem of man,
others' and my own.
Make my wholly and only Yours.
Cause invisibility to be my desire.
And let me see You.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." -Matthew 5:8